Sweet Sorrow
On sale
6th August 2020
Price: £9.99
⭐ Now in paperback: David Nicholls’s new novel You Are Here ⭐
Sweet Sorrow: a novel of first love, set during a long, hot summer where life changes forever…
‘Fizzing’
GUARDIAN
‘A glorious escape’
FINANCIAL TIMES
‘Exquisite’
DAILY TELEGRAPH
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?
ONE OF BRITAIN’S MOST ACCLAIMED WRITERS
‘One of the most astute chroniclers of England as it is now’
FINANCIAL TIMES
‘An uncanny ability to make us laugh out loud, but also care passionately about his characters’
DAILY TELEGRAPH
‘Nicholls writes with such tender precision about love’
THE TIMES
‘No one else writes novels that are both relatable and revelatory in the way he does’
EVENING STANDARD
‘Genuinely brilliant’
NEW STATESMAN
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Reviews
A classic coming of age novel with universal truths teased out with remarkable perception
Funny, engaging and moving, another triumph from the brilliant David Nicholls
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
A superbly written, beautifully observed account of teenage life, love, family dysfunction and friendship, which builds to a stunningly poignant ending
A witty and tender evocation of young love
A devastatingly honest exploration of first love, razor-sharp reflections on friendship - oh, and some snort out loud funny moments
Delectable . . . Nicholls treats you to a satisfying glimpse into the future, where characters make a curtain call as adults . . . Bombshells abound
Interesting, moving, hilarious and sad at the same time
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
Funny and nostalgic tale of first love
A tale of first love that hits all the right notes . . . [it] just might be the sweetest book to brighten your late summer
It's just perfect in every way
A superbly written, beautifully observed account of teenage life, love, family dysfunction and friendship, which builds to a stunningly poignant ending
Adrian Mole meets The Swish Of The Curtain in this lovely coming-of-age romcom about acting and the class divide
Written with great comic panache and generosity of spirit, it is Nicholls' most mature and compelling novel so far
Nicholls perfectly captures the dizzying highs and lows of first 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
No other writer breaks my heart and then partially bandages it back together quite like Nicholls does. Sweet Sorrow is an absolute must-read
A glorious escape to the sunlit uplands of the 1990s, where a teenager first finds love
If ever there was an author perfect to take with you on holiday (so to speak), it's David Nicholls'
Interesting, moving, hilarious and sad at the same time
A funny, relatable coming-of-age story
Astutely observed, and almost painfully nostalgic, Sweet Sorrow reads like a true story
A classic coming of age novel with universal truths teased out with remarkable perception
A delicious, pensive summer read
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
No other writer breaks my heart and then partially bandages it back together quite like Nichollsdoes. Sweet Sorrow is an absolute must-read
Fizzing . . . a funny, affectionate exploration of first love
Sweet Sorrow is a funny, affectionate exploration of first love
David Nicholls [is] again on top form with Sweet Sorrow . . . a gorgeous tribute to young love . . . and it's got plenty of humour too
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
He's such a genius. His novels are relatable and recognisable, but also surprising, breath-taking and life-enhancing
Such a beautiful book. Captures perfectly a moment in time we've all experienced
Affirms once again Nicholls' talent for unearthing the special in the ordinary
Full of the joy and pain of first love, fans who fell for bestseller One Day, ten years ago, won't be disappointed
Eloquent . . . dazzles with wit and shrewd self-reflection
Nicholls' literary talents are impressive . . . the sense of nostalgia is visceral and intense, almost time-bending
This is Nicholls' talent - what really sets this story apart is the dialogue: funny, telling, laughter-inducing, he's hard to beat
Written with great comic panache and generosity of spirit, it is Nicholls' most mature and compelling novel so far
Heart-tugging and gently funny, Nicholls captures adolescent longing and adult wistfulness with perfect pitch.
Full of wisdom, poignancy and laughs
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
Nicholls perfectly captures the dizzying highs and lows of first love
If ever there was an author perfect to take with you on holiday (so to speak), it's David Nicholls
Capturing nostalgia for long endless summers as well as for the strangeness that is friendships among those cast together in a play . . . a beautiful coming of age story
Very funny and heart wrenchingly tender.
Piercingly observant, gloriously funny and achingly sad, this is David Nicholls' best book yet
A big-hearted book with wonderful set-pieces . . . beautifully funny and touching . . . his books always seem as fresh as they are wise and funny
No one else writes novels that are both relatable and revelatory in the way he does
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
I don't think anyone writing right now captures youth and adolescence better; I'm not sure anyone even gets close
A master of the bittersweet coming-of-age novel
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
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
Very funny and heart wrenchingly tender