Some memoirs tell a personal story. Others expose a wider problem. 2 + Banana = No by Craig R. Taylor does both, combining an unexpected international romance with sharp humor, emotional honesty, and a frustrating struggle against bureaucracy.
At the heart of the book is Craig’s relationship with Olya, a woman he first discovered through an online dating profile. Craig initially believed she lived in Leith, near Edinburgh. He imagined that they might exchange a few messages before meeting for a drink. Instead, he learned that Olya was living five time zones away in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Her daughter had created the profile in the hope that her mother might meet someone new.
That unexpected revelation could have ended the connection. Instead, it became the beginning of a remarkable journey.
Craig and Olya continued talking through messages and video calls. Their relationship grew through shared humor, openness, and the comfort of daily conversation. Eventually, they arranged to meet in Antalya, Türkiye, because direct travel between Russia and the United Kingdom was unavailable.
Their first meeting captures the memoir’s perfect balance of emotion and comedy. Craig waited anxiously at the airport without knowing which terminal Olya’s flight would use. After hours of searching the crowd and fearing that they had missed one another, Olya finally appeared behind him. The moment was deeply moving, but the confusion surrounding it also reflected a pattern that would follow them throughout their travels.
Readers will laugh at the missed directions, unfamiliar airports, improvised plans, and Craig’s attempts to keep up with Olya’s enthusiasm for walking. They will smile at the couple’s private jokes, small traditions, and ability to find amusement even when circumstances become chaotic.
However, beneath the humor lies a deeply emotional story.
Craig writes openly about surviving a heart attack, cancer, and a stroke, as well as divorce and financial uncertainty. Finding Olya gives him a renewed sense of happiness and possibility. Their relationship becomes proof that meaningful new beginnings can arrive at any stage of life.
Yet their marriage also leads them into their greatest challenge: a visa process that threatens to keep them apart.
According to Craig, the application was refused after financial balances from two accounts on different dates were treated as though they represented the same moment. With more than 35 years of experience in financial services, he immediately recognized the calculation as illogical. He compared it to adding two to a banana and somehow deciding that the answer was “no.”
The phrase is funny, but the consequences are painful. Craig and Olya face separation, deteriorating health, repeated correspondence, and the possibility of waiting 12 to 18 months for an appeal. Their experience raises uncomfortable questions about accountability and what happens when rigid processes matter more than the people affected by them.
That emotional contrast gives 2 + Banana = No its power. One moment may involve a travel disaster or playful misunderstanding, while the next reveals the exhaustion of two people fighting for the right to share a life.
Craig R. Taylor’s memoir will make readers laugh because life can be wonderfully absurd. It will make them cry because love and separation carry real emotional weight. Most importantly, it will make them question whether a system can truly be considered fair when nobody is willing to acknowledge an obvious mistake.
Today, Craig and Olya have now been apart for more than a year, despite expecting to have been living together in the UK for the past seven months. While they continue to wait for a resolution, they have arranged to meet for a two-week reunion in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where travel is possible without the restrictions and high seasonal costs they face elsewhere. Their hope remains simple: that someone will finally do the right thing and allow them to begin the life together they have fought so hard to build.
For readers who enjoy honest memoirs, second-chance romance, international adventures, and stories that challenge institutional failures, 2 + Banana = No is both entertaining and difficult to forget.
Order the paperback or Kindle edition on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Banana-No-Craig-R-Taylor/dp/B0H51R4964
Prefer listening? Get the audiobook here:
https://www.amazon.com/Audible-2-Banana-No/dp/B0H9BDYH38