FROM THE ARCHIVES!
Written by David Nicholls, this book was recommended to me YEARS ago by my friend Jas and I found a copy a few weeks ago on one of my Charity Shop hauls.
All I knew about the story, is that it follows the lives of two people, who meet in university, and the 18 years that follows, the cross overs and distances in their lives.
It was a slow burner for me initially; I found it difficult to get into. I'll put this down to the fact that the first portion of the book greatly features the culture of the early 90s which isn't something I ever brought into.
But I persevered and the hook for me was their expedition to Greece together. This was where my interest heightened.
As a side note, I've really started to see how much of a Travel Bug I'm becoming - mention a holiday to me and I'm listening!
Anyway, the book is written extremely cleverly. You dip in and out of their lives on an annual basis, on the same day - 15th July. This allows for the reader to see a snapshot, not the full story but an insight into how our characters lives have grown within the 12 months since our last visit.
It allows Nicholls the ability to imply events that have rocked or changed their lives, without worrying about going into too much detail; leaving a lot to us, the readers, imaginations.
I felt hopeful about two thirds into the book. I genuinely believed that this wouldn't end up being a love story. I crave the development where a male and female can just be friend. I have a stable circle of male friends with whom I share an extremely platonic relationship. But, a little disappointingly, the relationship does develop into what every one had guessed it to be.
The twist in the story is unexpected. Whilst it's sudden - it's executed beautifully which is allowed due to the format of the story itself. There is no dwelling on it, purely a memory 12 months last of what may have happened.
For me personally, the story in its entirety touched me. One of my oldest friends has been in my life for 26 years, we too drift in and out of each others lives, have periods of spending lots of time together and then we'll break off and not speak for a while. But like Dex and Em, we're always there for each other. Though it's very unlikely that there'll be a love story at the end of ours.
I'm yet to watch the film that is based on this story, but it on my list of things to do! It was a beautiful story and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Comments
Post a Comment