Don’t you just love it when a male author tells the story from a woman’s point of view and he just nails it? That’s (partially) the case with the novel One Day, by David Nicholls. If the name of the author seems familiar, it’s because you’ve either seen a movie whose script was written by him, or you’ve read one of his other books: “Starter for Ten” or ”The Understudy”, both very good examples of the so called lad-lit. Yes, lad-lit, as opposed to chick-lit.
The title can be a bit deceiving. One day refers, actually, to a specific date. July 15th, to be more precise. Starting with 1988, when the two protagonists – Emma & Dexter – meet, the story carries us through 20 eventful years. The interesting part is that we are not being offered the whole picture: the reader is only presented with the events that take place on July 15th, each year.
July 15th, 1988, on St. Swithin’s Day (according to the popular belief, if it rains during this day, it will keep raining for the next 40 days) marks the beginning of a special relationship between Emma and Dexter. Not really together, but, at the same time, more than just friends, their destinies intertwine, only to part ways once again. Not every July 15th finds them together; I can assure you of that.
What I liked about this book (beside the story, of course) is the fact that the main characters are realistically portrayed: both have major flaws and redeeming qualities and both had their share of success and failure. But it’s their imperfections that make them so easy to love, as you will discover by yourself if you decide to read this novel. And trust me, you should.
P.S.: The book is incredible, surprising, heartbreaking… but you should definitely try the movie too.
Miss Valery
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