title: Vince and Joy: A Novel
author:  Lisa Jewell 
description: Vince Mellon and Joy Downer meet as late-blooming teenagers on a beach vacation, and lose their virginity to one another, then reunite as adults kept apart by bad timing and miscommunication in the winning fourth novel by British bestseller Jewell (<I>A Friend of the Family; Thirtynothing</I>). The first misstep occurs when Joy's vacation is cut short, and the goodbye note (including her contact information) she leaves for Vince outside his window is rendered illegible by the elements. Seven years later, Vince's roommate's wandering cat finds its way to Joy's apartment, which miraculously happens to be around the corner. Too bad for Vince that Joy is about to get married, albeit to a man she isn't attracted to. The narrative takes flight at this point, as Jewell weaves a history of Vince and Joy settling for the wrong people&mdash;Vince has a child with a woman who cheats on him, Joy's marriage fails&mdash;before fate intervenes one last time. Jewell's lively prose and amusing observations ("They talked about sex like two dieters circling a pile of profiteroles") effortlessly guide the story toward a satisfying ending. <I>(Oct.)</I> <BR>Copyright &copy; Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  Lisa Jewell was born and raised in north London, where she lives with her
  husband and two daughters. Her first novel, Ralph’s Party, was the bestselling
  debut of 1999. She is also the author of Thirtynothing, One-Hit Wonder, Vince
  & Joy, A Friend of the Family and 31 Dream Street, all of which have been
  Sunday Times bestsellers.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ‘Full of heart and humour, this will move you to tears. An absolute must-read’
  
  
  
  
  
  Cosmopolitan
  
  
  ‘Not many books can claim to be an instant page-turner, but from the moment
  you read about nine-year-old Melody Browne’s house burning down … you won’t be
  able to tear yourself away .…You will want to keep the Kleenex to hand. But
  this is not just a sad, sorry tale. Ultimately, it’s life-affirming and
  uplifting, and Lisa Jewell writes the tale so beautifully that the words just
  dance off the page and sweep you up in a literary waltz. Quite possibly our
  favourite Jewell yet. A stunning effort – perfect for the holiday reading
  seas