One Day by David Nicholls
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Source: Purchased
Summary
It’s 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another. Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day—July 15th—of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself.
(Courtesy of Goodreads)
My Review
I’ve had a copy of One Day by David Nicholls sitting on my shelf for years, always meaning to get to it but for some reason, never picking it up. It wasn’t until I was going through my shelves in an attempt to do some New Years resolution cleaning that I finally decided to start reading it. As some background, I have been in a huge reading slump for the last few months and “One Day” was the book that finally got me out of it.
First let’s start with the major aspect of the book that sets it apart from more traditional stories. One Day takes place over the course of several year in the life of Emma and Dexter but what makes it different is that it only gives us a glimpse into their life by narrating the events of one day each year. Even though we only see their lives one day a year, Nicholls fantastic story-telling and characterization allows us to see how these characters grow and develop as people. I was so invested in their lives because they felt so realistic. I or one of my friends could have easily been Emma or Dexter. They are flawed, they make mistakes, and they are real people. There are times when I hated them and times when I loved them. Sometimes I wanted to slap them upside the head and tell them to get their life together and other times I just wanted to hold them and tell them everything was going to be okay. It takes a really good author to get you to truly empathize with a character and Nicholls was able to do just that.
When I finished the book I was sitting in my research lab, my experiment waiting for me in the background, and all I could think of was how much I loved the book, wishing it wasn’t over and yet satisfied with how it ended. It felt so true to life. I can already tell this will be a book I re-read again and again, and I feel like, as I get older, different aspects of the story will resonate with me.
First let’s start with the major aspect of the book that sets it apart from more traditional stories. One Day takes place over the course of several year in the life of Emma and Dexter but what makes it different is that it only gives us a glimpse into their life by narrating the events of one day each year. Even though we only see their lives one day a year, Nicholls fantastic story-telling and characterization allows us to see how these characters grow and develop as people. I was so invested in their lives because they felt so realistic. I or one of my friends could have easily been Emma or Dexter. They are flawed, they make mistakes, and they are real people. There are times when I hated them and times when I loved them. Sometimes I wanted to slap them upside the head and tell them to get their life together and other times I just wanted to hold them and tell them everything was going to be okay. It takes a really good author to get you to truly empathize with a character and Nicholls was able to do just that.
When I finished the book I was sitting in my research lab, my experiment waiting for me in the background, and all I could think of was how much I loved the book, wishing it wasn’t over and yet satisfied with how it ended. It felt so true to life. I can already tell this will be a book I re-read again and again, and I feel like, as I get older, different aspects of the story will resonate with me.
Happy reading!
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