In all likelihood this summer’s big hit, and deservedly so, this enchanting and at times poignant debut novel by Guardian journalist Laura Barnett ticks all the boxes (and has already been swooped on by TV for adaptation as a mini series). Spanning the lives of a couple (and their friends, lovers and family) over several decades from Cambridge undergraduates to old age with an affection for the characters that drips off the page, we follow the subtle (and at times frustrating ) way insignificant moments can change the unfurling of a life and how happiness can sometimes depend on the smallest incident –a dog colliding or not with a cyclist- and the road of life can so easily bifurcate into alternate and often contradictory existences. A gentle book which will appeal to fans of David Nicholls and well beyond, in the way that a clever existential concept can illuminate the seesaw nature of people’s lives but still displays an endearing voice of its own. I loved it. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
#1 UK Bestseller "A joy." — Guardian "Enchanting." — People "Triumphant." — Sunday Telegraph"Stunningly crafted and constantly surprising . . . An utterly convincing love story about two people destined to be together somehow, no matter what." — Times "One Day meets Sliding Doors." — ElleA dazzling novel about the ways the smallest decisions give shape to our lives, The Versions of Us charts a relationship through three possible futures. Cambridge, 1958. Late for class, Eva Edelstein swerves to miss a dog and crashes her bike. Jim Taylor hurries to help her. In that brief moment, three outcomes are born for Eva and Jim. As the strands of their lives weave together and apart across the decades from college through wildly different successes and disappointments, seductions and betrayals, births and funerals, joys and sorrows, the only constant is the power of their connection. TheVersions of Us is a tour de force of storytelling. "Barnett renders an irresistible concept in sweet, cool prose — a bit like a choose-your-own-adventure book in which you don't have to choose." — Observer "One of the most engrossing novels either of us has read in years." —Richard Madeley, Richard and Judy Book Club "I simply adored this wonderful novel." — Jessie Burton, author of The Muse and The Miniaturist.
