Come and meet bestselling author DAVID NICHOLLS to talk about his new novel US, his previous books and his stellar writing career on Thurs 6 November, 9-10pm.

[TillyBookClub]

David Nicholls has an exceptional talent for observational comedy, and it is present on every page of his Booker Prize long-listed new novel, US. Just like his previous novels Starter for Ten and the phenomenally successful One Day, US is brilliantly detailed and beautifully structured. After 21 years, Douglas and Connie are at the end of their marriage. It was always an unlikely match: the biochemist with his Billy Joel records and the East End-dwelling artist. They embark on a European Grand Tour along with their teenage son Albie, in a last ditch attempt to be together as a family. As they criss-cross from Paris to Amsterdam, Munich to Venice, Douglas desperately hopes to win back the love of his wife and the respect of his son, whilst ruminating on art, science and the years gone by.

You can find out more on our book of the month page, where you can also apply for a signed free copy.

If you’re not lucky enough to bag one of the free books, you can always get your hardback or Kindle version here.

You can also find a full biography and a list of David’s favourite books and films at his website.

We are delighted that David will be joining us live to discuss US, his previous novels and his writing life on Thursday 6 November, 9-10pm. So please feel free to discuss the book here throughout the month, pop up any advance questions and we will see you all here, Thurs 6 November.

Just a very quick flagging up of hack mum's question from further up the thread - apologies if you're already onto it (and looking forward to hearing your reply re basing Douglas on yourself...surely not?)

hackmum Thu 30-Oct-14 18:59:34
I can't be here on the 6th (a school thing) but I guess one question I would ask is: did you intend for people's sympathies to switch between the characters, as I did? And also did you base Douglas a bit on you or are you a completely different sort of person?

sorry, crossed posts!

One thing I love about your books is the less than perfect endings. Is that something you do deliberately? Do you know where your books are going to end from the beginning?

Hi David - I really enjoyed Us and really loved all the characters. I thought it was interesting that Douglas said he found looking at Great Art was a chore and he didn't really know what he was looking at. This really rang true for me - I feel exactly the same and find myself saying 'ooh that's nice' and find myself looking at art that will go with the curtains! Are you like Douglas in this sense?

@SundayGirl79

Thanks Tilly. I still can't quite understand why I loved Douglas so much when reading the book, when in everyday life I'd find him intensely irritating. I think one thing was that whilst reading the book I found myself remembering things I'd done to my dad as a teenager and was gripped with guilt! Particularly during a family holiday in Europe with another family when I spent the whole time dissing/bitching about him. It's interesting that you say you haven't reached the teenage years yet with your kids -did you draw on experience of your own childhood and relationship with your parents?

Hm. This is a tricky one to answer. Yes, my kids are very small and so there's nothing personal there. And as a teenager I was nothing like Albie - I was far more conventional and dull. But like all teenagers I did try and create an image in opposition to them - arty, lefty, 'sensitive' - and I'm sure this must have wound them up.
But my father was nothing like Douglas, except that he was a very practical man, a working class guy, an engineer and mechanic, and very keen that I do a 'proper' job. So if I drew on anything, it's the way that 'culture' can sometimes be a barrier. We had a hard time for a while, and he died while I was writing the book (which is dedicated to him) so I think these thoughts and memories were in my head, even if I didn't draw on them directly.

Really enjoyed this book. Great webchat.

@MrsRedWhite214

One thing I love about your books is the less than perfect endings. Is that something you do deliberately? Do you know where your books are going to end from the beginning?

Thank you! yes, I do always know the endings. In fact I know pretty much everything that's going to happen, which isn't to say I'm not up for changes. For instance, in this case I was quite interested in the possibility of them getting back together in the end. But when I got there it just didn't seem possible.

@ShonaS4

Hi David - I really enjoyed Us and really loved all the characters. I thought it was interesting that Douglas said he found looking at Great Art was a chore and he didn't really know what he was looking at. This really rang true for me - I feel exactly the same and find myself saying 'ooh that's nice' and find myself looking at art that will go with the curtains! Are you like Douglas in this sense?

I find this SO interesting, because I love visiting galleries, love art, am not particularly thrown by modern or conceptual art, and yet, and yet...I jsut don' t feel as confident talking about it as I do discussing books or films. Perhaps it's education or upbringing, but I;ve definitely found myself 'faking it'. Doesn't everyone? Maybe not.

Also, like Douglas, I do wonder why walking around a gallery is SO exhausting.

Your post about the opportunities and differences on what works as a screenplay and what works as a novel was fascinating. Do you teach creative writing at all (although God knows where you'd find time, with all your projects and publicity tours and small children to boot)? Did you ever take a creative writing course, and what are your thoughts on that - can it really be taught?

Here's David, taking a brief break from his MN experience (yes that is a half drunk bottle of red in the background)

Can I ask how you felt about Connnie when writing about her? She didn't seem to appreciate what she had (obviously that was more Douglas and his lack of self confidence) and was quite disloyal ganging up on him with Albie. I wondered if she was almost leading him on at times and thought his friend in Italy was a really good thing for him. I didn't hate her but struggled to like her.

@Shaler

I loved "One Day" and enjoyed "Starter for Ten" and so was extremely eager to read "Us". Initially, however, I found it a little slow; I struggled to relate to Douglas's character but, as the novel progressed, I could not help but warm to him and cheer him on in his attempts to win back the affections of his wife and son.

Although bittersweet in it's frank exploration of the less romantic side of marriage and the difficulties of parenting, the novel also manages to amuse and delight, it's darker moments off-set by some truly comic moments and great one-liners. I soon found myself utterly absorbed and was truly moved by the events in Barcelona. As I read it, I sometimes wished I could see events from Connie's perspective and so enjoyed the section giving alternative points of view. Although I was continually surprised by how events unfolded and was never quite sure how things would turn out, the ending was perfect.

Thanks, Shaler, for the kind comments. Not sure if authors are ever meant to admit this kind of thing, but I think the book does get better as it goes along, once the situation has been 'set-up' and they're on their way. But very pleased you enjoyed it in the end.

@TillyBookClub

Evening everyone

Many thanks to those who have already posted messages and reviews - hope that you are all able to be here tonight and looking forward to hearing from many more of you over the next hour.

I'm absolutely thrilled and delighted to introduce our author this evening, the superbly talented David Nicholls.

David, thank you very, very much indeed for giving us your time tonight. And congratulations on your recent Man Booker Prize longlisting and your phenomenally successful books. We've already got a fair few questions to get through so I'll just add two standard Mumsnet ones that we like to ask all our authors...???

What childhood book most inspired you?

What would be the first piece of advice you would give to anyone attempting to write fiction???

Over to you...

Tilly, sorry for the delay. Childhood book - can I list a few? I loved Magic Faraway Tree, then Moomins, then Narnia, then Alice, then Dickens. Dickens was the big leap for me, particularly Great Expectations, which has influenced everything I've written.
Then Shakespeare, then Orwell, then Waugh and Greene, then Fitzgerald and Hardy. Then adulthood.

Advice. 1) read and read and read. Everything I've written has been stolen to some degree or another, and you never know what ideas will spark another idea. One Day came from a single paragraph in Tess of the D'Urbervilles, read twenty years before. You have to suck up as many books as possible. It's fuel.

2. get away from the internet, at least while you're writing your first draft. You wouldn't read with the telly on, so don't write with chatter in your head.

3. Watch stuff too. Films, TV drama - its all story and character.

4. Try rewriting by typing everything out from scratch. Don't edit on screen. Physically typing the words forces you to weight them up.

I'll come back with more if I can...

@hackmum

I rather liked the way our sympathies (or mine anyway) went from Douglas to Connie and back again. Of course you knew you were only getting his version of events but you could see why he often felt frustrated. As someone with an only child, I also understand the way that, when there's three of you, you invariably get an alliance of two people against the third. I could so sympathise with that!

Thanks, Hackmum. Yes, that alliance within a family is tricky isn't it? That sense of anxiety/disappointment that you sense in children when one parent is absent. It's terribly painful (not that I've ever experienced it, of course). And yes, I'm absolutely happy for the reader's sympathies to shift. Just as in real life.

@MrsRedWhite214

Can I ask how you felt about Connnie when writing about her? She didn't seem to appreciate what she had (obviously that was more Douglas and his lack of self confidence) and was quite disloyal ganging up on him with Albie. I wondered if she was almost leading him on at times and thought his friend in Italy was a really good thing for him. I didn't hate her but struggled to like her.

It's so interesting how different characters come across. I must confess to loving her, even more than Emma in One Day. She's tough, certainly, but she's smart and funny, sometimes selfish but undoubtedly under-appreciated by Douglas. She's like a tougher, sharper Emma without the self-rightousness and self-ptiy and I find it strange that not everyone feels the same.
But perhaps that's a good thing. We don't all like the same people in real life and I'm happy when that happens on the page too.
That said, Freja's probably a better match (and not so different from Connie...)

Thanks so much. This has been a really enjoyed reading this webchat. David I'd like to know what you have coming up next. Do you have another novel already on the go? More TV dramas? Would you consider writing the screenplay for Us - it would definitely make a great film.

I'd also like to know your favourite book of 2014? Do you allow yourself to read much when you're writing a novel?

@StillNoFuckingEyeDeer

Really enjoyed this book. Great webchat.

Thank you!

Hi David - How did you decide on the locations you chose to depict in "us"? An eclectic mix....

@SundayGirl79

Ooh, and one more (if I may) I wonder what you thought of the film of One Day? I was really disappointed but then didn't really expect it to live up to the book. That said my daughter (teenager) absolutely loved it. I much preferred The 7:39.

Well I wrote the script, and you're not the first fan of the book to say this. I'm sorry, of course, but it's such a rare occurrence when the book and film are equally loved (though they pulled it off with Gone Girl)

But in summary, I really like the film. I wish that I'd let someone else write it, as I think they'd have had a clearer head and been more ruthless/imaginative. And I really wish we were doing it now, instead of in the mad rush of post-publication. ANd I wish it was longer. We cut some lovely stuff, especially Emma's affair.

Ah well.

By the way, I meant to say go for it on writing a Tender is the Night book. You could always use a pseudonym, like JK Rowling/Galbraith...

You've inspired me to go and get my copy and read it all over again.

And I'm fascinated that the idea One Day came from Tess - thats one of my other favourites.

I'm beginning to sound like a groupie for miserable books...

ooh, totally forgot about the webchat and really meant to join in. Hope there's still time to get my question in.

Hi David, I loved One Day and Us. I feel nostalgic when I read your books, and love all the references (like the 90s telly in One Day and the bar where they meet up just like The Atlantic). You are so good at capturing what a particular time was like. Have you thought of doing a historical book set in the far past? Or did doing screenplays of classic books make you feel like you;d done that anyway?

Late to the party but just wanted to say thank you so much, I was lucky enough to receive a signed copy of Us and it was fab. At first, I was irritated, by the liberal use, of commas, but after a while I stopped noticing and just enjoyed the ride. Cross with Connie though. I think she could have Tried Harder tbh. Great book. Loved it!

@TillyBookClub

Your post about the opportunities and differences on what works as a screenplay and what works as a novel was fascinating. Do you teach creative writing at all (although God knows where you'd find time, with all your projects and publicity tours and small children to boot)? Did you ever take a creative writing course, and what are your thoughts on that - can it really be taught?

I sometimes do little talks, but not sure I'd be up to teaching. I'm learning as I go along, and would be wary of being prescriptive.
No, I didn't take a course, but I did write for TV which was an education in itself...
Not sure about the last one...Also aware of time. So - one more...

I absolutely loved One Day but as an author you must have found the extraordinary success of it both the stuff of dreams, of course, but also completely surreal. Can you talk a little bit about what it was like. Your publishers must have been in 7th heaven?

@Bookedup

Thanks so much. This has been a really enjoyed reading this webchat. David I'd like to know what you have coming up next. Do you have another novel already on the go? More TV dramas? Would you consider writing the screenplay for Us - it would definitely make a great film.

I'd also like to know your favourite book of 2014? Do you allow yourself to read much when you're writing a novel?

RUnning out of time, so in brief...

Another novel - I wish. I'd love to do more TV though. I loved doing The 7.39. But I'll let someone else do 'Us'. Next project will be Far From The Madding Crowd, which we've just edited and which I really love. Out next May...

I did enjoy the Booker winner, Narrow Road to the Deep North. But my favourite...let me think. I tend to read older fiction, for fear of influence anxiety.