One Day (Vintage Contemporaries)

Just finished reading “one day” a novel written by David Nicholls.The novel is a great (and also short 🙄) read. I liked how the author skipped a year in each chapter, giving the opportunity to fill the gaps with imagination.Furthermore, the novel makes you want to stop and think about all the people you have met, and find the person who has stepped up and treated you right. And then when you do, you'd better hold tight to that person because people like that are rare, as one of the main characters put it, 'one in a million'.It's definitely a book worth reading 👏🏻

WARNING- THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, so if you haven't yet read the book or seen the movie, don't read beyond this first paragraph. This is a long, impressionistic review, prompted by discussions of the book with others, possibly of interest to those who've already read it. This book has stuck with me, made me think much about relationships, both ill-fated and "meant to be." It raises myriad issues about love and life, I recommend it. Note that text-to-speech is not enabled if you like to listen to kindle books.I haven't yet had a chance to read other reviews, so forgive redundancies. I found the change in tense a little jarring at times. And, it's an English book. Though fairly familiar with the vernacular and culture, there were still lots of references I didn't have a clue about. Most I could figure out from the context, but I don't know what Americans will think, how jarring they'll find it. Another quibble: he telegraphed in neon about two pages ahead that someone was about to die. It didn't prevent me from being affected when the moment arrived, but it would have been more powerful, affecting, had he not done this.I concluded that Emma was appealing to Dex because she was steady and honest, not exploitative or out to get anything from him, and accepting of him the way he was. But WHY was she so accepting of him, and why did she find HIM so appealing? Yes, she lacked self-confidence. She does draw the line when he's at his worst, rejects him, but she still longs for him.Another thing I noticed was that Emma consistently broke it off with the people she was involved with, and left jobs despite being wanted, while Dex, on the other hand, was the one that got dumped by lovers, employers, basically everybody. It seems too simple to say that it was just because he was a drunk. I got the feeling I came to understand Emma's character better than Dex's. Was he shallow? Promiscuous? Commitment phobic? Self-destructive? Yes, but was it that simple? I often wonder what authors have in mind, e.g., slow and steady wins the race, vs. burning out quick, setting sights too high (whereas Emma initally set her sights too low)? Maybe all of the above. Then there were class issues. And family issues. Was he spoiled by his beautiful mother? There were only hints on issues of class and family relationships. I would've liked to have learned more.What I drew from the book is that sometimes people are drawn to each other, have a spark between them, for reasons no-one can quite figure out. Leastwise I didn't see it, if it was there in the text. They met at a magical, "starting off" point- life now begins, perhaps that imbued their brief early contact with added meaning.For the first few chapters I found myself rooting for them to get together, but that evolved into just wanting to see them each prevail, succeed, find happiness. I often wonder how much you bring to a book, and how much is by the author's design. But both characters' stories were involving, compelling.I loved the details about life, what happens while you're busy making other plans. There were many keen insights, for example, regarding people's ambivalence about things, about each other. Like Dex's love and wonder over his new daughter, yet annoyance, resentment at having to feed her, entertain her. There were some hilarious, laugh-out-loud parts, like when Emma warns a valet about her car's "quirks."I found the book absorbing and thought-provoking. The author provided many insightful analyses of lousy relationships, contrasted with a few glimpses of relaxed bliss between Dex and Emma. Would they have grown bored with each other? Neither had a good track record on that score. But we'll never know if they would've stayed together, lived happily ever after. Damn.I don't know if the author intentionally inserted red herrings to ultimately surprise, or if he was saying "things seem one way, but they're actually another," despite appearances, or both. For example, there was little reason for him to go into the detail about Sylvie (spelling?) regretting having left Dex, resenting Emma, suggesting that they might reconcile later. But that doesn't happen.Throughout the book there's this underlying theme, press, that they're meant to be together, the parents and friends think so, approve, seem to expect it, like it was destined to be. Then it finally happens, but apparently it was NOT destined to be. Unless the point was ultimately to make Dex become a better person. Of course, perhaps there was no point, no destiny involved, just mistaken human attributions of such. The author did a good job too of showing that people adapt to WHATEVER happens.I know it's trite, but I would've found it more satisfying if they'd either lived happily ever after, or better still, found that their longing for each other had been based on quicksand, petered out, and then one or both of them found TRUE love. I would have liked it if Dex had reconciled with Sylvie, both of them now older and wiser and more appreciative of each other.This book communicated such strong feelings, for example, regret over missed opportunities. They each kept wanting to call and make contact, kept thinking of each other, but allowed themselves to be distracted by other things, sidetracked by self-doubt in particular. Then when they'd overcome the doubt and call anyway, they'd just miss the other one. Of course the reader is privy to the thought processes of both, so we know they are each thinking of the other, but sadly, mostly out of sync.I was affected by the sense of urgency (spanning youth thru middle age), seeming powerlessness over circumstances, pessimism or hopelessness, futility, regret. Life is full of such moments. I thought the author captured the shock of aging well. Was the ending satisfying? I couldn't help but compare it to the wonderful British TV show as "As Time Goes By," which I found more satisfying (sorry- knee-jerk longing for happy endings).Was the book memorable, thought-provoking? YES. It will stick with me for a long time. Definitely worth reading.UPDATE: I later saw the film, and while it had quite a few lousy reviews, and was unfavorably compared with the novel, this was one of the few cases in which I actually preferred the movie to the book. I thought the movie retained the best bits of the book and actually improved upon it.

I loved this book when I first read it, and I loved reading it again after I saw the series on Netflix.If every moment of our lives steers us in a particular direction, then this is the story of two people who struggle through many years of friendship (and separation) into love. The dialogue is witty. Emma and Dexter come to life on these pages. This is a wonderful book.

On July 15, 1988, Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew spend the night together after their graduation from University. Their whole lives are ahead of them, lives full of potential, promise, and hope. Each chapter captures a snapshot of their lives on that day, St. Swithin's Day, each year for twenty years. Unfortunately, the significance of this day is completely lost on American readers. According to the folklore as stated on Wikipedia, whatever the weather is on St. Swithin's Day will continue for the next forty days. I suppose Groundhog's Day would be the American analogue. It's a day that symbolizes how life can swing in either direction - sunny or rainy, spring or winter.The appeal of this novel is its fresh and unique format - revisiting two people on the same day each year over twenty years. How would their lives change year to year? How would the characters develop over time? How would their relationship progress? And more interestingly, what kind of creative storytelling could the author accomplish?Aside from the format, it's surprisingly difficult to describe what this book is about. I've read reviews that characterize it as a love story; it is not. I've read reviews that liken it to "When Harry Met Sally", again it is not. If you go into this book with such notions, you'll be sorely disappointed. Yes, the novel has some romantic undertones but characterizing it as a love story will create certain expectations that may go unrealized. It's about two people, who happen to be friends, fumbling through their twenties and thirties. The author is quite good at portraying the simultaneous feelings of earnest hopefulness and terrifying aimlessness that characterizes the experience of many young adults today. Neither Emma nor Dexter knows what to do with the blank canvases that they were given. They don't seem to know what they want out of life, whether that is on a professional level or on a personal level.Nicholls gives us a great set up. Emma Morley is a smart, idealistic girl from a working-class family who isn't afraid to boycott or protest for certain causes. Dexter Mayhew is a privileged playboy who parties just a little too much. Through their friendship, Emma always brings out the best in Dexter, but I'm not quite sure what he does for her. These initial character sketches are believable, realistic, and charming. However, as the novel progresses, the characters, especially Dexter, become tiresome. As a novel that relies so heavily on two people, it has no choice but to be a character-driven book. And unfortunately, it is the character development that is lacking in this book. To be fair, Emma's character undergoes a satisfactory transformation. It is Dexter's character that is dreadful. He is a good-looking, spoiled drunk with too much money on his hands. I get it, but then, I got tired of it. I kept waiting for Dexter to hit rock bottom so that he could rise. Instead, he just bounced around the bottom without ever redeeming himself. Many recent college graduates feel lost and without direction. I get that. But does it really take twenty years to get your act together? And even then, I'm not entirely convinced that Dexter ever did.The novel is easy to read; it doesn't take long to breeze through the chapters. The pacing is steady at a brisk medium speed. The author sometimes takes advantage of the format by building suspense about what might happen on the very next day, July 16th, only to jump ahead a full year in the following chapter. This is fun. Also, the dialogue between the two main characters is a pleasure to read. Their casual banter is playful and perfectly expresses their closeness, familiarity, and comfort with each other. Most of this book is funny and light while a few parts are serious and dark. All in all, it's not a bad book, it just could have been so much better.

It is was an incredibly moving story about adulthood, relationships and love. Genuinely every page was a page turner.The Netflix show only captured a half of the emotion and heart.

This book made me feel things. It’s sad and sweet, full of ruminations on how fleeting youth is, how pivotal small decisions are, how we more often than not get in our own way. I think Emma deserved better, of course. I think Dexter is incredibly frustrating as a character and that’s kind of the point. Maybe he doesn’t deserve a happy ending. Many people who deserve a happy ending don’t get it and vice versa. I’ll probably find myself thinking about this book and TV show for years and that’s because the characters feel real, flawed, wonderful, terrible. So, I loved it and hated it, but that’s also kind of the point.

Desperate to watch the Netflix seriesA friend recommended reading the book.I loved the book and the Netflix series. The book probably better.

So many things that you must know.

Todavía no lo he leído, pero el envío, la entrega y la calidad del producto fueron buenas 👍🏻

O livro chegou rápido, bem embalado, tem ótimo acabamento. Não estou comentando aqui o conteúdo, a compra foi para o curso de inglês da minha filha.

amplia bastante la historia presentada en la película, estaría bastante bien si vuelven a sacar la versión en español