The Versions of Us
In 1958 England, Eva, a talented writer, and Jim, a gifted painter, are strangers. When a nail (or a rock or a dog) stops Eva’s bike in Jim’s path, their eyes meet and—well, you know the feeling. But Eva is involved with David, so she has to make a decision.
Eva has three choices with three possible outcomes. Each version of Eva’s story, which takes place between 1958 and 2007, is told in alternating chapters. In Version I, Eva stays, she and Jim fall in love and, eventually, marry. Eva’s career is a success but Jim’s is not. In Version II, Eva is pregnant, she marries David and takes a back seat to his career. In Version III, Eva marries David, and years go by before she reconnects with Jim. Friends and family members appear and reappear with different roles, and the normal events of life—births, deaths, weddings, funerals—provide continuity.
You could read one version at a time, start to finish; but you’d spoil the surprises and eliminate suspense. Save that for a second reading—you will want one! Barnett has created wonderful characters like Eva, who believes (or remembers or knows) that life with Jim is better than life apart, no matter how late or how difficult it is to achieve. And Jim, who asks Eva, “What would my life have been without you?” and already knows the answer.
A love story in which enduring love, not sex or money or angst, shapes people’s lives is as rare as a unicorn. The Versions of Us is highly recommended for anyone who is, has been, or wants to be in love.
