Nick Hornby’s latest novel, Just Like You, involves 22 year-old Joseph and 42 year-old Lucy. Recently separated from her alcoholic husband, Lucy is raising her two sons while working as English Department head at a nearby school. Joseph cobbles together various part-time jobs and still lives at home. When they meet at the butcher shop where Joseph works, Lucy asks him if he would babysit her boys. Chemistry and attraction is on both sides and they soon begin an affair. The obvious age difference complication is amplified because Joseph is African-American and Lucy is white. This is not just a book about a younger man and an older woman. While the clichés are not ignored, Hornby goes deeper to help the reader understand the true bond between them and how this can possibly be a deep relationship. I listened to the audio edition which I recommend.
Palisades Free Library Blog 