Us: A Novel

I did not want this book to ever end. It was beyond glorious! It was so magnificently written that it felt like a movie playing in my head as I read it, it was so vivid. The author expertly brought the story to life; the characters were so complex and fascinating, oscillating between being flawed, lovable, irritating, boring, interesting, kind, mean, funny, intense - and so on. Without exception, each character was very human, very authentic and very credible. The story was sad, happy, poignant, tough - it traversed the gamut of emotions. A very clever, engrossing read, I really cared about.and identified with the characters. 'The Grand Tour' was such a descriptive, evocative gem - I could picture the places the family visited. In my head, I was there with them in Europe! The story was a blend of so much: a love story, family relationships, a travel adventure, the strength and weakness of the human spirit, loss, hope, resilience ... the list goes on. Clever, clever, clever ... the ending was an absolute doozy. Those few words at the end spoke volumes about the essence and character of the protagonist. So much said with so very few words. Utterly, superbly delightful, this was a rich and memorable read.

Oh joy of joys. Us was a wonderful read. This writer manages to be funny, witty and very serious all at once. His characters are fabulously well-drawn. I really believe all of those characters are real people because they are so rounded. I feel I know them, especially the main character from whose point of view the book is written. Even through his eyes, you feel you fully understand the other characters' points of view - despite the fact that the main character clearly didn't understand them at all! Us is the sort of book you wait for and hope for every time you open a new novel. I can't recommend it highly enough, but of course every time I try to recommend it to someone they say 'Oh, I've already read that - isn't it fantastic?' So, if you haven't read it yet - just go for it. Love a good novel? Then I'm 100% you'll love this book.

I really enjoyed this book in the beginning and the end. One evening Douglas’s wife of several decades informs him that she thinks she doesn’t want to be married to him anymore. That she feels the marriage has “run its course”. He is devastated and spends the entire book trying to change her mind during a trip to Europe with their college age son Abie. The writing was good and at several points reminded me of Jonathan Tropper (who is one of my favorite authors). But there are far too many long winded descriptions of European art and sites and this certainly slowed the narrative. I’m sure there are those more sophisticated who enjoyed all of these digressions but for me I found myself skipping over those pages in order to get back to the plot. But overall this is a good "middle-brow" book.

The story of Us by David Nicholls has been a difficult piece to review.

On one hand the story is well crafted, witty, never a drag, and sure to bring a tear to a few people's eyes. Perhaps most brilliantly, Nicholls captures issues (I hope it is not sexist for me to say particularly for men) that surely resonate for all people (to mention the particular issues would be spoilerly [read the blurb])

On the other hand, I felt like there wasn't much new to this book OK SPOILERS AHEAD (just so can explain better.) Themes of infidelity, difficult family relationships, distance between father and son, it all felt like someone had done it before. I'm sure if you pick this book up and gel with the characters the journey will be good, but nothing much in this book stood out to separate it from any other family crisis drama.

In summary I class this book as Good, but not Classic. There is clearly a considerable amount of talent and skill displayed in Nicholls work, it just feels like Us is a bit of a safe story that could of been something more if only there was a bit more tension or surprise in the tale.

Us: A Novel by David Nicholls opens with Connie waking up Douglas from a deep sleep to tell him that she thinks their marriage has run it’s course and that she thinks she wants to leave him. Douglas, the narrator of the story, then proceeds to tell the back story, what led up to startling relegation and what he did to try and keep it from happening.

David Nicholls writes such interesting characters. They are all unique, each in their own way. This characterization is what really makes his novels work for me. Douglas is such an interesting character, so perfectly flawed. He means well, but at the same time he so annoying, so self absorbed. So, human. His wife, Connie puts up with, loved him deeply and fully at one time. His son, Albie, so much closer to his mom than his dad.

They set off on a trip of a lifetime. A trip that was planned before Connie’s late night declaration. A trip that was planned to the minute detail by Douglas (one of his annoying traits). A trip in which he hopes to win his family back.

Loved this. Loved the characters, loved the story, loved the details.

I downloaded a sample of this book a few months back when I saw it was listed as an Amazon Book of the Month. Recently, the price dropped, and I purchased it to read later. I then read the plot summary and it seemed like my purchase was a mistake. A book about a tour of Europe with a wife that wants to divorce him and a son who dislikes him? Good grief. It sounded like a soap opera.

I was totally wrong. This book is very fun. It is well written and the humor is delightfully (and I hate to use this word because Americans use it to describe British humor) droll. The dialogue is perfectly written, and the descriptions of married life are spot-on.

If you are a 50-something who has been married for a couple decades, and has a child or two, you will recognize some of yourself, your spouse, and/or a child in the characters.

The book never stalls. The story has a few twists and turns that caught me totally off-guard. And the last chapter was a wonderful way to end. (No spoiler here. You'll have to read it.)

I'd give this book 4.5 stars, but you can't do that here. Regardless of the rating, I highly recommend this book. I am sure I will read more from this author in the coming years.

A feel-good book. Looked forward to each opportunity to read it, knowing I would thoroughly enjoy the experience. So often books on family relationships focus on the dreary aspects of family bickering, looming divorce possibilities, coming-of age-angst. This novel features all those characteristics, but with a quirky, upbeat, witty emphasis. The writing style is clear, concise, and amusing.

Douglas and Connie, the man and wife, seem "real" - and a Grand Tour of Europe in an attempt to salvage the marriage and bond with Albie, the 17-YO offspring, doesn't stretch the bounds of credibility. Several scenarios seem unlikely, but, hey, this is a work of fiction and the author can do with the characters as he likes (or possibly the characters can lead the author around by the nose?).

Albie is presented as the typical (stereotypical?) teenager. There are good reasons why he has a strained relationship with his dad, but I wish that Nicholls could have given a bit more attention to Albie's personality, thoughts, and goals (if any).

I highly recommend any book written by David Nicholls, and put this one at the top of the list. "Us" won't give you profound insights into the meaning of life, but it will raise your spirits and help you realize that family relationships can be dysfunctional and still produce some tender moments. (4-1/2 stars).

I don't need to go into plot line as other reviews have done a good job at providing that. So, here is my reaction to the second novel I have read by David Nicholls:

This is basically chick-lit flipped backwards. The story is told from the husband's point of view and it's an evaluation of his relationship with his wife and with his son. It also explores the triangle of the three family members and the alliance between his wife and child which often leaves him the odd-man-out. All this is explored while travelling across Europe as a last trip for the family as his wife had decided to leave him and his son is heading off for college in the fall. The stress of the "vacation" highlights the strains within the marriage as well as the lack of common ground with either of his two other family members.

While not a bad novel by any means, I picked it up with fairly high expectations due to it being long listed for the Man Booker Prize and found myself disappointed. It is a novel that has some upsides but seems to work too hard at being quirky and has the underlying flaw of being largely unbelievable. While I did finish it and don't regret the time I spent, it doesn't compel me to search out and ready any other books by this same author. Just "ok".

I'm a big fan of David Nicholls, and have read I believe, everything he has had published. Every year for the past 5 years I have set a goal to read 100 books a year. I don't put that down as a bragging point but as a reference point so that when I say One Day is in my top 25 list of most favorite books people will know that 25 is out of well over 500 books. With that being said it pains me to give Us only 2 stars. I had waited for this David Nicholls book with excited anticipation, and bought it the 1st week it came out. So maybe I had set my expectations a bit too high. If I had read Us without knowing its author I wouldn't have guessed it was a Nicholls book. The things I love about his writing style, his in depth character development, the ability to remain realistic and yet sweep you away to another place, his raw but witty storytelling are either missing all together from Us or fall far short from his previous work. None of the three main characters, the father, mother and teenage son are especially likable or believable. The father runs around like an idiot trying to please his wife and son, only to be met with a wife that is insensitive, indifferent, and fickle. She's as bored as she is boring, and a spoiled rotten son that is equally as indifferent to his father, and is absurdly ungrateful and childish for 18. The story rambles on without any real point or direction, and the redemption you've waited for in these shallow, pointless characters never arrives! Sorry Mr.Nicholls but what the hell happened?