"You Are Here" by David Nicholls

I've never been a runner, but I do enjoy walking -- albeit I have been a bit of a couch potato in recent years (*cough!*).  And I think my increasingly creaky knees would rule out doing something like the Camino, or another such multi-day cross-country trek. Nevertheless, I admire those who do undertake such journeys, and I enjoy hearing about their adventures and seeing their photos. 

 

A cross-country walk from coast to coast through the English countryside forms the premise for "You Are Here," the most recent novel by David Nicholls. I've read and loved a couple of Nicholls's previous books: "One Day," back in 2011 (reviewed here -- we never did go to see the movie version with Anne Hathaway, and I haven't seen the newer version on Netflix either...), and  "Us," in May 2021 (reviewed here). (I also adored the TV adaptation, which I saw on PBS a few weeks later and wrote about here.)  Another title of his, "Sweet Sorrow," has long languished in my TBR pile. 

Geography teacher Michael, 42, is licking his wounds after his wife (Natasha) leaves him, and avoiding their empty home in York by taking increasingly longer solo walks in the English countryside.  By contrast, Marnie, 38, a freelance editor and proofreader, spends her time holed up in her small London apartment, increasingly isolated since the departure of her husband Neil and the pandemic lockdowns. All her friends are married and busy with their children. (Sound familiar?) 

Then both Marnie and Michael are invited by their mutual friend Cleo to accompany her, her teenaged son Anthony and a group of friends to hike a section of England's scenic Coast-to-Coast Walk. Michael agrees -- but plans to keep walking the entire 192 miles -- a journey that will take about 10 days to complete (and, coincidentally, will end close to where his ex-wife is now living).  And Marnie finds herself extending her own walking plans "just one more day" to continue walking with him... 

We can all guess the ultimate destination of this story -- that these two are destined to fall in love. But, as so often happens, it's not the destination but the journey itself that's important -- and there are some twists and turns and unexpected stumbles and disappointments and discoveries along the way.  

As a former corporate writer/editor, I'll admit I was secretly thrilled to learn that Marnie was an editor/proofreader (and some of her observations about the job made me laugh!). And as someone who never had the children she wanted, I appreciated that neither Marnie nor Michael had children either (also not by choice, as we eventually learn). This is one of those rare novels where we CNBCers see our stories clearly and sympathetically reflected. (Google tells me that Nicholls himself has two children.)    

Beyond being CNBC, it was nice to read a novel built around two middle-aged characters -- both bearing literal and figurative scars, but gradually awakening to the possibility of second chances and new possibilities. I loved learning more about the walk itself too. There was a cinematic quality to this book that made it very easy to picture... I'd love to see a movie version!  

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 on Goodreads. 

This was Book #21 read to date in 2024 (and Book #1 finished in July), bringing me to 47%  of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 1 book behind schedule to meet my goal. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."