CULTURE EDITION ODE TO SOLITUDE F or the acclaimed romance writer David Nicholls, it’s been a big year. His 2009 novel One Day – a hit upon release – has gained another knowing what a post-Covid world would look like. I do want to avoid writing stuff set in the 80s or 90s in future.” The world landscape of love has also Ahead of his appearance at Cambridge Literary Festival, Miriam Balanescu sits down with best-selling novelist David Nicholls
changed. “In terms of internet dating and technology in modern relationships, I’m very aware that I’m getting on a bit now,” David chuckles. “There’s a lot of smart, brilliant writing about modern sexual politics and relationships. I don’t necessarily feel intimidated at the notion of writing about that, but I’m also wary of writing like a tourist.” Loneliness is a familiar theme in David’s work, however: “There’s a changing attitude to solitary life, which – at the same time – acknowledges how corrosive and alarming loneliness can sometimes feel. In many ways, we’re much more connected than we’ve ever been. I know that if there are moments where I feel lonely, I reach for social media. “Every time I log on to Instagram, everyone seems to be having a far, far better time than I am. That can add to that sense of isolation, of missing out and of life not being what it ought to be.” Despite a potential gap between David’s characters and today’s generation, the fresh popularity of One Day is evidence it still hits home. “We did talk about updating it to make it more ‘relevant to a modern viewership’, and it didn’t really work with the story,” he admits. “It’s a real thrill for me that it resonates, especially since my son is not far off the age of Dexter – a character in the novel. He’s just about to go to university, and sometimes as an outsider, his life seems so radically different from mine at 18.” Novels aside, David leads a prolific double life as a screenwriter, adapting Patrick Melrose and Far from the Madding Crowd . “It allows me to increase my range as a writer. I don’t think I could have written some of the darker aspects in Sweet Sorrow or Us without having spent some time with these other amazing writers.” On whether the mindfulness through nature impacted You Are Here , David states: “I’m wary of making too many great claims for it regarding mental health. I’ve been perfectly miserable in beautiful places.”
lease of life after the runaway success of the recent Netflix adaptation. His earlier novel Starter for Ten has taken the West End by storm as a brand-new musical. If that wasn’t enough, he has just added another novel, You Are Here , to his now six-strong stack. This latest work is a love letter to hiking in the English countryside – something which was once a Nicholls family pursuit, but is now a crucial part of his writing life. “There was a point where my kids decided they couldn’t bear it anymore, so I started to go by myself,” begins David. “Hiking makes it sound quite dramatic. I’m never really far from other people.” You Are Here pits a nature-hater (to the extent that they consider it an anti- aphrodisiac) against a lover of the great outdoors – obviously fated to fall for each other. David says his initial aim – after being accused of nostalgia by a harsh critic – was to root this novel in the present day. “I slightly bodged that,” he says of writing during lockdown. “I found that the modern world had immediately transformed into something that was unrecognisable. “I didn’t want to write a Covid novel, but at the same time there was no way of
14 OCTOBER 2024 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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