David Nicholls: "Netflix has brought a new generation of viewers to my book."

BarcelonaDavid Nicholls (Eastleigh, United Kingdom, 1966) is one of the writers with the greatest talent for romantic comedies. As of 2024, his biography included various audiovisual adaptations and five pleasant and excellent novels, such as One day (2009), Us(who aspired to the 2014 Booker) and A pain so sweet (2019), but then Netflix came along with Always the same day and redoubled the phenomenon that had already been One day. On top of that, it coincided with the release of their latest title, It's here (Empúries; translated by Laia Font Mateu), which the author has come to present for the first time for Sant Jordi. Now, this story—traditional and entertaining—stars a hyper-efficient, divorced, urban editor and a depressed, traumatized science teacher obsessed with walking. The journey they share will perhaps plant a seed.

Love is the protagonist of all your novels. Why?

— It seems very natural to me. I like writing about relationships; I like it when comical stories blur into darker themes. And it's a richly rich subject that readers can identify with and recognize their own experiences. Sometimes it's front and center, and sometimes it's a little more hidden; I also talk about family, social class, education, politics. But yes, there's always a love story; I haven't grown tired of this subject yet.

You've portrayed love at different stages. At 16, at 58, at 40—it's all the same, right?

— That's true. If the books were arranged in chronological order, it would be possible to conduct a kind of study of how love differs in different phases of life, the dilemmas it poses. Interesting.

Here it is about the possibility of love after great love, which is a less-discussed topic in literature. Don't we believe there can be many great loves?

— I try not to talk about my age and experiences—Marnie and Michael in the book are quite a bit younger than me—but it wasn't what I found. I mean, my first love, a long time ago, was something extraordinarily powerful, but it comes with all kinds of self-discovery: fear, the adult world, the anxiety of entering it. It has a touch of desperation. And It's here It speaks of a more pragmatic idea of love, more ambiguous and harder to describe. It's something that doesn't overwhelm us, that perhaps we like to think we can control. For me, it was very interesting to go fromA pain so sweet, which speaks of that experience of first love, which is almost manic and ridiculous, to speak of a love story that is much more cautious, sensitive, more self-aware.

In addition, in It's here It's love at second, third, or fourth sight...

— Yes, it's true, the characters aren't possessed by love, but rather make a series of decisions about whether it's something they want to pursue. I try not to steal stories from my friends, but I have many friends who are a little younger than me and who have reached a stage where they've found a way to live happily independent lives. And they're faced with the dilemma: do you disown this independence? Do you take the plunge, risk the turbulence, vulnerability, and potential pain that a relationship can cause at this point in your life, or do you continue on your own? I wanted to write a book that was somewhat ambivalent about relationships, especially in her case, which acknowledges the potential for being happy alone.

Has being happy without being in a relationship raised the bar?

— Absolutely. I don't want the love story to seem like a business transaction. Obviously, there's passion and many unexpected things, but it's also clear that there's a decision to be made. It's something you have to think about and you have to approach it slowly, carefully. It's a very rare experience. I wanted to write something that was very emotional and filled with love, but free from that idea of the overwhelming, uncontrollable sting of love.

Marnie and Michael have lost their desire to find another love. Partly out of convenience.

— Part of the motivation for writing the novel was realizing that, even though I've been in a relationship for a long time, I'm becoming more solitary as I get older. There's a very tempting aspect to letting go of the complexities of relationships and friendships. I also wanted to write about the value of communication, the rewards that simply talking to someone can bring.

The age of 40 is often associated with a midlife crisis. Here, the topic of parenthood and loneliness arise. Does work end up being a refuge for the unhappy?

— Yes, of course. Marnie has created a series of refuges for herself: the apartment she lives in, the books she reads, work, a very small circle of friends... I recognize the appeal of this, as a writer. I love the time I spend alone, I love the ability to control the time I read, the time I work, the time I do things on my own, but I think sometimes it's necessary to make an effort to socialize; it's worth it.

Does placing them in an extreme situation like a journey through the north of England prevent them from hiding, make them suffer, because there are no apps? Does it prevent them from pretending to be who they are?

— The latter for sure! I wanted to write a classic romantic comedy. If we think of dating, we think of restaurants, people sitting face to face, having dinner, and things going well or going badly. It's hard to escape the clichés of a romantic story. I also wanted to write a romantic comedy. road movie, a journey the characters undertake reluctantly. Besides, I walk, I really like walking alone, but when I walk with someone, I think the conversations take on a very particular tone, almost free-associative, almost a therapeutic quality. You start saying things you might not say under normal circumstances. The truth comes out.

All of your novels have ended up in film and television. In fact, you're also a screenwriter. Has audiovisual media changed your writing?

— I try to keep the style and core of the story the same. What I want is to make the most of the freedom a book gives you. When you write fiction, you can talk about memories, you can write metaphors and similes, you can jump between characters' perspectives, you can go crazy, you can digress all sorts, you don't have a budget, a running time, or even casts. When you write for the screen, none of this is possible. A screenplay is action and dialogue. I also recognize that, as I was a screenwriter before I was a novelist, there are a number of techniques I've learned very well: I love writing dialogue, I always plan the structure, I tend to write in three acts, and I tend to suffer when nothing happens, which is a typical screenwriter's anxiety.

He published his first novel at 37, which seems quite late.

— I think about that a lot. My twenties were a troubled and difficult time; I had no money and was always worried. I had a terrible time. I guess failing at what I'd chosen, which was to be an actor, gave me material, time to think, to observe, to read, and to try to do things without too much pressure because no one was really paying attention. So it was a time that was as valuable as it was unfortunate. I'm also not entirely sure what I would have written when I was 22; it wasn't fun at all. I don't think I would be the writer I am today if I'd started earlier. I don't want to get sentimental, because it was very hard, but I think there's a certain value in how I had to accept the lessons of failure, even if it sounds like a cliché.

He is somehow impressed by the new success ofOne day (Always the same day) on Netflix? Kim Kardashian recommending the series to her 364 million followers!

— Well, yes, it was extraordinary. Honestly, I'm very grateful for all of it. It's boosted my reputation in the United Kingdom and around the world. It's here It's my best-selling book in the UK, and I think that's mainly due to the Netflix series. As a writer, it's a dream to have this happen—not just to have your book adapted, but to have such a good adaptation. They found a way to involve me without me having too many decisions, and I've really enjoyed it. It's brought a whole new generation of viewers to the book, which is a fantastic privilege for a writer.

Maybe from now on he'll be "the author of the Netflix series"...

— I don't have any problem with it. Personally, I'm more proud of the books that came later; I think they're better written. But sometimes a story connects with people in a way that has nothing to do with your work, or the hours you put into it; it's like an ingredient you can't plan. You can only rejoice. When people say, "I love your book," I already know what book they're talking about.

How is the mass phenomenon of the series different from a literary phenomenon that was already extraordinary?

— I think younger readers find it strange to read a story that's actually about their parents. When they come to the presentations, it's very clear who the fans of the Netflix series are. I love that they come, but they suddenly make me feel very old. The beginning ofOne day It's as old for an 18-year-old as the early 1950s were for me. It was over 30 years ago—a long time ago! At the same time, I think there's a certain fascination with a pre-internet era, with the recognition of the power of friendship, which for me is as important as a love story, and also the admission that life is unpredictable and that sometimes we struggle to find our place in this world. I'm glad all these things still touch people.

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