Reviews tagging 'Grief'

One Day by David Nicholls

12 reviews

itsnicholaslashay's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I didn’t think I’d like this book as much as I did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Grief

lillucys's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

One day by David Nicholls was an interesting read following the lives of Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew, who meet on the night of their university graduation and then go their separate ways. 

The book then tells their story through the lens of a specific day, the 15th July, St. Swithin's day, every year from 1988 to 2007, through the highlights and lowlights, from being friends to being married to other people to the end of one of their lives. 

The narrative is an intriguing one, however as I read it I felt getting more and more cheated of getting the whole story! I am happy that I have read it, but it is not one that I will stay in the memory for long.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Infidelity

kellypoo's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

“and here she was, twenty-two and clueless and sloping back to a dingy flat, defeated once again” … story of my life 


what if we only had one day, every year? and how confusing is a connection when behaviour and feelings are at odds with words. the ending of this novel was a let down, but overall it still made me reflect on a lot of my past decisions, and the clarity there is in distance. also on life and my relationships and what i tend to do for emotional protection, perhaps at the expense of others

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Grief

chloewakham's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death of parent and Grief

anewton's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A clever, beautifully moving book, with characters who become your close friends. A highly engaging read, that makes you hungry for more, with a plot that is far from clique. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Infidelity

Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Infertility, and Drug use

Minor: War and Vomit

thequiltyreader's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug use, and Terminal illness

Minor: Violence and Vomit

sarahndipity's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Just really glad it's over

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, and Classism

Moderate: Violence, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Sexism, Body shaming, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Vomit

haleylooloo's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Despite the cover being a couple kissing, I would not consider this a romance. I will admit, I had seen the movie before reading the book so knew what to expect,

Spoiler

but the book focused much less on the romance between the main characters and much more on their personal development. I appreciated the depictions of feeling lost and unsure what life or the future may hold, and I felt I could relate to Emma a lot. That being said, I got a bit annoyed at how long it took for them to finally get together (348 pages!), then only to have it all end 40 pages later. I also thought the ending was interesting but the whole last section was just a bit tedious to get through, especially the anniversary sections with Dex. Overall, Dex’s sections during his drug use eras were a bit drawn out at times.

A good story though and I liked the premise of writing on the same day every year. There were definitely a couple of easter eggs left at the end that I would be interested to see if they were actually thought out earlier in the book, maybe I’ll go back and look. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Alcoholism, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Mental illness

sib_reads's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Grief, Addiction, Infertility, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Infidelity

Moderate: Terminal illness, Violence, Classism, Blood, and Cancer

Minor: Sexual content

danajoy's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Car accident, Infertility, Medical content, Violence, Vomit, and Infidelity