One Day (Vintage Contemporaries)

The movie version was not horrible but you really should read this book before seeing it. It was familiar in a number of ways but different enough in key respects that you really cannot just complain about it being another predictable romance story.

The characters were unlikeable; the situations were real enough; the ending was unexpected but almost predictable for their whole lives lived apart and together. I still had to finish the book. It reminded me a little bit of The Last Time They Met, far from "Same Time, Next Year".

Ahhh...the joy of reading about two people being miserable for twenty years...

Well yes, there's that, however One Day is a very well written and a compelling read that will keep you up into the wee hours of the morning. I kept reading about this one and the premise sounded intriguing so I had to give it a try. The book follows Dexter and Emma for a span of twenty years, telling the story of where they are in their lives on one day ~ July 15 ~ every year. From everything I had heard (and read in the gazillion blurbs,) I expected this to be a love story, and while Emma does yearn to be with Dexter, love story it is not. What it is instead is a tale of lives misspent on bad decisions and two people who never quite figured out how to be happy.

One Day starts out twenty years ago, the morning after Dexter and Emma have hooked up. They've just graduated from college and their "real lives" are about to begin. Emma is idealistic and has harbored a crush on Dexter for a while. Dexter...well, Dexter doesn't seem to care very deeply about anything. They go their separate ways but remain friends over the years.He eventually gets a job as a Howard Stern like TV host and Emma begins working in a Mexican restaurant but dreams of writing. His life is a rapid descent into drinking, drugs, and sleeping with EVERY woman he crosses paths with. I found it really hard to have any sympathy for his character and to tell the truth, I kept hoping something awful would happen to him to make him wake up and quit being such an ass. But even when bad things did happen to him, he continued on with his selfish, self-destructive ways. Emma's life meanwhile is quiet and plods along slowly (marked by her own share of really bad decisions.) She eventually achieves "success" in life but she never seems to find happiness. Her relationships don't work out, she suffers from low self-esteem and I think we are supposed to believe that if only she and Dexter could figure out they belong together, they would get their happily-ever-after.

Only problem is, I never found myself rooting for them to get together because frankly, I thought Dexter was a jerk and would more than likely only break her heart anyway. I couldn't figure out for the life of me why he had such a hold over her heart for so long. I can understand it when she was in her twenties, but for two decades? Seriously? You know the girlfriend you just wanna shake cause she keeps picking the wrong men? Hello, Emma.

And the ending. Remember watching the last Lord of the Rings movie and thinking to yourself at least 4 or 5 times, "Ok, THIS must be the end?" Check. And I have some other issues with the ending, but discussing them would include spoilers and I don't wanna do that. Suffice it to say a certain pivotal event kinda pissed me off. Not to mention it was ripped right out of a popular movie from a few years ago. If you read it you will understand. Or you can email me and we can discuss it =)

Bottom line, despite my complaints, One Day IS highly readable. It gives a solid portrayal of the emptiness in living only for yourself with no regard for others (shout out to Jesse James and Tiger Woods.) It also does a fine job of showing us the changes Dex and Emma go through in their lifetimes...dreams that don't quite work out, disillusionment, aging itself, and longing for something more. Not every book can be about the winners at the game of life.

Haven't begun yet, thought the book thought might be in much better shape than ordered. Yet still cheap but not in a great shape. There were marks and chocolates marks and spots on the book. And the cover page is half bent (disposed). Its still readable but not very nice touch to the outcome of the glance of it.
3/10 for the look of it.
More for the contents for the story-line I suppose. (Ps. Seen the movie)

The writing strategy is good, with past and present scenes switching several times but not giving a sense of chaos. However, this book makes me dislike the lead male as well as the lead female because they have made many stupid decisions, which doesn't make much sense to me at all. And which I hate the most is the ending. That makes me dislike the author.

I was really looking forward to reading this book because the movie looked so good but I was only able to make it through about 3 chapters before I couldn't force myself to keep going. Perhaps it gets better but this may be one of the few movies that I watch with out reading the book first. Hopefully the movie is better but if not, at least Jim Sturgess gives plenty of eye candy!

Haven't begun yet, thought the book thought might be in much better shape than ordered. Yet still cheap but not in a great shape. There were marks and chocolates marks and spots on the book. And the cover page is half bent (disposed). Its still readable but not very nice touch to the outcome of the glance of it.
3/10 for the look of it.
More for the contents for the story-line I suppose. (Ps. Seen the movie)

The writing strategy is good, with past and present scenes switching several times but not giving a sense of chaos. However, this book makes me dislike the lead male as well as the lead female because they have made many stupid decisions, which doesn't make much sense to me at all. And which I hate the most is the ending. That makes me dislike the author.

I was really looking forward to reading this book because the movie looked so good but I was only able to make it through about 3 chapters before I couldn't force myself to keep going. Perhaps it gets better but this may be one of the few movies that I watch with out reading the book first. Hopefully the movie is better but if not, at least Jim Sturgess gives plenty of eye candy!

This story made me experience every emotion possible. I laughed. I cried. I was mad. I was frustrated. I was nervous. I was devastated. A great group of characters that were all well developed and the story was amazing written. Would highly recommend.

I picked up this book after having seen the movie. Like every book, it is way better than the movie because of detail, etc. I don't want to include any spoilers in this review, but I will say it was probably one of my favorite books that I have read in the last year.

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.

This is just another typical loves story between friends who can never really seem to get the timing right on their relationship. I expected great things after hearing rave reviews from my friends, but I think the book fell a little short.

From the beginning of the book Nicholls draws you in with two people who could not be more different. As you read on the story evolves as well as the characters. You find yourself holding out hope for this young couple as they meet each other only one day a year.

I also bought this on recommendation of Entertainment Weekly; I will not say I was let down, obviously I gave it four stars. But the novel shocked me and I have yet to decide if I liked the "twist" or not. I will say that I enjoyed spending time with both these characters (yes, even the raffish Dexter) if only for a short time. The book itself gives the best example of the theme "live each day like it is your last" that I have come across since the Broadway musical Rent.

I also bought this on recommendation of Entertainment Weekly; I will not say I was let down, obviously I gave it four stars. But the novel shocked me and I have yet to decide if I liked the "twist" or not. I will say that I enjoyed spending time with both these characters (yes, even the raffish Dexter) if only for a short time. The book itself gives the best example of the theme "live each day like it is your last" that I have come across since the Broadway musical Rent.

We reviewed this for our bookclub. Most of our members didn't finish it because it reminded them of "Groundhog Day". That isn't to say that it was as good as Groundhog Day. It was more exasperating than anything else especially the ending.

Initially I had a hard time liking the characters but as they grew as characters, I also liked them more and more. Several parts of the story were completely unexpected but all in all a great story. Ultimately, I LOVED it and will read it again. It is a new favorite and I am sure I will love the movie as well.