One Day: A Novel (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 👏🏻

There is nothing shallow in this story--The Principals--Emma and Dex--have depth, depth, and more depth, and this is a book I didn't want to finish--it was that good. A sad tale--why did it take so long for them to get together--but a tale with lots and lots of humor as well. The letters they exchange. Emma describing the dishes she has to serve in a Mexican restaurant where she unhappily works. A very human story, and a very human tragedy.

Dexter Mayhew, handsome, shallow, can be -and often is - a lout, has an easy, easy time with women.

"He had one of those faces where you were aware of the bones beneath the skin, as if even his bare skull would be attractive. A fine nose, slightly shiny with grease, and dark skin beneath the eyes that looked almost bruised, a badge of honour from all the smoking and late nights spent deliberately losing at strip poker."

Emma Morley, a beauty when you wipe away the dull veneer and really look in closely, smart, needs a jab of ambition, definitely not promiscuous - which is not to say she is by any means prudish.

"She was pretty but seemed annoyed by the fact. Her bottled-red hair was almost willfully badly cut, alone in front of the mirror probably. Her skin had a pallid puffiness that spoke of too much time in libraries . . . there was no denying that her face - well, her face was a wonder."

Someone should -- and surely will -- make a movie about their relationship. It will pull in buckets of money. It will reduce audiences to tears.

St. Swithin's Day is celebrated in the U.K. on July 15. We meet Emma and Dex on St. Swithin's Day in 1988 when they spend the day (and night) together, in Edinburgh, the last of their days as students. Over the next two decades, we catch up and check in with them every year on the same date, July 15, and watch as their lives unfold and their friendship grows and a relationship, mostly platonic, develops based on need and trust and the emotional sustenance they gain from each other.

Post-university, Emma ends up "in the graveyard of ambition" working as a waitress at "Loco Caliente," a Tex-Mex restaurant in north London. One of the great set pieces has Emma giving the new guy on the wait staff, Ian Whitehead, a tour of the dive. "Loco Caliente means Crazy Hot.' Hot because the air-conditioning doesn't work, crazy' because that's what you'd have to be to eat here. Or work here, come to that. Mucho mucho loco."

Dexter, meanwhile, learns to define hedonism and falls into the job of a TV "presenter" on "Late-Night Lock-In," a past-midnight program targeting his age group and lifestyle. Dexter attracts success much like he does women. He enjoys both. Humility is an attribute for others. "Dexter didn't like to think of himself as vain, but there were definitely times when he wished there was someone on hand to take his photogaph."

Dexter's success is dazzling. His fall from grace and teen favor is equally steep. Booze, drugs and bad behavior account for the decline. We get to see him, as Emma does, at his absolute worst. Being out of fahion is not something Dexter wears well. Emma remains a steadfast friend, for the most part. Their relationship snags bottom in 1995 when Emma gives Dexter what she believes and fears is a final buss on the cheek, "Dexter, I love you so much. So, so much, and I probably always will. I just don't like you anymore. I'm sorry."

With time and circumstance, it's fair to say, the relationship bounds back, evolves. If this all sounds as if the book might veer in the direction of becoming this generation's "Love Story," forget it. "One Day" is a love story, but a story of two people without all the pathos of Erich Segal's 1970 bestseller. If comparison is in order, "One Day" is in style and substance more like "When Harry Met Sally."

Nicholls is aiming for humor. He succeeds. At its best, the narrative is great comedy with a shattering instance of wrenching melodrama, but primarily a narrative chock-full of wry remarks, hilarious situations and real wit and old-fashioned repartee. About the intricacies of relationships, "One Day" is insightful and acerbic.

There are a few banana peels lying around but the book is largely driven by the banter and barbs, and at times it feels as if you're reading "One Day" as a screenplay. Like real life, lots of talk; not too much action.

We're well into the story when someone asks Emma how the two friends met. "We grew up together," Emma answers without hesitation. Em and Dex have a history and like their story, "One Day" is funny, moving and ultimately memorable.

I love a book with a good gimmick, and One Day has a great one: the story takes place on the same day over the course of 20 years. Each year, we check in with the two protagonists--Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley--on July 15 (which, as Dex tells Em is St. Swithin's Day) and see how their lives and relationship are developing.

The thing with gimmicks, though, is that an author might come up with a great gimmick but not be able to execute it effectively. I'm pleased to report that David Nicholls writes a book that lives up to (and even exceeds) his gimmick.

The easiest way to describe One Day is as a "literary version of When Harry Met Sally" ... if Harry was a handsome TV personality with a drinking problem and Sally was a plain-looking, bookish nerd and the story went on for a few year after the happy ending. The real comparison, of course, is that Dex and Em are meant for each other (the reader knows it, Em sometimes knows it, Dex seems blissfully unaware of it) but--for one reason or another--keep missing each other because life (jobs, relationships, success) constantly gets in the way. Seeing their friendship and lives develop over the course of the book was a true pleasure. I thought Nicholls did a brilliant job of handling the "one day" check-in each year without making it seemed forced. The story develops naturally, and we get invested in Dex and Em and their relationship ... so much so that I was stunned when Nicholls pulled the rug out from under me towards the end.

Nicholl's writing feels genuine whether he is writing from Emma or Dexter's point of view. There are quite a few amusing scenes that had me cracking up, but Nicholls provides emotional heft as well. When reading, I found myself utterly absorbed, and I was always wondering where the next July 15 would find Dex and Em and what they would be doing.

The only real quibble I had with the book is that I wish Nicholls hadn't chosen to give Dex and Em such "glamorous" careers at various points. I didn't think the book needed it to "goose" up the drama/comedy, but it is a minor complaint.

If what I've written so far hasn't convinced you to check this book out yet, how about a few excerpts?

EXCERPT: Emma on being a writer: Sometimes, when it's going badly, she wonders if what she believes to be a love of the written word is really just a fetish for stationery. The true writer, the born writer, will scribble words on scraps of litter, the back of a bus tickets, on the wall of a cell. Emma is lost on anything less than 120gsm.

EXCERPT: Emma on being a writer (again): ... but she was discovering once again that reading and writing were not the same - you couldn't just soak it up then squeeze it out again. She found herself unable to think of a name for her detective, let alone a cohesive original plot, and even her pseudonym was poor: Emma T. Wilde?

EXCERPT: Dexter caring for his baby daughter: How much longer until she can speak? A year? Eighteen months? It's insane, an absurd design error, this refusal to master speech just when it's needed most. They should come out talking. Not conversation, not repartee, just basic practical information. Father, I have wind. This activity centre leaves me jaded. I am colicky.

EXCERPT: Emma thinking about her friends: What has happened to her friends? They used to be funny and fun-loving, gregarious and interesting, but far too many evenings have been spent like this with pasty, irritable hollow-eyed couples in smelly rooms, expressing wonder that baby is getting bigger with time, rather than smaller. She is tired of squealing in delight when she sees a baby crawl, as if this was a completely unexpected development, this `crawling'. What were they expecting, flight?

My Final Recommendation

This deliciously fun and engaging story of a relationship developing over the course of 20 years is told in a "gimmicky" fashion (we check in with the main characters on the same day throughout the book) but transcends the novelty aspect to be a heartfelt, genuine, realistic look at modern life and relationships. An engrossing, fast read that will tickle your funny bone and touch your heart. (How much did that just sound like a blurb on the back of a book jacket? Perhaps I'm turning into a "real" book reviewer!)

Note: This book is already being made into a movie starring Anne Hathaway as Emma and Jim Sturgess as Dexter.

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.

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.