A Song of Me & You by Mike Gayle

A Song of Me & You is the latest novel by Mike Gayle. I got into Mike Gayle a few years ago, with the stunning Half a World Away. Since then, I’ve read his other recent novels – All the Lonely People and The Museum of Ordinary People.

I saw Mike Gayle at Cheltenham Literature Festival last year. He was chatting to Jojo Moyes about their careers. They have both been writing for a long time, are good friends and write for a similar audience. I decided I would read both of their new novels when they came out in paperback. I read Jojo Moyes’ brilliantly entertaining Someone Else’s Shoes recently.

Helen is 45 years old and a part-time primary teacher, with two teenage kids. Her husband has just left her for a younger woman and her daughter will soon be going to university. The kids set off for a holiday with their dad and his new partner, and Helen is left on her own in an empty house.

But a knock at the door isn’t an ASOS delivery – it’s her teenage sweetheart. Helen and Ben split up when Helen went to university and their lives went in different directions. While Helen got married and became a teacher, Ben became the world’s biggest rock star. (I imagine Ben having Chris Martin levels of fame.)

Both of their lives are falling apart in different ways and Helen and Ben support each other through a tough time. But could there be more to their relationship than that? Could they take up again where they left off all those years ago?

I’m not really a romantic fiction fan, but I do read a small number of romantic fiction novels a year and I enjoyed A Song of Me & You. It has a few twists and turns and while generally a nice summer read, it does deal with some really tough issues too.

For me, it wasn’t quite as good as Half a World Away, but was definitely better than The Museum of Ordinary People. If you enjoy romantic fiction or are looking for a fairly easy read, I would recommend A Song of Me & You.