ABOUT THE BOOK
Tom and Louise meet in the pub opposite their counsellor's
office ten minutes before their session is about to start. Their marriage is in
a state of crisis because Louise has been unfaithful, after a long period in
which Tom wasn't interested in having sex with her at all.
The plan in these ten minutes is to talk about the agenda for the session, ,
what they talked about last week, what they never talk about, and what is wrong
with the couple whose counselling slot immediately precedes their own. Frequently
they talk about things that are really not important to their difficulties but
which animate and provoke them anyway.
In this way, we learn about the history and the future of a marriage. Anyone
who has ever been in a relationship made more complicated by time, and
familiarity, will recognise themselves in this brilliantly funny comedy written
by one of our most beloved writers,one who captures relationships like few
others.
MY THOUGHTS
I
read somewhere that this book was written after the TV series of the same name
was produced, and that makes sense. Virtually all extraneous detail is removed
as the focus is directed on Tom and Louise and the dialogue between them.
In the 130-odd pages of the book, we get plenty of witty and biting and
sarcastic talk as Tom and Louise try to break through the issues they face
personally and within their marriage that has led them to marriage counselling.
The reason this gets 4 instead of 5 stars from me, is that I do think the TV
series brings this story to life. Chris O'Dowd and Rosamund Pike bring the
characters to life, and it's them and the location that were in my mind as I
read this book. I am not sure how invested I would be in this book if i had not
already seen the TV series.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick’s first book was a collection of critical essays on
American writers, entitled Contemporary American Fiction (1992).
Nick’s best-known books are the internationally bestselling
novels High Fidelity, About A Boy, How To Be Good, A Long Way Down and Juliet,
Naked. Nick’s non-fiction books include the football memoir Fever Pitch and The
Complete Polysyllabic Spree, a collection of Nick’s essays on books and culture.
He is also the author of Slam, which is vintage Hornby for teenagers.
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