Us

Starred review from October 6, 2014
In Nicholls's (One Day) latest novel, Connie Peterson wakes her husband Douglas in the middle of the night to tell him she may want to end their marriage. The family already has a European trip planned, the last before their son, Albie, leaves their London suburb for college, and Douglas, ever the scientist, hatches a plan to change Connie's mind: he will ensure their trip becomes an exemplar of the happy family they can be. Working against Douglas is the fact that he and his son have suffered a strained relationship from birth, and that Connie, an artist at heart, believes an organic vacationâone that evolves from the whims of any given dayâwould be a great improvement over Douglas's strict, pedantic itineraries. Douglas is an amiably bumbling narrator, and Nicholls convincingly infuses his protagonist's voice with the dry wit and charm that have served the author so well in his previous books. This is Nicholls's most ambitious work to date, and his realistically flawed characters are somehow endearing despite the many bruises they inflict upon each other.

February 2, 2015
Haig’s performance of Nicholls’s comic novel is nearly a one-trick pony; he voices the main character, Douglas Petersen, with verve, humor, and more sensitivity than Douglas likely deserves. But for almost every other character—with the notable exception of Douglas’s teen son Albie, who is voiced like an idiot until the novel’s climax—Haig’s narration is one-size-fits-all, with little variation from one character to the next. But therein lies the performance’s simple genius, because it perfectly reflects the limited way in which the highly analytical Douglas views the world. His inability to understand other people’s emotions or motivations is the crux of the story. He loves his wife, Connie, but is baffled by her artistic temperament and by the fact that she’s just announced, after over two decades of marriage, that she’s planning to leave him as soon as their epic family holiday to Europe is over. He’s relentlessly critical of his son in scenes that make the listener cringe for Albie’s humiliations, but that are understandable voiced so well from Douglas’s point of view. Overall, this is a fine performance by Haig, a British character actor perhaps best known for playing Bernard in Four Weddings and a Funeral. A Harper hardcover.

February 1, 2015

In a story told in hundreds of short chapters, each one a gem unto itself, a man tries to salvage his marriage and his family. Connie, the artistic wife of biochemist Douglas, has planned a Grand Tour of Europe to view the fine works of art in the last summer before their son heads off to university. But when she tells Douglas that she would like to end their marriage, how can they go forward? As plans have been made and reservations paid for, the trip must go ahead even as the dubious future of their marriage does not bode a pleasant journey. David Haig is excellent as the bewildered and confused Douglas. VERDICT Best suited to readers of relationship-focused novels set in modern times. ["The author's latest is another heart-grabber about discovering what makes us happy and learning to let go," read the starred review of the Harper hc, LJ 9/15/14.]--J. Sara Paulk, Houston Cty. P.L., Perry, GA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2014
In his picaresque fourth novel, Nicholls (One Day, 2010, etc.) artfully unveils 25 years of a couple's relationship. Shortly before Douglas Petersen, his wife, Connie, and their 17-year-old son, Albie, are to take a "Grand Tour" of Europe, Connie makes a surprising announcement: She thinks their marriage "has run its course" and is thinking about leaving. Connie is panicked at the thought of Albie going to college at the end of summer, leaving her and Douglas alone in the house. Douglas, a straight-laced biochemist who "had skipped youth and leapt into middle age," came along at a time when Connie, artistic and free-spirited but directionless, needed someone sensible. Despite the announcement, Connie still wants to take this holiday together, and as their journey begins, so does Douglas' examination of his marriage. Part travelogue, part personal history, Douglas' first-person narration intersperses humorous observations of their travels, during which Douglas usually finds himself out of step with his art-loving wife and son, with his wistful recounting of their back story, from his unlikely courtship to his recent positioning as a misfit in his family of three. After a ruinous morning in Amsterdam, when Albie unwisely confronts a trio of arms dealers and Douglas intervenes in a way that infuriates his family, Albie runs away, and the "Grand Tour," deemed a failure, comes to an end. Yet before it's too late, Douglas seizes a chance to find his son, win back the affections of his wife, and make this journey, both literal and figurative, a heroic one after all. Nicholls is a master of the braided narrative, weaving the past and present to create an intricate whole, one that is at times deceptively light and unexpectedly devastating. Though the narration is self-conscious at first, it gradually settles into a voice that is wistful, wry, bewildered and incisive, drawing a portrait of a man who has been out of his league for a long time. Evocative of its European locales-London, Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, Madrid-and awkward family vacations everywhere, this is a funny and moving novel perfect for a long journey.

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from September 15, 2014
Nicholls brings his trademark wit and wisdom to this by turns hilarious and heartbreaking examination of a long-term marriage. Biochemist Douglas Petersen is about to embark on a grand tour of Europe with his artistic wife of 25 years, Connie, and his temperamental 17-year-old son, Albie, who is about to leave for college. But on the eve of their departure, his wife tells him that, after the trip, she wants a divorce. A shocked Douglas hatches a scheme to win back his wife and repair his fractious relationship with his son. Traveling from the museums of Paris and Amsterdam to the beaches of Spain, the Petersen family struggle to regain their equilibrium, but Douglas' determination to have fun, complete with an ironclad itinerary, leads to spectacular fights, hurt feelings, and simmering tensions, all of which are conveyed by Nicholls with both humor and a deep compassion for human frailty. As Douglas looks back in longing on the couple's first heady days of love and courtship, he struggles to maintain his touching optimism for the future of their marriage. This tender novel will further cement Nicholls' reputation as a master of romantic comedy. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Nicholls' 2010 novel, One Day, has sold more than two million copies in 37 languages, and his latest will receive BEA and book-club promotion as well as a 500,000-copy first printing.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2014

Nicholls hit it big with One Day, which has sold over two million copies in 37 languages--and nearly 400,000 copies before the release of the 2011 film starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. His new work features gently unassuming scientist Douglas Petersen, whose wife of nearly three decades announces that she wants a divorce--just as they're about to take son Albie on a big trip to Europe. A hopeful Douglas schemes to use the trip as a means of saving his marriage. BEA and book club promotion; a 500,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2014

Douglas Petersen is a biochemist. His wife, Connie, an artist (though nonpracticing) and arts administrator, in bed at 4 a.m., tells him that after 24 years of marriage she is thinking of leaving him. The often maddeningly practical, reliable, and methodical Douglas is, understandably, shaken, as his devotion to Connie is beyond question. The family was to embark on a Grand Tour of Europe this summer; their 17-year-old son, Albie, is starting college in the fall. Connie feels they should all go anyway. Douglas, ever the scientist, hopes that through careful preparation (and lots of Wikipedia) the trip will bring structure to his son and help remind his wife of the wonderful life they share. Yet an altercation with a guest in their Amsterdam hotel sends Albie off on his own, with Douglas in hot pursuit. VERDICT Nicholls (One Day) has created in Douglas a man who has always known where he was and where he was going and who now is suddenly adrift emotionally as well as physically. And all the guidebooks and online tours won't be enough to right his course. Are you thinking this is a predictable tale of family dynamics? Think again; this is Nicholls, after all. For those who loved One Day, the author's latest is another heart-grabber about discovering what makes us happy and learning to let go. [See Prepub Alert, 5/12/14; see also "Editors' Fall Picks," LJ 9/1/14, p. 28.]--Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.