"Sweet Sorrow" - Book Review -

 

“Sweet Sorrow”

Written by David Nicholls

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

As a fan of David Nicholl’s previous work, Us and One Day, I found myself drawn to his new coming-of-age tale that reminds us of childhood, first love, and lost love. We are introduced to the main character, our narrator, Charlie Lewis. As Charlie is preparing to marry his fiancé, Niamh, he looks back on one summer, when he fell in love with his first girlfriend, Fran Fisher. Before her, Charlie felt scared of the future and tired of taking care of his lazy and angry father. Now that he has met Fran, he feels alive again.

 

Charlie spends nearly all of the novel doting on this one summer. Nicholls has a very dream-like yet realistic way of telling his stories, in a way that feels easy to read in a calming way. Through Charlie’s eyes, we’re reminded of our nostalgia for our childhood and teen years, while being able to relate to his bumbling and goofy actions and personality. Additionally, his time spent with his friend group is fun but a little exhausting. I found his summer in the wacky theater group to be a bit chore-like after chapters upon chapters of it.

 

 I enjoyed all of Charlie’s memories, but I do feel disappointed with the novel. Based on the premise, I had hoped that we would travel back and forth, have Charlie ponder his future with Niamh, while he looks back on the past with a different wisdom and hindsight. When I realized we were not going to focus on adult Charlie, I was unhappy. I feel that when we readers pick up a book that includes a coming-of-age story, we hope to see where the character is now. Is he better off that he and Fran broke up? As an adult, does he long to be with Fran again? I felt there was no central conflict, which made me lose my appreciation for the story.

 

I recommend this for readers who enjoy the idea of the premise but may overlook the execution. I would much rather recommend his other works that I have read. I believe I went into this book hoping for a book similar to Ian McEwan’s, where I would feel heartbroken for these characters, who have pined for so long, to only have to stay with the person they’re with, as they wonder forever what could have been. I love a ‘the one that got away’ storyline. I still enjoyed my reading experience, but it just was not what I was looking for.

 

I received an advance copy through the BookishFirst program to read and review. Thank you.