You Are Here

David Nicholls

Average Rating 7/10 (1 Review)

Sometimes you need to get lost to find your way.

Marnie is stuck. Stuck working alone in her London flat, stuck battling the long afternoons and a life that often 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 they survive the journey?

A new love story by beloved bestseller David Nicholls, You Are Here is a novel of first encounters, second chances and finding the way home.

David Nicholls, You Are Here Number 1 Sunday Times bestseller May 2024.

'No one else writes novels that are both relatable and revelatory in the way he does.'

'Funny, emotional and beautiful... Nicholls is the king of creating well-drawn, flawed characters that resonate and tug on your heartstrings.'

Review by Ben Macnair (230924) Rating (7/10)

Review by Ben Macnair
Book Source: Not Known
Rating 7/10
We know we are with David Nicholls. Well drawn, well rounded, human characters meet, they get along, and then a series of small things happen, and then a bitter-sweet ending.

So it is with You are Here. Marnie and Michael are two souls, both going through messy relationship endings. Marnie works from home, Michael is a Geography teacher. Both are lonely, bimbling along in their own way, when they are both invited on a walk with over-bearing mutual friend Cleo, and two other people, Conrad and Tessa, and Cleo’s son, and Michael’s Godson.

Tessa, Michael’s match doesn’t turn up, and Conrad, Marnie’s date aren’t a great long-term match. When both Conrad and Cleo leave the walk, Marnie stays on for a day with Michael, one day becomes four as they become increasingly attracted, both looking for a deeper connection.

They learn more about each other, and Michael’s Geographical knowledge means that they never get lost.

This is not a book about sudden lust, or overwhelming desire. It is a book about anoraks, and thick socks, and unsuitable walking boots. It is about two people who should know better taking risks. It is about a woman who lives in London, but has no real friends, and a man who packs so light on a walking trip that he only takes one shirt, and has problems with it for the rest of the walk.

It is about all of the eccentrics that they meet along the way, the older couple and family they meet one day, when they are skinny dipping, and spend the next night in the pub, before seeing them one last, fatal time on a walk.

This is a book about life, love and the unexpected. It is a book about peace with the past, and failed relationships, and knowing that although they might want those partners back, moving on is the best thing to do. Michael has moved on from his now pregnant ex, whilst Marnie asks for, and gets the money back from her ex-husband, even though he now has a family to look after.

It is also a book about Michael meeting Tessa later and their three-month relationship, and it is about Marnie buying a shirt for Michael when he and his class visit London. The ending is bitter-sweet, but there is hope of something good for both of them in the future.
Ben Macnair (23rd September 2024)