Book Review: You Are Here, by David Nicholls.
Not so much love in a cold climate but a rain soaked one. And then there’s the microwaved bacon and eggs, Stasi style landladies and the grimness of the Black Dog. Not the best adverts for accommodation on the Wainright inspired Coast to Coast walk in David Nicholls’ love story in anoraks and walking boots – even if they were fiction. At some stage everyone has had the experience of indifferent hosts, unfriendly pubs and ghastly breakfasts in B&Bs. In You Are Here all are condensed into a cross Pennines travelogue as Michael and Marnie slowly court each other in this very British romance. Wet socks, bad jokes and a celebration of middle-aged embarrassment and over cautious overtures to the opposite sex.
Recent singletons and nearly 40 somethings Marnie and Michael join a walking group in Cumbria organised by a friend as a sort of matchmaking hike. I knew Conrad wasn’t right for Marnie as soon as he had to mention the make of his car while Michael was handicapped by his instinctive habit of being a Geography teacher and constantly pointing out rocks, hills and lakes in the belief they were chat up lines.
It’s a very funny and neatly constructed novel and although it feels predictable Nicholls manages to add a few twists in the narrative to keep the reader guessing as to whether the soggy duo will ever get it together. Failed marriages, former partners who still haunt them, terrible music tastes and a near desperate desire to appear witty at all times makes for a hilarious read. There’s much sadness as well as the characters look back on their past and they come across a tragic incident when they meet fellow walkers on the moors. It’s also an evocation of the English countryside in all its moods from litter strewn footpaths to wild hills where the tracks turn to rivers as the rain pours down. Britain between St Bees and Robin Hood’s Bay may be mundane in places but it’s also gloriously beautiful as well – something not lost since the rambling route is an extra character in the novel.
Above all You Are Here is an affectionate and amusing account of how we talk to each other, think about what we are saying or doing to impress and reflecting moment to moment on social interactions – with added OS and Google Maps. Without them Michael and Marnie would be lost but instead they are peak ambassadors for the awkwardness of everyday middle class lost souls seeking love in the rain.
Harry Mottram
You Are Here is available from all good book shops and your local library. It was chosen earlier this year as the book of the month by the Axbridge Book Club.
David Nicholls has also written several best selling novels including One Day and Starter For Ten.