You Are Here is a delightful read.
Marnie, a self-admitted recluse and lonely, allows herself to be persuaded by her friend Chloe to go on a short walking holiday with a group of Chloe’s friends. Geography teacher Michael, still in love with his ex-wife and also a loner, is among them. Circumstances result in Marnie and Michael doing most of the walk by themselves. Through rain and sun, in ghastly pubs and luxury accommodation, they gradually open up to each other. Except one of them is holding something – something rather important – back.
Two brilliantly flawed, not to say gauche, protagonists. Marnie can behave childishly for her 38 years, and Michael’s social awkwardness is cringeworthy. But both are lovable and you want it to work.
As a walker, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey descriptions and the little maps showing their progress. I also loved the occasional laugh out loud moments like this: On the bed she laid out the most glamourous of her three dresses, one arm kinked at the elbow, shoes on the floor, to gauge how she might look if surprised by a steam roller on the way to a date.
I can see why this has been such a success – well worth reading.
Find You Are Here here