8 months ago

Review:  One DayAuthor: David NichollsPublisher:  Vintage Contemporaries - Vintage Books, a Division of Random House IncSource:  Personal CopyChapter Five: The Rules of EngagementWednesday, 15 July 1992The Dodecanese Islands,  Greece`And also to say I thought the same thing too. At the time. What I mean is I liked you too, “romantically”, I mean. I mean I didn’t write poems or anything, but I thought about you, think about you, you and me. I mean I fancy you.”`Really? Oh. Really? Right.” It’s going to happen after all she thought, right here and now, standing naked in the Aegean Sea.`My problem is -’ and he sighed and smiled with one side of his mouth. `Well I suppose I fancy pretty much everybody!’`I see,’  was all she could say.` - anyone really, just walking down the street, it’s like you said, everyone’s my type. It’ s a nightmare!’ `Poor you,’ she said flatly.`What I mean is that I don’t think I was - am- ready for you know, Boyfriend Girlfriend. I think we’d want different things from a relationship.’Excerpt from One Day page 98Every July 15th is a window snapshot of this One Day into the lives of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew from 1988 until 2007. We meet Emma and Dex just as they have graduated from university - a friendship that bonds them from their youthful twenties to their mid forties. Their first initial bond comes from a night spent together in the throes of mutual “likes” to the excitement of what lies ahead in the future as they embark onward to make something of themselves.  In this tiny wake of time, youthful dreams are spoken and righteous indignation at what lies ahead where their fates are tied in an uncertain future. Only one thing remains - their loyalties to each other despite the passage of time and space, Emma and Dex find themselves coming back to each other for support and the true meaning of love. *************************************************************************David Nicholls’ One Day brought back a rush of memories containing youthful dreams of saving the world to living adult responsibilities as we age with time. A fond remembrance for the innocence gone and the ferverent passion we still hold in our hearts as the years go by.  We age but we never let go of the one solid thing we have in our lives  - love. One Day centers on every July 15th that passes from 1988 to 2007. Every chapter begins on this one day in the lives of our main characters Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew.  We grow with them and learn to cherish each one for the individuals they become. Their bond is tested tirelessly through time, marked by rebellion, miscommunications, alcoholism, disappointments and heartbreaks for missed moments.  My heart ached for Emma as she watched over Dex with her unspoken love  for him growing every year. Dex’s callous ignorance of her worth made me want to throttle him for not realizing just what he had in front of him. Albeit it was essential for him to come to that realization on his own, I only wished it had been sooner than later. When two people are so right for each other but it’s always a question of timing. You keep asking “Will that time ever come?” and “When will they get it right?” Oddly enough, I felt as though Nicholls must have seen into my own private life with snippets that brought back fond memories again.  Life as Nicholls writes it is about change and adapting to the evolution of our self identities.  Life is about love and how we perceive it through a prism of light and darkness.  One Day is about how life is to be grasped at every waking moment and lived to the fullest with the ones we cherish and love the most. It’s about stolen moments that will never be forgotten since they are embedded in our hearts eternally for their significance.

Review:  One Day
Author: David Nicholls
Publisher:  Vintage Contemporaries - Vintage Books, a Division of Random House Inc
Source:  Personal Copy


Chapter Five: The Rules of Engagement
Wednesday, 15 July 1992

The Dodecanese Islands,  Greece

`And also to say I thought the same thing too. At the time. What I mean is I liked you too, “romantically”, I mean. I mean I didn’t write poems or anything, but I thought about you, think about you, you and me. I mean I fancy you.”
`Really? Oh. Really? Right.” It’s going to happen after all she thought, right here and now, standing naked in the Aegean Sea.
`My problem is -’ and he sighed and smiled with one side of his mouth. `Well I suppose I fancy pretty much everybody!’
`I see,’  was all she could say.
` - anyone really, just walking down the street, it’s like you said, everyone’s my type. It’ s a nightmare!’
`Poor you,’ she said flatly.
`What I mean is that I don’t think I was - am- ready for you know, Boyfriend Girlfriend. I think we’d want different things from a relationship.’

Excerpt from One Day page 98

Every July 15th is a window snapshot of this One Day into the lives of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew from 1988 until 2007. We meet Emma and Dex just as they have graduated from university - a friendship that bonds them from their youthful twenties to their mid forties. Their first initial bond comes from a night spent together in the throes of mutual “likes” to the excitement of what lies ahead in the future as they embark onward to make something of themselves. 

In this tiny wake of time, youthful dreams are spoken and righteous indignation at what lies ahead where their fates are tied in an uncertain future. Only one thing remains - their loyalties to each other despite the passage of time and space, Emma and Dex find themselves coming back to each other for support and the true meaning of love.


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David Nicholls’ One Day brought back a rush of memories containing youthful dreams of saving the world to living adult responsibilities as we age with time. A fond remembrance for the innocence gone and the ferverent passion we still hold in our hearts as the years go by.  We age but we never let go of the one solid thing we have in our lives  - love.

One Day centers on every July 15th that passes from 1988 to 2007. Every chapter begins on this one day in the lives of our main characters Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew.  We grow with them and learn to cherish each one for the individuals they become. Their bond is tested tirelessly through time, marked by rebellion, miscommunications, alcoholism, disappointments and heartbreaks for missed moments.  My heart ached for Emma as she watched over Dex with her unspoken love  for him growing every year. Dex’s callous ignorance of her worth made me want to throttle him for not realizing just what he had in front of him. Albeit it was essential for him to come to that realization on his own, I only wished it had been sooner than later. When two people are so right for each other but it’s always a question of timing. You keep asking “Will that time ever come?” and “When will they get it right?”

Oddly enough, I felt as though Nicholls must have seen into my own private life with snippets that brought back fond memories again.  Life as Nicholls writes it is about change and adapting to the evolution of our self identities.  Life is about love and how we perceive it through a prism of light and darkness.  One Day is about how life is to be grasped at every waking moment and lived to the fullest with the ones we cherish and love the most. It’s about stolen moments that will never be forgotten since they are embedded in our hearts eternally for their significance.