Us by David Nicholls
About the Book
Us tells the story of Douglas Petersen, whose marriage of twenty-one years to Connie is almost over. When Autumn comes around, their son Albie will leave for university. Connie has decided to leave soon after.
But there's still the summer holidays to get through - a Grand Tour of Europe's major cities by train - and over the course of the journey, Douglas devises a plan to win back the love of his wife and repair his troubled relationship with his son. Forced to understand why his marriage is in tatters, he looks back to the beginning of their relationship and learns once again whom he fell in love with.
Us is the history of a family, recounted over the course of what may well be their final weeks together. It's a comedy about the demands of living together, about parenthood, about the relationship between reason and emotion, art and science, parents and children, middle-age and youth.
Meet the Author
David Nicholls has written four novels and is an experienced screen writer.
His debut novel Starter For Ten became one of the big hits of 2004. He adapted the book for the big screen in 2006, starring James McAvoy.
David's second novel The Understudy, published in 2005, drew on the years he spent acting.
His third novel, One Day, published in June 2009, sold 5 million copies around the world, and he adapted it for a cinema release in 2011 starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.
David recently wrote a highly acclaimed original drama for BBC One called The 7:39 and the forthcoming feature-film adaptation of Far From the Madding Crowd.
He's also adapted Much Ado About Nothing starring Billie Piper as part of a series of modern day Shakespeare plays for the BBC, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, and his dramatisation of Blake Morrison’s And When Did You Last See Your Father?, starring Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent, was released in 2007.
