Sweet Sorrow by David Nicholls

☆☆☆☆
ebook, 365 pages
Expected publication: August 4th 2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Mariner Books
About the Book:
Now: On the verge of marriage and a fresh start, thirty-eight year old Charlie Lewis finds that he can’t stop thinking about the past, and the events of one particular summer. Then: Sixteen-year-old Charlie Lewis is the kind of boy you don’t remember in the school photograph. He’s failing his classes. At home he looks after his depressed father—when surely it should be the other way round—and if he thinks about the future at all, it is with a kind of dread. But when Fran Fisher bursts into his life and despite himself, Charlie begins to hope. In order to spend time with Fran, Charlie must take on a challenge that could lose him the respect of his friends and require him to become a different person. He must join the Company. And if the Company sounds like a cult, the truth is even more appalling: The price of hope, it seems, is Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet learned and performed in a theater troupe over the course of a summer. Now: Charlie can’t go the altar without coming to terms with his relationship with Fran, his friends, and his former self. Poignant, funny, enchanting, devastating, Sweet Sorrow is a tragicomedy about the rocky path to adulthood and the confusion of family life, a celebration of the reviving power of friendship and that brief, searing explosion of first love that can only be looked at directly after it has burned out.

What a wonderful book. The author's words made me laugh, smile, get angry and even cry through the whole thing. David Nicholls really made me feel every bit of what Charlie was going through during entire book. Fran really took Charlie on quite the journey in this story. With characters so well drawn you can picture them in your head. With heart and soul, love and heartbreak...what a delightful tale.

This book lifted my spirits and just I wanted to keep reading until I found out what would happen with Charlie. This book is warm, witty and wise. I loved the humanity expressed throughout. The characters were rich, tender, relatable. This novel is a delightful invitation to rethink decisions and relationships while still enjoying the journey of living. The author recognizes that while the past anchors the present, it should not weigh it down. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The characters were fascinating. Such an entertaining read - I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Mariner Books and David Nicholls for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#SweetSorrow #NetGalley