One Day
Ratings170
Average rating3.7
DNF. Cannot take more of Ian and Emma, and Emma and Dexter, I was beginning to dread reading not just this book, but anything.
One Day is a light-hearted, slow-burn romance. I've personally never read a romance book before so I do recommend this as a starter since it's not over-done.
You truly grow to feel like the two main characters are friends of your own. The book is snapshots of their lives broken up into portions (early 20s, mid 20s, late 20s, so on). I honestly love the way it's structured as it feels like you're growing up alongside the characters. The further you read the more you realize you need to show more compassion for yourself - that despite mistakes everything will all work out in the end. It makes you feel less alone because even when the characters felt alone, we know they never truly were. As someone in my 20s it made me feel less lost because you grow to learn that at any age we're still learning and figuring things out. I enjoy how One Day provokes reflection and introspection: I found myself thinking about chapters of my life and wondering how little decisions affected me greatly, as they do with the characters. Overall it's a fun, comforting read that I'd say is like a coming-of-age story (because you never really stop coming of age, do you?).
Re-read to complete the trifecta after watching the new Netflix series and the movie (for the 100th time) and IT'S STILL JUST AS GOOD AS I REMEMBERED
Voy a ser lo menos odiosa al escribir esto porque FINALMENTE lo terminé y todo lo que resume mi cabeza es: ¿qué carajos es esto?
Son idas y venidas sin sentido ni concepto, un personaje masculino que es un cretino sin endereza que tuvo un “desarrollo” de personaje, o sólo fingía por conveniencia cuando tenía miedo de no quedarse solo?, un personaje femenino que espléndido y luego lo jodes con la falsa sororidad de un infiel, no una, DOS VECES.
Ni de hablar de ese final. El peor bloqueo lector que tuve por un libro tan mediocre y lo único que valorable era subrayar las actitudes cuestionables de Dexter para el aprendizaje
life is short. please tell the people you love that you love them. even if you think they won't say it back.
Contains spoilers
Welp, okay then...
Like what the hell do I do now. I knew it was gonna end sad but I thought they would just break up again, but...what the fuck is up with car crashes in these tear jerking novels. And how am I supposed to recover?!? You expect me to just move onto my next book?!? My next books include a book on conservative business of America, one of the first feminist novels, and a book that includes knotting. I can't just move onto those like I'm fine, cause bro, truly what the fuck
This book hadn't been on my radar at all but it came up as a suggestion when playing around with ChatGPT when I asked for books similar to the movie The Girl in the Cafe. It also fit in for a reading challenge prompt for a book suggested by a random generator, so I picked it up right away. Dex and Emma spent a day together in 1988. They never left each other's minds. That date becomes the focal point of decades of love, loss, mistakes, successes, and growing up. I was hooked at the very start of the book but my interest fizzled out quickly. I didn't connect to the characters at all which made for a less enjoyable reading experience. Took away some great quotes though, so I'm glad I stuck with it.
You get a peek into the lives of Emma and Dexter every July 15th for 20 years. 3.5 rounded up to 4
A good read
such a great concept and really great writing, but the pacing was horrendous & the end was so unfulfilling. it felt like he got tired writing about emma & dexter and decided just to quickly wrap it up
ANYWAYS is there a colleen hoover version of this book bc i bet it would SLAP
Stunning. Perhaps better for me just based on where I'm at in my life.
I really grieved with these characters, and felt so blown away by the perspective that a young adult to adult lifetime offered. God damn.
Full review coming
bro i can't believe i didn't write a review for this but all i got to say is,,, i got so emotionally invested and got the most cop-out ending. it's just annoying. the story was ok, characters a bit annoying at times but yeah, bad ending.
“I think reality is overrated.”
This is a novel that takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions. It begins light, humorous, warm and aloof, just like most of us are once we graduate, all our efforts and studies paying off, looking into the future full of ideals, hopes and dreams. Then we face adult life and responsibilities, disappointment, and all the disillusionment that eventually knocks our doors.
At the heart of the story are Emma and Dexter, two young people who start out long-time friends and one-night lovers and go on becoming so much more over the course of 20 years. David Nicholls chooses to have each chapter dedicated to a single specific date, the 15th of July, a chapter for every year. On this day, Emma and Dexter sometimes come together, sometimes they don't.
Emma is an extremely interesting character. Idealist, compassionate, cautious, caring. She is no saint, of course, but she is the only presence in the book who knows what she wants and succeeds in overcoming the hurdles. Dexter is not a likeable character and this is precisely as it should be. He is not meant to be well-liked, in my opinion. His cockiness is actually a facade most of the times and Emma is the only person who helps him bring out his better self. It is not an easy task and certainly not always successful. What is very interesting and telling is the fact that these two often do whatever is possible to keep the other at a distance, but they are always brought together. The secondary characters are really, really annoying.
The incident that makes the book a true success is one of the most heart-wrenching moments, described in a single sentence at the very end of one of the last chapters. It throws your heart to the beasts. Call me melodramatic, but this is how it made me feel. I felt a deep sadness, witnessing Death having the final word. It was unfair, depressing, cruel. Still, I don't really enjoy happy endings, they are far from realistic, and one must applaud David Nicholls' boldness.
One Day is one of the most celebrated novels of our times, full of nostalgia for decades passed, beautiful, realistic dialogue and excellent prose with two of the most memorable protagonists in recent Literature.
“So - whatever happened to you?'‘Life. Life happened.”
Loved this book. Great characters, although at times I got upset with Dexter as he couldn't see what a great catch Emma was. It has quite a few surprising elements, and I love the whole set-up, of following characters from year to year on one particular day. Very clever.
Nicholls does a good job at describing the optimism, realism and acceptance that comes with the progression through different stages of adulthood. These observations made it worth reading, even though I never connected with either of the protagonists and didn't entirely believe their relationship.
A novel that is getting a lot of buzz these days as it is being made into a movie. Our main characters, our contemporary Harry and Sally if you will, meet in college and continue to bump into one another as the years pass. Dexter, our Harry, spends way too much time pursuing drugs and women for my taste, and Emma, our Sally, falls into writing and fame and fortune way too easily for my belief system to accept, but, other than these flaws, it's a nice little read.
I had a hard time getting into this book, but it came highly recommended, so I stuck with it. I must say, I am glad I did. While it was a slow start, I loved the book overall.
Just a warning: be sure to have plenty of tissues handy. It was a tear jerker!
I wavered between 2 and 3 stars, but Dexter is such a wanker. It is very possible to create a character like Dexter and still engage the reader but this novel never managed to overcome his wanker-ness. Finally I just didn't care.
Very well written and the dialog is witty and sharp. It is not some chick lit novel where everything is predictable. The premise kept me reading until the end. Around the end I just kept thinking, “Well, this must be the end” over and over again. The ending dragged on and (I won't give away any spoilers) disappointed me. I felt like the author was pulling for some sort of heartbreaking ending but it was lack luster for me.
This novel follows the lives of the two main characters spanning over the decades. They meet up every St. Swithin's Day (15th July) for a catch up along with some flirting/banter. The two lead completely different lives, one strives hard to achieve, the other given a privileged life from birth. Despite their differences the two remain ‘friends' and secretly carry deeper feelings for one another.
As a reader you know that they will eventually get together but life keeps presenting different paths for them to follow. There is a shocking twist towards the end of the novel. I personally believe the book should have stopped at that point rather than carry on for another 20 or so pages, as I found these had little purpose. Whilst some may find the twist added depth to the book it completely ruined the novel for me.