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A review by cad_reads
One Day by David Nicholls
4.0
I want to review this book because it's been about 4 days since I finished reading it and I still can't stop thinking about it.
I'm a total chic-lit type of girl. I love romance, humor and mystery novels. I've had my fill of quick beach reads, sappy love stories and what not. Out of all those books (not including classics of course) this is about the most realistic love story I have ever read.
The author won me at the beginning with his Great Expectations quote...
‘That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life.
Imagine one selected day struck out of it and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a long moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on that memorable day.’
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
I bought this book for one reason and on reason only...I wanted to read it before the movie came out this summer. Of course, while reading the book, Anne Hathaway was Emma in my mind throughout the entire book. Maybe it's because I read the movie tie in, but there is no better actress to play the part than Hathaway.
A little bit of a spoil alert...
My favorite part about this book is that as it starts out with Dexter as being this really confident guy who's a bit full of himself. Even though he comes off as a bit stuck up at times, you can't help but like the guy. (I personally fell in love with the guy by the end of chapter 3.) He's not a bad person and you can picture how Emma could fall for him. In the book we are told over and over how smart Em is, but it took awhile for me to grasp why this girl was so intelligent. She's kind of a downer at first, you just kind of want to shake some sense into the girl and tell her, "Stop being so damn pessimistic!" It wasn't until later in the book that I learned to adore Em. She's very politically aware and her never ending supply of off the cuff witty comments were certainly spot on and sharp. I really enjoyed her droll sense of humour but she made some stupid choices, that's for sure.
As the book progresses it's almost like these two change roles. Em becomes more and more confident in herself. She learns to roll with the punches and growing up more each year. Dexter on the other hand has a harder time with what life throws at him and so he starts hitting rock bottom not knowing what to do during certain hardships in his life. It's him I wanted to shake and smack some sense into in later chapters.
Even though these two characters evolve and change in the book throughout the years (15 or so) they are still the same at heart.
Nicholls' creative way of writing this book also deserves recognition. It's an intriguing concept to explore one day of these characters' lives for twenty consecutive years in each chapter. Indeed a unique and different concept than what I'm use to reading.
It's really rare for me to become attach to characters in a book and I usually keep my 5 stars for "classic must reads before you die" type books, but this is definitely a 4.9 in my eyes.
I'll be honest, I can't wait to see the movie, but I already know it's not going to be as good as the book.
Some of my favorite quotes/parts:
‘I’m trying to be inspiring! I’m trying to lift your grubby soul for the great adventure that lies ahead of you.’ She turned to face him. ‘Not that you need it. I expect you’ve got your future nicely mapped out, ta very much. Probably got a little flow-chart somewhere or something.’
_________________
Em, I hate thinking of you sitting in that awful flat with the weird smells and noises and the overhead lightbulbs or sat in that launderette, and by the way there’s no reason in this day and age why you should be using a launderette, there’s nothing cool or political about launderettes it’s just depressing. I don’t know, Em, you’re young, you’re practically a genius, and yet your idea of a good time is to treat yourself to a service wash. Well I think you deserve more. You are smart and funny and kind (too kind if you ask me) and by far the cleverest person I know. And (am drinking more beer here – deep breath) you are also a Very Attractive Woman. And (more beer) yes I do mean ‘sexy’ as well, though I feel a bit sick writing it down. Well I’m not going to scribble it out because it’s politically incorrect to call someone ‘sexy’ because it is also TRUE. You’re gorgeous, you old hag, and if I could give you just one gift ever for the rest of your life it would be this. Confidence. It would be the gift of Confidence. Confidence. Either that or a scented candle.
_________________
‘Sylvie’s okay, she’s being Callumed. He’s being the life and soul, the charming Oirish millionaire. I thought I’d leave them to it. I can’t compete with him anymore. Too tiring.'
_________________
Dexter cracked first, sighing and placing his book on his chest: Nabokov’s Lolita, a gift from Emma who was responsible for selecting all the holiday reading, a great breeze-block of books, a mobile library that took up most of her suitcase.
A moment passed. He sighed again, for effect.
‘What’s up with you?’ said Emma, without looking up from Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot.
‘I can’t get into it.’
‘It’s a masterpiece.’
‘Makes my head hurt.’
‘I should have got something with pictures or flaps.’
‘Oh, I am enjoying it—’
‘Very Hungry Caterpillar or something—’
‘I’m just finding it a bit dense. It’s just this bloke banging on about how horny he is all the time.’
‘I thought it would strike a chord.’ She raised her sunglasses. ‘It’s a very erotic book, Dex.’
‘Only if you’re into little girls.’
_________________
Em and Dex. Dex and Em.
I'm a total chic-lit type of girl. I love romance, humor and mystery novels. I've had my fill of quick beach reads, sappy love stories and what not. Out of all those books (not including classics of course) this is about the most realistic love story I have ever read.
The author won me at the beginning with his Great Expectations quote...
‘That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life.
Imagine one selected day struck out of it and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a long moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on that memorable day.’
Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
I bought this book for one reason and on reason only...I wanted to read it before the movie came out this summer. Of course, while reading the book, Anne Hathaway was Emma in my mind throughout the entire book. Maybe it's because I read the movie tie in, but there is no better actress to play the part than Hathaway.
A little bit of a spoil alert...
My favorite part about this book is that as it starts out with Dexter as being this really confident guy who's a bit full of himself. Even though he comes off as a bit stuck up at times, you can't help but like the guy. (I personally fell in love with the guy by the end of chapter 3.) He's not a bad person and you can picture how Emma could fall for him. In the book we are told over and over how smart Em is, but it took awhile for me to grasp why this girl was so intelligent. She's kind of a downer at first, you just kind of want to shake some sense into the girl and tell her, "Stop being so damn pessimistic!" It wasn't until later in the book that I learned to adore Em. She's very politically aware and her never ending supply of off the cuff witty comments were certainly spot on and sharp. I really enjoyed her droll sense of humour but she made some stupid choices, that's for sure.
As the book progresses it's almost like these two change roles. Em becomes more and more confident in herself. She learns to roll with the punches and growing up more each year. Dexter on the other hand has a harder time with what life throws at him and so he starts hitting rock bottom not knowing what to do during certain hardships in his life. It's him I wanted to shake and smack some sense into in later chapters.
Even though these two characters evolve and change in the book throughout the years (15 or so) they are still the same at heart.
Nicholls' creative way of writing this book also deserves recognition. It's an intriguing concept to explore one day of these characters' lives for twenty consecutive years in each chapter. Indeed a unique and different concept than what I'm use to reading.
It's really rare for me to become attach to characters in a book and I usually keep my 5 stars for "classic must reads before you die" type books, but this is definitely a 4.9 in my eyes.
I'll be honest, I can't wait to see the movie, but I already know it's not going to be as good as the book.
Some of my favorite quotes/parts:
‘I’m trying to be inspiring! I’m trying to lift your grubby soul for the great adventure that lies ahead of you.’ She turned to face him. ‘Not that you need it. I expect you’ve got your future nicely mapped out, ta very much. Probably got a little flow-chart somewhere or something.’
_________________
Em, I hate thinking of you sitting in that awful flat with the weird smells and noises and the overhead lightbulbs or sat in that launderette, and by the way there’s no reason in this day and age why you should be using a launderette, there’s nothing cool or political about launderettes it’s just depressing. I don’t know, Em, you’re young, you’re practically a genius, and yet your idea of a good time is to treat yourself to a service wash. Well I think you deserve more. You are smart and funny and kind (too kind if you ask me) and by far the cleverest person I know. And (am drinking more beer here – deep breath) you are also a Very Attractive Woman. And (more beer) yes I do mean ‘sexy’ as well, though I feel a bit sick writing it down. Well I’m not going to scribble it out because it’s politically incorrect to call someone ‘sexy’ because it is also TRUE. You’re gorgeous, you old hag, and if I could give you just one gift ever for the rest of your life it would be this. Confidence. It would be the gift of Confidence. Confidence. Either that or a scented candle.
_________________
‘Sylvie’s okay, she’s being Callumed. He’s being the life and soul, the charming Oirish millionaire. I thought I’d leave them to it. I can’t compete with him anymore. Too tiring.'
_________________
Dexter cracked first, sighing and placing his book on his chest: Nabokov’s Lolita, a gift from Emma who was responsible for selecting all the holiday reading, a great breeze-block of books, a mobile library that took up most of her suitcase.
A moment passed. He sighed again, for effect.
‘What’s up with you?’ said Emma, without looking up from Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot.
‘I can’t get into it.’
‘It’s a masterpiece.’
‘Makes my head hurt.’
‘I should have got something with pictures or flaps.’
‘Oh, I am enjoying it—’
‘Very Hungry Caterpillar or something—’
‘I’m just finding it a bit dense. It’s just this bloke banging on about how horny he is all the time.’
‘I thought it would strike a chord.’ She raised her sunglasses. ‘It’s a very erotic book, Dex.’
‘Only if you’re into little girls.’
_________________
Em and Dex. Dex and Em.