One Day
David Nicholls
“I can imagine you at forty,” she said, a hint of malice in her voice. “I can picture it right now.”
He smiled without opening his eyes. “Go on then.”
15th July 1988. Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways.
So where will they be on this one day next year?
And the year after that? And every year that follows?
Twenty years, two people, one day.
As with perhaps his most famous work to date, Starter for Ten, in One Day David Nicholls yet again succeeds in giving us flawed, essentially decent and very human characters that it’s impossible not to care about. In this case, it’s a ‘not quite Romeo and Juliet’ for our times: Dexter and Emma. One Day is their story, told on exactly the same date over a number of years. We see how they have changed, grown up (or not so much sometimes in Dexter’s case) and where their life has taken them on this same day each year.
This is a narrative technique that could well become wearing, but Nicholls really makes it work. As each year moves on, the reader sees how much or how little the two main characters’ lives have changed, and because Dex and Em are so well fleshed out and feel so very real (I would go so far as to say we all know, or all are a Dexter or an Emma) the missing months are easy to imagine, and where filling this in is necessary in the story for exposition, Nicholls never makes this seem clumsy.
I know that given how quickly I raced through this book, just how much I would hate for anything to be spoiled for me, so I won’t give too much away. The whole joy of reading this book is wondering what happens to the characters year after year. Dexter and Emma ‘get together’ on their last night of University. Dexter is a callow young man leading a seemingly charmed life, and Emma is a bright woman who is caustic to a fault, with a very self-deprecating set of barriers to defend herself against the world. Will they stay friends? Will they fall in love? Will they always be there for each other as the years march on? Once you’ve finished this book I bet you a fiver that every time you see someone reading this on the train you’ll take a look to see how far through they are, and how happy or sad they look.*
Whatever happens to these characters, whether you’re pleased for them, or feel like shouting at them through the pages to stop being so stupid, you’ll believe in it. I can’t think of any higher praise for One Day than it being one of those rare stories that you feel a genuine sense of loss when you finish reading and are no longer with the characters anymore.
Oh, and if you don’t cry by the end of the book you are made of stone.
* Disclaimer: I do not bet you a fiver. Please do not email me asking for a fiver.
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23 Comments
I LOVE this book. Definitely one of the best reads I’ve had in ages! I got to the really heart-wrenching part while sitting on a train so couldn’t cry. I did a bit of staring about, open-mouthed instead. The bloke sitting across from me thought I was insane.
Really beautiful story. It’s been made into a movie too – really can’t wait to see how they’ve handled it.
Haha- I was the same on the heart-wrenching bit. I just stared in shock for a while and re-read the page about 10 times!
Exactly the same thing happened to me! I was on the train home from work and I pretty much just slammed the book shut because I knew I’d start crying. I probably looked like a total mental. I was expecting to find this book OK, and I just fell in love with it.
Hi there! We absolutely LOVED the book here at handbag.com, but we were sceptical that the film adaptation would not live up, or that Anne Hathaway might fail to succeed in passing off as a convincing Emma. Her accent was rather questionable but we were pleasantly surprised! If you’d like to see our film review please do go to our website to see what we thought!
http://www.handbag.com/celebrity/entertainment/movie/one-day-movie-review-16082011
I loved this book so much- I want to read it again actually. Really hope the film does the book justice!
This was definitely the best book I read last year. I’m looking forward to the film but really hope they do the book justice.
I feel like I’m missing out by not having read this yet… I’ve heard loads about it and it sounds amazing! Definitely on my list of things to read. Preferably before the film comes out, so I can be one of those people like “oh it’s not a patch on the book, you know…” with a snooty look on my face.
LOVED this book, just completely absorbed myself in it. I identified with Emma’s early years far too much. I hope they don’t mess with it too much in the film, I don’t think I could stand it.
Argh I’m going to feel like a freak here but I absolutely hated this book. The characters felt contrived and one dimensional, the plot was dull, the ending predictable and some of the dialogue had me hiding behind my fingers in embarrassment it was so badly written. Please don’t hate me!! ;)
GET OUT! Heh. Only kidding. It’s interesting that you think the characters were contrived because I think the reason I loved this book is because they felt very real and genuine to me. Wouldn’t it be boring if we all agreed all the time though? It’s always good to have a healthy bit of dissent!
Hehe relieved not to be banned!! ;)
I was really interested to read your review just to see how differently the same book can be perceived. To be fair I’m aware my view is very much in the minority. I keep wondering what I was missing dammit!
I wasn’t wowed by it either, to be honest…
Interestingly I felt the book was well written, and in a way that anyone could relate to both the main characters (by leaving the rest of the year blank apart from one day meant you can use your own imagination to project onto them, making the bond between you and the character even stronger). However I did feel the ending was predictable, and guessed it (very accurately) as soon as Dexter was on the train to Paris. But having said this, it didnt make it any less sad when I got round to reading it, this is to the authors credit. :)
Ok, I finally read this (raced through it in two days, actually) and I LOVED IT, every single word. Amazing.
I’m so glad you liked it!
I’m currently reading this, loving it so far!
I cried.
I told you!
I feel sorry for my boyfriend, I was lying in bed reading whilst he was in the bathroom and I ACTUALLY shouted “OH MY GOD, NO WAY” and then burst into tears. He must have thought I was psychotic..
I bought this yesterday (as well as Room), and am very much looking forward to reading it!
I read this while I was lounging in the sun on holiday; it had my undivided attention, I was excited to immerse myself in the lives of Emma & Dexter, and I came away a bit disappointed.
Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was…okay, I just wasn’t wowed as I’d expected to be. As much as I was looking forward to reading this, I think perhaps it was a little too over-hyped, and in reality, it just couldn’t live up to that for me.
After reaching a good way through the book and not shedding a single tear, I began to question whether I was indeed the emotional wreck I’d always suspected, and perhaps I was made of stone instead. I cried a few tears at the “heart-wrenching” part, and a few more in the chapters which followed, but didn’t get the tear-fest I was envisaging.
Sorry, guys!
There are a limited amount of words you can describe with this book. It is simply moving, fuuny, emotional, clever, heart-wrenching and it really is a story that you clinge onto, a story that will always be remembered. Basically it is a modern classic.
While reading it, I simply loved it. The writing is flawless and the characters are so relatable and throughout the book you begin to feel that Dex and Em are actually your friends, friends you know well, friends that will always leave some sort of impact on you.
In and around the middle of the book I began to compare this story with that film ‘When Harry Met Sally’. It’s sort of similiar, male and female becoming best friends, you begin to wonder ‘when the hell are they gonna get it on FINALLY?’ I’ll admit that was what I was thinking while reading, but even though they were never romantically involved, only towards the end, they were soulmates, even when they weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend.
I’ll not ruin the end of the book for all those who have not yet finished, but it is a tear-fest, it rivals Titanic for me. I suppose the story of Dex and Em had to end this way but it’s still a heart-wrenching ending, and I genuinely fet for poor Dex. He’s been through enough.
This book is officially my favourite book ever, surpassing Wuthering Heights. I absolutely loved it and was completely absorbed into it.
I absolutely hated this book with a passion I normally reserve for tory politicians. I hated the characters – I’d never tire of slapping Dexter. And Emma is so passive, I wanted to give her a good shake and tell her to man up.
It was well written, but my dislike of the characters was such that I felt angry at having wasted so much time on it.
I did love the film though and felt the characters were much more likeable and believable than in the book. How often does THAT happen?