Us

Us by David Nicholls

"I said I think our marriage has run its course. Douglas, I think I want to leave you".

Douglas Petersen is fifty-four years old. Son Albie leaves soon for college. The trials and tribulations of an enduring marriage are a distant memory. Long-awaited freedom to pursue hopes and dreams is a reality. Maybe that's why wife Connie's harsh, stinging words in the middle of the night are so upsetting. It's not supposed to be like this, not after all these years.

Douglas is a serious, straight-laced biochemist who somehow attracted the vibrant, spirited Connie twenty-five years ago. The novel examines the early romance between these characters, alternating chapters between past and present with a languid easy-going style. It sets the tone for the blossoming romance between two oddly matched people who manage to stay together despite their differences. He's never really connected to the creative, artistic Albie, always feeling like the outsider looking in on mother and son. Yet he is unwilling to forsake his family on a whim. Determined to fight and win, Douglas agrees to embark on an adventurous vacation with his fractured family, unsure what the future holds. It's one last attempt to resurrect a relationship hanging by a thread.

The "Grand Tour" planned for so long as a family vacation to exotic European locales, becomes the vehicle Douglas needs to win back the heart of a woman who probably was out of his league from the very beginning.  The escapades are amusing and thoroughly entertaining. A particularly harrowing experience in Amsterdam finally shows Douglas in a new light, one that surprises even himself. Is it too little too late?

From the same author who wrote  the successful One Day, Nicholls has an uncanny ability to tell a heartfelt story of a man who never quite believes he deserves success and happiness. In the end, the answers are quite clear. Emotions run high as you will laugh at the humor and cry at the pain of knowing when it's time to let go.