Wednesday, May 11, 2011

One Day by David Nicholls


How much does one day of the year show where we are in our lives? For Dexter and Emma, one day can tell us a lot. One Day follows them from year to year, checking in on them on July 15 - the date of their would be one night stand and university graduation. From there they go their semi-separate ways through jobs and other relationships, but they always end up back in each others' lives.

I was mostly intrigued to read this book because of the 'one day' hook, but as I was reading I started thinking less of it as a gimmick and more as just a part of the story. As they grew up and began their post-uni lives, their fortunes sometimes seesawed. Some years Dex was on top of the world and Emma was struggling; some years Emma was doing well while he was not doing so well. Some years I really wanted these two crazy kids to work it out; other years I just thought they were toxic for each other and decided the best thing for them would be to never see each other again. One Day's strength are these two characters, and they end up making the story funny, sad, and touching.

Find it at IndieBound.

Read it with:
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
The Understudy by David Nicholls
A Question of Attraction by David Nicholls
The Hours by Michael Cunningham

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