The Versions of Us
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3.5 • 2 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
"Stunningly crafted and constantly surprising . . . An utterly convincing love story about two people destined to be together somehow, no matter what."—The Times
A 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. A #1 UK bestseller, The Versions of Us is a tour de force of storytelling.
"One Day meets Sliding Doors."—Elle
"I simply adored this wonderful novel."—Jessie Burton, New York Times bestselling author of The Miniaturist
"A joy."—The Guardian
"Enchanting."—People
"Imagines the delicious prospect of romantic do-overs, cleverly negotiating the tricky and often dizzying terrain of three versions of first love . . . A masterly romantic study of love's choices and consequences."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Triumphant."—The Sunday Telegraph
"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
"Reading this ambitious first novel is like putting together the pieces of a complex puzzle. The challenge pays off—only when the puzzle is complete can readers see the whole panoramic picture."—Library Journal
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British journalist Barnett's debut novel imagines the delicious prospect of romantic do-overs, cleverly negotiating the tricky and often dizzying terrain of three versions of first love. Eva and Jim first cross paths in 1958, and in "Version One," aspiring writer Eva's bike runs over a nail and law student Jim fixes it, with the pair falling instantly in love and marrying. In "Version Two," Eva's bike misses the nail, and she marries her actor boyfriend, David. "Version Three" starts similarly to the first version, but this time, Eva leaves Jim when she discovers she's pregnant with David's child. The stories and careers variously unfold across 50 years the "Version Two" Eva and Jim finally meet in 1963 in New York with parents aging, children growing up and moving on, spouses moving in and out, with Eva's writing and Jim's painting flourishing or withering depending on the version. The constants are love and death and the portraits of Eva that Jim has drawn. In the first version, Eva views the one portrait as a "version of her. His version, or the version she once offered him." In the second version, a 1977 triptych depicts "three couples. Three lives. Three possible versions," a reminder of Jim's declaration that "you were there with me all along." In the third version, the painting feels like something Jim had long ago forgotten. Barnett's evocative presentation is a masterly romantic study of love's choices and consequences, leaving wide open just what constitutes a perfect ending.
