All the Hopeful Lovers

The second volume in Nicholson's loosely constructed trilogy of books based around lives and connections between people, this is still readable but lacking the punch of The Secret intensity of Everyday Life. It's well done, in a thinking man's Guy Bellamy sort of way, but the themes feel both at once familiar and a tad laboured this time around. Nicholson is good at getting under the skin of his character's frustrations, secret desires and hopes, but this one did seem to go on a bit, and some of the plot threads and connections were easy to spot or anticipate.Overall, enjoyable enough to pass the time, but nothing spectacular it must be said. The book covers on the current versions of Nicholson's novels hopelessly mis-sell the books as weak romances, from the soppy artwork and pointed questions about love and relationships. Yes, they are about those themes, but done in a much more subtle way than a first look would have you believe. As a result, one suspects the covers alone are putting off loads of readers (especially men), who would find these stories quite thought-provoking and enjoyable.

I have been looking for a new author with multiple books I would enjoy and have found him here. I love the characters of his fictional village and identify with their situations and struggles. I recognise the children as like my daughter and her friends. When I finished this book, I felt that I knew these characters and was not yet ready to leave them. Thus I bought all the others where they feature.It is something akin to Cold Feet on tv or perhaps other middle class, middle age dramas. But do not let that put you off. If you are middle class and middle aged and have had some knocks in life then these books can speak to your heart. These are my people. It is all very well done.

I read the prequel to this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. There are moments in 'All the Hopeful Lovers' where I found myself totally absorbed in the author's personal reflections on life and the meaning of love and sex. Yet at times I felt unwillingly shaken out of this reverie by dialogue that was far too similar for each character: at some point in the book almost every character exclaims 'Christ!', no matter what their age or sex. This is an editing oversight in my opinion. I never exclaim 'Christ!' nor do my friends, but my elderly mother does. It's a small detail, but one that began to annoy me. I wanted to like this book as much as the first, but I felt it didn't live up to my expectations. Despite this I still look forward to reading more of Nicholson's work in the future as I really like his generous personal philosophy.

I discovered a copy of Nicholson's 'The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life' on our bookshelf. I've no idea where it came from, someone probably gave it to us and it was filed under 'may read sometime...' At a loose end, I picked it up one day and couldn't put it down. Nicholson has the ability to capture thoughts and emotions that I know so very well - there are moments when he puts on paper a sentiment that I recognise as being my own. I bought 'All the Hopeful Lovers' (the sequel) immediately. It covers the lives of largely the same characters, eight years onwards and it continues in the same vein. It is simply crafted, almost like a screenplay (he wrote Gladiator, so it's not surprising) and yet, simple though it is in construction, it is touching and thought provoking. He joins my list of favourite modern novelists alongside Helen Dunmore, William Trevor and Penelope Lively.My only gripe? The hardback covers would lead you to think of these as frilly, vacuous, romantic novels. They're not and the books deserve a better representation.

I bought this book to keep me entertained whilst on holiday for those moments when you just have a little bit of a lounge around. I found that I could not put this book down! The story was so intriguing and so cleverly woven together it was always exciting when you made the next link.I have always loved William Nicholson books as a child with his Wind on Fire Trilogy and the Noman Warriors Trilogy. This was the first "grown up" book I have bought of his and it is fair to say I will buying a few more!

Starts really well picking up from the first novel but loses momentum about two thirds in. Very uneven; some beautiful passages and some ridiculous and cliched writing. Far too many characters and very little plot. Not as good as the first.

This is the second book in the trilogy. The people we met and got to know in the first book are older and some new characters are introduced. It's not a rip-roaring yarn with an exciting climax, so if that is what you like from a book then this is probably not for you. It is thoughtful and reflective with ordinary flawed humans negotiating relationships with other flawed human beings. I like the way William Nicholson thinks.

Although I don't usually like novels in contemporary setting, this author has so much insight into peoples' feelings about love and sex, it wouldn't matter what the setting was.His characters are never stereotypical; every one is a surprising yet convincing individual and their relationships are similarly different and set them and us on journeys of discovery.