"Us" by David Nicholls

"Us" by David Nicholls has been in my TBR pile for a while, but I moved it up when I heard that a TV version will begin showing on PBS on June 20th. :)  (Apparently it's also been shown on CBC TV here in Canada -- which I totally missed while I was watching stuff on PBS! -- and is also available on the CBC Gem streaming service.) 

I read and (mostly) loved Nicholls' earlier book "One Day" (and reviewed it on this blog, 10 years ago now -- eeek! -- we never did go to see the movie version...), and I have another title of his, "Sweet Sorrow," in my TBR pile. 

"Us" is a classic tale of midlife crisis: a long-married couple facing their empty nest and struggling with the question of what comes next. As the book opens, our narrator, Douglas, is drifting off to sleep when his wife of 25 years, Connie, announces that their marriage has "run its course" and she's thinking of leaving him, once their teenaged son, Albie, heads off to college in the fall.

"I just feel that as a unit, as husband and wife, we did it," she tells Douglas. "We did our best, we can move on, our work is done... I want to feel this is the beginning of something new, not the beginning of the end." 

Before Albie's departure -- and presumably Connie's -- the family agrees to spend the summer together on a "Grand Tour" of Europe, which Douglas views as an opportunity to keep his marriage together -- and to forge a better relationship with his uncommunicative son. The narrative shifts back and forth between past and present (and sometimes it's difficult to tell what time frame we're in, at least at first...), with Douglas remembering the arc of his relationship with Connie, as they drag a reluctant Albie around the museums and art galleries of the Continent. 

I've seen similar scenarios among couples we know, when family life (and especially the mom/wife's life) revolves completely around the children for 18+ years -- and then the children leave home, and the couple is left staring at each other and thinking "Who ARE you??" and realize they have absolutely nothing in common any more. Sometimes they stay together, albeit leading rather separate lives, sometimes they go their separate ways. (Sometimes, of course, they wind up adjusting to this new chapter in their lives just fine.)  

But this idea that children are the only reason for a marriage, the only reason for two people to stay together...?? (and then when they leave...??) That's not my idea of what marriage is (or should be) all about -- has never been, even when we were hoping for children.  And when Connie talks about dreading "the hole" that will be left by Albie's departure, I couldn't help but think, HEY, what about those of us who can't have children?  We've had to confront that hole -- learn to deal with it and how to fill it (or try to fill it), while she was busy enjoying 18 years of motherhood??  

Anyway, there's plenty of humour to go along with the angst. Douglas's "brief history of art" (chapter 39), for example, had me cracking up. He's a biochemist, with a practical view of the world; Connie has a background in art, and Albie wants to be a photographer. 

 

And, of course, there's an ALI angle lurking in the wings (as there so often is!). (Potential spoiler alert!):  Douglas & Connie had another child before Albie, a daughter named Jane, who died shortly after birth. This is mentioned by Douglas early in the book, almost as a throwaway as he introduces himself to readers -- but (as you might guess) it pops up again later... 

I enjoyed "Us." It's a little long (416 pages in paperback), but well-written and absorbing. The parts about Jane were bang-on accurate. It took me less time than I'd estimated I'd need to finish it. Douglas is a thoroughly decent fellow, albeit perhaps a little obtuse at times (as many men are...!). I was rooting for him to succeed. It's a bittersweet story that ends on a hopeful note, albeit perhaps not exactly the way you might think. 

A solid 4 stars on Goodreads, possibly 4 & 1/2.  

This was Book #26 read to date in 2021 (and Book #3 finished in May), bringing me to 72% of my 2021 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 36 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 13 books ahead of schedule. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2021 tagged as "2021 books."