Today’s book review is of one of my favourite ever authors, David Nicholls,’s new novel, You Are Here. Read on to find out what I thought…
Title: You Are Here
Author: David Nicholls
Publisher: Sceptre
Synopsis:
Marnie is stuck.
Stuck working alone in her London flat, stuck battling the long afternoons and a life that increasingly feels like it’s passing her by.Michael is coming undone.
Reeling from his wife’s departure, increasingly reclusive, taking himself on long, solitary walks across the moors and fells.When a persistent mutual friend and some very English weather conspire to bring them together, Marnie and Michael suddenly find themselves alone on the most epic of walks and on the precipice of a new friendship.
But can it survive the journey?
My review:
How does David Nicholls do it?! He manages to avoid the cheesy, overdramatic writing that I tend to dislike in books which focus on love stories, and not just that, but he creates the most engaging, likeable, brilliant characters. And he’s absolutely done it again in You Are Here – a warm, witty, entertaining novel which follows Marnie and Michael, two very different (single) people on a hiking trip…
I loved the characters. They’ve got flaws, of course, but they’re likeable, well-rounded and interesting. I found myself smiling, laughing and a bit emotional at times too! I’m not also one for wanting beautiful descriptions of scenery in books, but in this novel I loved the atmospheric setting, and reading about the characters finding their way together amongst breathtaking views.
The plot, of course, was hugely entertaining – though we kind of assume we know what will happen, the journey to get there is heart-achingly funny and entertaining, though there’s a moment when I wanted to scream at one of the characters (that’s all I’ll say here!).
I didn’t want this novel to end. You Are Here is satisfyingly brilliant, and I’m thrilled that it’s as great to read as his other novels.
My rating: 5/5
Many thanks to the publisher, Sceptre, for providing a copy of this book on which I chose to write an honest review.