Wednesday 29 July 2015

The Versions Of Us by Laura Barnett - Book Review

There has been a subdued silence on my blog recently, which I’m sorry for. I haven’t been ignoring you, I’ve been busy pursuing ideas outside of the blog, but still connected to my writing. Despite this, I feel the need to share a book with you that I have recently finished reading: The Versions Of Us by Laura Barnett.

Following the lives of Eva and Jim, the novel begins with one event, Eva riding her bicycle and almost colliding with a dog. What follows is an absorbing love story describing three possible outcomes of that event and how they change the course of the two characters’ lives.

Eva and Jim are nineteen when they meet, and both studying at Cambridge University. The three stories describe their lives from 1958 to the present day, recording their lives, their relationships, their families, their careers. The ‘constants’ are the characters of Eva and Jim, but each ‘version’ is completely different.

Each chapter is labelled as either Version One, Two or Three. Version One tells the story of Eva and Jim as a couple from when they met at the collision with the dog; in Version Two, Eva and Jim just miss eachother, lead separate lives, but cross paths at regular intervals, finally convening in old age. and Version Three, tells the story of Eva and Jim starting a relationship at University, before parting and meeting later in life and starting an affair together.

For me, each version was as enveloping as the previous. I felt the highs and the lows and I lived each version of their lives with them. The version that I connected with most, and the one that affected me the most, was Version Two, feeling the anticipation of their lives crossing and ultimately ending up together.

Surprisingly, this is Barnett’s first novel, but it reads like the work of a well-practiced veteran. I have rarely felt so connected to the characters in a novel, so much so that I felt disappointment at their failures, felt sadness at their loss, and victorious at their milestones. This was particularly applicable to Eva’s character who was written so well that I could relate to every aspect of her, but maybe that’s just because she was written similarly to myself.

I would, and have, recommended this book to every one of my fellow readers. Upon reading, you will feel included in the characters’ journey, wanting to take part in it up to the very last chapter, and beyond. I’m still feeling the book hangover now.