Description

Book Synopsis

***Out now: David Nicholls''s new novel YOU ARE HERE***


A NOSTALGIC LOOK AT FIRST LOVE FROM BELOVED BESTSELLER DAVID NICHOLLS


A tragicomedy about the rocky path to adulthood and that one summer that changes your life forever


''A beautiful paean to young love''
OBSERVER

''Fizzing''
GUARDIAN

''A glorious escape to the sunlit uplands of the 1990s''
FINANCIAL TIMES

''Exquisite''
DAILY TELEGRAPH

''The sense of nostalgia is visceral and intense, almost time-bending''
SUNDAY TIMES

It''s summer 1997, school is over and Charlie Lewis''s life is in shambles. His family is breaking up, his father is falling apart and the long, empty holidays stretch ahead towards an uncertain future.

And then, quite by chance, Charlie meets Fran Fisher and it''s as if a new world has opened before him.

But can it last?

Trade Review
Very funny and heart wrenchingly tender * Grazia *
A beautiful paean to young love . . . Here he proves that he can still pull off that most rare and coveted of literary feats: a popular novel of serious merit, a bestseller that will also endure -- Alex Preston * Observer *
This is Nicholls' talent - what really sets this story apart is the dialogue: funny, telling, laughter-inducing, he's hard to beat * Stylist *
He's such a genius. His novels are relatable and recognisable, but also surprising, breath-taking and life-enhancing -- Nina Stibbe, author of LOVE, NINA
A classic coming of age novel with universal truths teased out with remarkable perception * Irish Times *
Affirms once again Nicholls' talent for unearthing the special in the ordinary * Metro *
Full of the joy and pain of first love, fans who fell for bestseller One Day, ten years ago, won't be disappointed * Sunday Mirror *
A big-hearted book with wonderful set-pieces . . . beautifully funny and touching . . . his books always seem as fresh as they are wise and funny * Literary Review *
I don't think anyone writing right now captures youth and adolescence better; I'm not sure anyone even gets close -- Jenny Colgan, author of THE LITTLE SHOP OF HAPPY-EVER-AFTER
Such a beautiful book. Captures perfectly a moment in time we've all experienced -- Graham Norton
Written with great comic panache and generosity of spirit, it is Nicholls' most mature and compelling novel so far * i paper *
Nicholls' literary talents are impressive . . . the sense of nostalgia is visceral and intense, almost time-bending * Sunday Times *
It's just perfect in every way -- Jill Mansell, author of SHOULD I TELL YOU?
Funny, engaging and moving, another triumph from the brilliant David Nicholls -- John Boyne, author of THE HEART'S INVISIBLE FURIES
A compassionate, intelligent look at the raw pain and loneliness of a teenage boy, the everyday miracle of first love and the perennial power of Shakespeare's language * Spectator *
Fizzing . . . a funny, affectionate exploration of first love * Guardian *
Astutely observed, and almost painfully nostalgic, Sweet Sorrow reads like a true story -- Clare Mackintosh, author of THE LAST PARTY
It's everything a story should be. Beautiful and clear and heartfelt, and it will do what all brilliant stories do: it will find the very pinpoint of who you are and it will stay there -- Joanna Cannon, author of WILL YOU READ THIS, PLEASE?
A master of the bittersweet coming-of-age novel * Herald *
Pitch perfect . . . Exquisite . . . Terrific . . . Very funny . . . Though Sweet Sorrow is certainly pulse-quickening enough to absorb readers through this summer's airport delays and rained-off beach days, it's no escapist fantasy. The tale of Charlie and Fran will linger long beyond your tan * Daily Telegraph *
Nicholls perfectly captures the dizzying highs and lows of first love * Daily Express *
Adrian Mole meets The Swish Of The Curtain in this lovely coming-of-age romcom about acting and the class divide * Daily Mail *
Full of wisdom, poignancy and laughs * Mail on Sunday *
Interesting, moving, hilarious and sad at the same time * Scotsman *
A funny, relatable coming-of-age story * Sun *
A superbly written, beautifully observed account of teenage life, love, family dysfunction and friendship, which builds to a stunningly poignant ending * Heat *
No one else writes novels that are both relatable and revelatory in the way he does -- Alex Peake-Tomkinson * Evening Standard *
A delicious, pensive summer read * Press Association *
Piercingly observant, gloriously funny and achingly sad, this is David Nicholls' best book yet * Daily Mirror *
Sweet Sorrow manages to be interesting, moving, hilarious and sad at the same time. I know when my heartstrings are being pulled, but tugged they assuredly were * Scotland on Sunday *
A glorious escape to the sunlit uplands of the 1990s, where a teenager first finds love * Financial Times *
Funny and nostalgic tale of first love * Sydney Morning Herald *
If ever there was an author perfect to take with you on holiday (so to speak), it's David Nicholls * Stella *
I'm not sure there has ever been a better book to read while by the sea. The nostalgia, the humour, the deep understanding of adolescent love and indeed the sorrow. It's such a brilliant book * i News *
A witty and tender evocation of young love -- Robert Webb * Guardian *
A devastatingly honest exploration of first love, razor-sharp reflections on friendship - oh, and some snort out loud funny moments -- George Aligiah * Guardian *
David Nicholls is that rarest of literary creatures: a genuinely brilliant, genuinely popular novelist. His latest, Sweet Sorrow, is more than just poignant and warm and funny. There are piercing apercus and writing that's both precise and poetic, lyrical and tough -- Stuart Maconie, Best Books of the Year * New Statesman *
Eloquent . . . dazzles with wit and shrewd self-reflection * People *
A tale of first love that hits all the right notes . . . [it] just might be the sweetest book to brighten your late summer * Washington Post *
Delectable . . . Nicholls treats you to a satisfying glimpse into the future, where characters make a curtain call as adults . . . Bombshells abound * New York Times Book Review *

Sweet Sorrow

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    £9.49

    Includes FREE delivery

    RRP £9.99 – you save £0.50 (5%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Wed 10 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by David Nicholls


      View other formats and editions of Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls

      Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
      Publication Date: 06/08/2020
      ISBN13: 9781444715422, 978-1444715422
      ISBN10: 1444715429
      Also in:
      Fiction Contemporary Fiction Non Fiction History Nostalgia: general

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      ***Out now: David Nicholls''s new novel YOU ARE HERE***


      A NOSTALGIC LOOK AT FIRST LOVE FROM BELOVED BESTSELLER DAVID NICHOLLS


      A tragicomedy about the rocky path to adulthood and that one summer that changes your life forever


      ''A beautiful paean to young love''
      OBSERVER

      ''Fizzing''
      GUARDIAN

      ''A glorious escape to the sunlit uplands of the 1990s''
      FINANCIAL TIMES

      ''Exquisite''
      DAILY TELEGRAPH

      ''The sense of nostalgia is visceral and intense, almost time-bending''
      SUNDAY TIMES

      It''s summer 1997, school is over and Charlie Lewis''s life is in shambles. His family is breaking up, his father is falling apart and the long, empty holidays stretch ahead towards an uncertain future.

      And then, quite by chance, Charlie meets Fran Fisher and it''s as if a new world has opened before him.

      But can it last?

      Trade Review
      Very funny and heart wrenchingly tender * Grazia *
      A beautiful paean to young love . . . Here he proves that he can still pull off that most rare and coveted of literary feats: a popular novel of serious merit, a bestseller that will also endure -- Alex Preston * Observer *
      This is Nicholls' talent - what really sets this story apart is the dialogue: funny, telling, laughter-inducing, he's hard to beat * Stylist *
      He's such a genius. His novels are relatable and recognisable, but also surprising, breath-taking and life-enhancing -- Nina Stibbe, author of LOVE, NINA
      A classic coming of age novel with universal truths teased out with remarkable perception * Irish Times *
      Affirms once again Nicholls' talent for unearthing the special in the ordinary * Metro *
      Full of the joy and pain of first love, fans who fell for bestseller One Day, ten years ago, won't be disappointed * Sunday Mirror *
      A big-hearted book with wonderful set-pieces . . . beautifully funny and touching . . . his books always seem as fresh as they are wise and funny * Literary Review *
      I don't think anyone writing right now captures youth and adolescence better; I'm not sure anyone even gets close -- Jenny Colgan, author of THE LITTLE SHOP OF HAPPY-EVER-AFTER
      Such a beautiful book. Captures perfectly a moment in time we've all experienced -- Graham Norton
      Written with great comic panache and generosity of spirit, it is Nicholls' most mature and compelling novel so far * i paper *
      Nicholls' literary talents are impressive . . . the sense of nostalgia is visceral and intense, almost time-bending * Sunday Times *
      It's just perfect in every way -- Jill Mansell, author of SHOULD I TELL YOU?
      Funny, engaging and moving, another triumph from the brilliant David Nicholls -- John Boyne, author of THE HEART'S INVISIBLE FURIES
      A compassionate, intelligent look at the raw pain and loneliness of a teenage boy, the everyday miracle of first love and the perennial power of Shakespeare's language * Spectator *
      Fizzing . . . a funny, affectionate exploration of first love * Guardian *
      Astutely observed, and almost painfully nostalgic, Sweet Sorrow reads like a true story -- Clare Mackintosh, author of THE LAST PARTY
      It's everything a story should be. Beautiful and clear and heartfelt, and it will do what all brilliant stories do: it will find the very pinpoint of who you are and it will stay there -- Joanna Cannon, author of WILL YOU READ THIS, PLEASE?
      A master of the bittersweet coming-of-age novel * Herald *
      Pitch perfect . . . Exquisite . . . Terrific . . . Very funny . . . Though Sweet Sorrow is certainly pulse-quickening enough to absorb readers through this summer's airport delays and rained-off beach days, it's no escapist fantasy. The tale of Charlie and Fran will linger long beyond your tan * Daily Telegraph *
      Nicholls perfectly captures the dizzying highs and lows of first love * Daily Express *
      Adrian Mole meets The Swish Of The Curtain in this lovely coming-of-age romcom about acting and the class divide * Daily Mail *
      Full of wisdom, poignancy and laughs * Mail on Sunday *
      Interesting, moving, hilarious and sad at the same time * Scotsman *
      A funny, relatable coming-of-age story * Sun *
      A superbly written, beautifully observed account of teenage life, love, family dysfunction and friendship, which builds to a stunningly poignant ending * Heat *
      No one else writes novels that are both relatable and revelatory in the way he does -- Alex Peake-Tomkinson * Evening Standard *
      A delicious, pensive summer read * Press Association *
      Piercingly observant, gloriously funny and achingly sad, this is David Nicholls' best book yet * Daily Mirror *
      Sweet Sorrow manages to be interesting, moving, hilarious and sad at the same time. I know when my heartstrings are being pulled, but tugged they assuredly were * Scotland on Sunday *
      A glorious escape to the sunlit uplands of the 1990s, where a teenager first finds love * Financial Times *
      Funny and nostalgic tale of first love * Sydney Morning Herald *
      If ever there was an author perfect to take with you on holiday (so to speak), it's David Nicholls * Stella *
      I'm not sure there has ever been a better book to read while by the sea. The nostalgia, the humour, the deep understanding of adolescent love and indeed the sorrow. It's such a brilliant book * i News *
      A witty and tender evocation of young love -- Robert Webb * Guardian *
      A devastatingly honest exploration of first love, razor-sharp reflections on friendship - oh, and some snort out loud funny moments -- George Aligiah * Guardian *
      David Nicholls is that rarest of literary creatures: a genuinely brilliant, genuinely popular novelist. His latest, Sweet Sorrow, is more than just poignant and warm and funny. There are piercing apercus and writing that's both precise and poetic, lyrical and tough -- Stuart Maconie, Best Books of the Year * New Statesman *
      Eloquent . . . dazzles with wit and shrewd self-reflection * People *
      A tale of first love that hits all the right notes . . . [it] just might be the sweetest book to brighten your late summer * Washington Post *
      Delectable . . . Nicholls treats you to a satisfying glimpse into the future, where characters make a curtain call as adults . . . Bombshells abound * New York Times Book Review *

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