Us - by David Nicholls (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published in hardcover in 2014 by Harper.

Book Synopsis

Now a PBS Masterpiece television miniseries starring Tom Hollander and Saskia Reeves

"I loved this book. Funny, sad, tender: for anyone who wants to know what happens after the Happy Ever After." -- Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You

David Nicholls brings the wit and intelligence that graced his New York Times bestseller, One Day, to a compellingly human, deftly funny novel about what holds marriages and families together--and what happens, and what we learn about ourselves, when everything threatens to fall apart.

Douglas Petersen may be mild-mannered, but behind his reserve lies a sense of humor that, against all odds, seduces beautiful Connie into a second date . . . and eventually into marriage. Now, almost three decades after their relationship first blossomed in London, they live more or less happily in the suburbs with their moody seventeen year-old son, Albie. Then Connie tells him she thinks she wants a divorce.

The timing couldn't be worse. Hoping to encourage her son's artistic interests, Connie has planned a month-long tour of European capitals, a chance to experience the world's greatest works of art as a family, and she can't bring herself to cancel. And maybe going ahead with the original plan is for the best anyway? Douglas is privately convinced that this landmark trip will rekindle the romance in the marriage, and might even help him to bond with Albie.

Narrated from Douglas's endearingly honest, slyly witty, and at times achingly optimistic point of view, Us is the story of a man trying to rescue his relationship with the woman he loves, and learning how to get closer to a son who's always felt like a stranger. It is a moving meditation on the demands of marriage and parenthood, the regrets of abandoning youth for middle age, and the intricate relationship between the heart and the head.

From the Back Cover

Douglas Petersen may be mild mannered, but behind his reserve lies a sense of humor that, against all odds, seduces beautiful Connie into a second date . . . and eventually into marriage. Now, almost three decades after their relationship first blossomed in London, they live more or less happily in the suburbs with their moody seventeen-year-old son, Albie.

Then Connie tells Douglas that she thinks she wants a divorce.

The timing couldn't be worse. Hoping to encourage her son's artistic interests, Connie has planned a monthlong tour of European capitals, a chance to experience the world's greatest works of art as a family, and she can't bring herself to cancel. Douglas is privately convinced that this landmark trip will rekindle the romance in the marriage, and may even help him to bond with Albie.

From the streets of Amsterdam to the famed museums of Paris, from the cafés of Venice to the beaches of Barcelona, Douglas's odyssey brings Europe to vivid life just as he experiences a powerful awakening of his own. Will this summer be his last as a husband, or the moment when he turns his marriage, and maybe even his whole life, around?

Review Quotes

"I loved this book. Funny, sad, tender: for anyone who wants to know what happens after the Happy Ever After." - Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You and One Plus One
"Wonderful. A novel that manages to be both truly hilarious and deeply affecting. I loved it." - S.J. Watson, New York Times bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep
"A smartly optimistic romantic comedy that uses angst and humor to illuminate the resilience of the human heart." - Oprah.com, "Paperbacks that Dazzle"
"What happens when domestic bliss becomes rote? Is the past strong enough to bind us together when it happens? Nicholls' answer is complicated, poignant, wise--and disarmingly human." - Miami Herald
"But for all of their burdens and battles, Douglas and Connie have moments of real joy in their marriage and while it doesn't always seem like a pleasure, reading about it sure is." - Time magazine
"Anyone who has read David Nicholls's megaselling novel, One Day, knows that he doesn't exactly shy away from sentimental terrain. Yet he has shown that his sensibility is darker than you might expect. In his latest...Mr. Nicholls again deals with love lost and possibly found, offering an unpredictable (and less grim) ending.... Mr. Nicholls mines the setup for laughs, as he should, but he also provides a poignant story of regret in middle age." - New York Times
"In his latest...Mr. Nicholls again deals with love lost and possibly found, offering an unpredictable (and less grim) ending.... Mr. Nicholls mines the setup for laughs, as he should, but he also provides a poignant story of regret in middle age." - New York Times
"A great novel...Nicholls is a master of nuanced relationships. He's also a pro at delivering a tight, clever structural narrative, as he proved in his terrific previous novel One Day." - Entertainment Weekly
"David Nicholls's latest... is a smartly optimistic romantic comedy that uses angst and humor to illuminate the resilience of the human heart.... Part requiem, part reboot, Douglas's endearingly inept efforts to preserve his disintegrating family take him on another kind of journey, too, from despair to unexpected joy." - Oprah.com
"It's a great combination of laughs and heart...Just what you need on these too-short days, no?" - Sophie Kinsella, Redbook
"Nicholls brings his trademark wit and wisdom to this by turns hilarious and heartbreaking examination of a long-term marriage.... This tender novel will further cement Nicholls' reputation as a master of romantic comedy." - Booklist (starred review)
"Liked One Day? Then you'll find this absolutely fabulous.... Very funny and very moving, often at the same time." - Daily Mail (London)
"Nicholls is a deft craftsman, a skilled storyteller and a keen observer of contemporary mores." - Jay McInerney, New York Times Book Review
"Complex family drama...perfect read for the holidays!" - Huffington Post, Top 10 Books to Read This Winter
"Us is a quick read but a charming one; a portrait of two journeys--one measured in kilometers, the other in the heart." - Seattle Times
"A smartly optimistic romantic comedy that uses angst and humor to illuminate the resilience of the human heart... Part requiem, part reboot, Douglas's...efforts to preserve his disintegrating family take him on another kind of journey, too, from despair to unexpected joy." - O Magazine, November 2014
"The Petersen family travels through Europe with more emotional baggage than luggage in Nicholls's winning follow-up to his 2009 bestseller One Day....Few authors do messed-up relationships better than Nicholls." - People, Book of the Week
"This is the sort of witty book that guys should read the moment their partners say, 'I'm pregnant!'... Like Emma Straub's The Vacationers, which came out earlier this year, Us is the story of a fractured family going on a trip...I found myself laughing...through many of these antics....Us evolves into a poignant consideration of how a marriage ages, how parents mess up and what survives despite all those challenges." - Washington Post
"Nicholls is a delightfully funny writer...and this over-planned vacation makes ripe material for comedy...Us evolves into a poignant consideration of how a marriage ages, how parents mess up and what survives despite all those challenges." - Washington Post
"A thoughtful, funny, authentic story about love--between a young couple, between a man and a woman long into their marriage and between a father and a son...Pitch-perfect dialogue and seamless action propel the story forward in a way that feels cinematic. Us begins as a sweet read, but evolves into an examination of love's complexities--the battle between the heart and the brain or, as Douglas explains it, 'sensibility versus sense.' This is the kind of book that reminds us what it means to be alive. How often does a reader get to feel that?" - Good Housekeeping
"A thoughtful, funny, authentic story...Pitch-perfect dialogue and seamless action propel the story forward in a way that feels cinematic....This is the kind of book that reminds us what it means to be alive. How often does a reader get to feel that?" - Good Housekeeping
"From the author of One Day--which was infinitely better than the movie--comes a pathos-laden love story about marriage on the brink of collapse." - Entertainment Weekly, "A Dozen Books We're Dying to Read This Fall."
"Nicholls is a master of the braided narrative, weaving the past and present to create an intricate whole.... A funny and moving novel." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"In his picaresque fourth novel, Nicholls artfully unveils 25 years of a couple's relationship...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.... 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." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The bestselling author of One Day...is back with another crowd-pleaser, this time about a man trying to save his collapsing marriage and connect with his teenage son during a family tour of Europe." - People, Best Books of the Fall (2014)
"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." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"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." - Library Journal (starred review)