Laura Barnett

A RICHARD AND JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK AND NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER What if you had said yes . . . ? Eva and Jim are nineteen, and students at Cambridge, when their paths first cross in 1958. Jim is walking along a lane when a woman approaching him on a bicycle swerves to avoid a dog. What happens next will determine the rest of their lives. We follow three different versions of their future - together, and apart - as their love story takes on different incarnations and twists and turns to the conclusion in the present day. The Versions of Us is an outstanding debut novel about the choices we make and the different paths that our lives might follow. What if one small decision could change the rest of your life? Laura's Barnett's new book GREATEST HITS is available for pre-order now.

The Number One bestseller

The Versions of Us

Some moments can change your life for ever. Have you ever wondered, what if ...? A man is walking down a country lane. A woman, cycling towards him, swerves to avoid a dog. On that moment, their future hinges. There are three possible outcomes, three small decisions that could determine the rest of their life. Eva and Jim are nineteen and students at Cambridge when their paths first cross in 1958. And then there is David, Eva's then-lover, an ambitious actor who loves Eva deeply. The Versions of Us follows the three different courses their lives could take following this first meeting. Lives filled with love, betrayal, ambition but through it all is a deep connection that endures whatever fate might throw at them. The Versions of Us explores the idea that there are moments when our lives might have turned out differently, the tiny factors or decisions that could determine our fate, and the precarious nature of the foundations upon which we build our lives. It is also a story about the nature of love and how it grows, changes and evolves as we go through the vagaries of life.

The versions of us

Sian Wadey

My friend recommended this book a while ago and for a long time it's been sitting on my shelf. The concept of this book really grabbed me, the idea that one decision can alter the rest of your life. I often wonder what would have happened if I'd stayed in East Sussex or gone to university at the same time as my friends. 
The story (or rather, stories) centre around Eva and Jim. Who meet, or don't meet, in the 1950's. One specific incident is the pin point for the three versions of their life which are each engrossing and enthralling from the get-go. What was interesting to me was despite some events happening in one or two of the version, occasionally, one incident would occur in all three, demonstrating that despite the utter randomness of life, some things cannot be altered.
Eva is headstrong, likeable and a woman well beyond her years for the time period of this novel. Reading her trying to find the balance between home life and career is interesting and makes me thinks about the decisions I will have to take in the future.
Jim on the other hand, I was less fond of. Originally I warmed to him, but as the book continued I grew to dislike him more and more. He was selfish and had trouble keeping it in his pants. Even if this reunited him with Eva, I didn't particularly approve of the methods in which he got there.
The story covers quite a span of time and I didn't find this a problem. At the beginning of each chapter I had to double check what version we were on, especially as we drew further and further away from that initial moment. There were also lots of side characters that didn't need naming. I would have been perfectly happy with 'so and so's business partner' as opposed to another name I had to file away in my head. Keeping track of all the children was also a difficulty, especially as all their names began with similar letters. 
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more of Laura Barnett's work. It is worth a read, just for it's sheer originality and the questions it gives the reader as it passes through their lifespan.

Courtney Woolery

A beautiful journey from beginning to end that explores the curious nature of time and love and memory and how our tiniest choices can shape the rest of our lives. These are ideas I often ponder myself, so it was a pleasure to immerse myself in these separate and yet intertwined stories. What a wonderful debut novel from Barnett.

Kathryn Reyes

Just like waking up from a dream where your life was yours but ran another course. And, the day feels wrong and alien-like. Some things strike pain in you and others warmth. And, then you go to sleep again.

María Belén

The tittle tells it all. 

The Versions of Us is basically that: each chapter is some sort of short story in which almost everything but the characters change, different versions of the characters journey that are not entirely connected with one another.

The book has been compared to One Day and that's mainly why I chose to read it. But this is nothing at all like One Day which in my opinion is much better.

Anyway, it's not a bad book I just didn't enjoy it much.

Laura Friel

#1 UK Bestseller "Barnett's enchanting debut imagines three possible lives, three possible love stories--each with its unique joys and sorrows--demonstrating that life has no perfect path." --People "One of the most engrossing novels either of us has read in years." --Richard Madeley, the Richard and Judy Book Club A stunning 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 Lewis 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. TheVersions of Us is a tour de force of storytelling that will enthrall readers who loved One Day and Life After Life.

Abby Beatrice Quick

Pei Ting

Viktoria

Lucie Graham

Camilla Woodhouse

Beth Bond

samantha

Gabrielle Oxley

Jeanie Cha

Liam Byrne 

What if you had said yes . . . ? Eva and Jim are nineteen, and students at Cambridge, when their paths first cross in 1958. Jim is walking along a lane when a woman approaching him on a bicycle swerves to avoid a dog. What happens next will determine the rest of their lives. We follow three different versions of their future - together, and apart - as their love story takes on different incarnations and twists and turns to the conclusion in the present day. The Versions of Us is an outstanding debut novel about the choices we make and the different paths that our lives might follow. What if one small decision could change the rest of your life?

The Versions of Us The Number One bestseller

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