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One Day

David Nicholls

3.80 · Rating details · 294,582 ratings · 17,618 reviews

15th July 1988: Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways.

So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that?

And every year that follows?
--back cover

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Hardcover, UK Edition, 435 pages

Published January 1st 2009 by Hodder & Stoughton

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Rating details

· 294,582 ratings · 17,618 reviews

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Jul 03, 2011 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Rarely am I left speechless, I usually have plenty to say, but as I reflected on this novel, I realized there would be no surefire way to describe this book. It is a complete conundrum. Readers will either love or hate this book, I don’t think it there is much of a middle road with this one. It will speak to those with similar personal experiences.

I enjoyed the format. It gives the reader snapshots of Dex and Em’s life, like flipping through a stack of polaroids, just a flash of what was going Rarely am I left speechless, I usually have plenty to say, but as I reflected on this novel, I realized there would be no surefire way to describe this book. It is a complete conundrum. Readers will either love or hate this book, I don’t think it there is much of a middle road with this one. It will speak to those with similar personal experiences.

I enjoyed the format. It gives the reader snapshots of Dex and Em’s life, like flipping through a stack of polaroids, just a flash of what was going on at a particular time. Picking the same day established a sequence and highlighted that life and circumstances can change so quickly at times, or not change at all as was in Em’s case when two days start exactly the same. I think this was an intelligent way to approach a story that spans 20 years. We don’t really need a full depiction of every single event in their lives to have a sense of what they are going through.

Characterization was excellent. Dex and Em quickly became real in my mind, as if I was peeking into the lives of a couple of friends, or reading their journal pages. I too quickly began to know what Emma would or would not like just as Dex did. The characters were genuine. Some reviews say that they were stereotypical…but I find that some people latch onto stereotypes, it helps them define themselves. I feel this is what Emma was doing in her youth with her political stances and thus why they are not as important as she grows older. So are they really stereotypical characters? Or are they just portraying their ideal personas as so many people do?

I find that comparisons to When Harry met Sally fall short. I understand the reasons for the comparisons in that they are both about friends that seem to circle back every few years and make sarcastic quips to one another. But I feel like it ends there. To me, this is more of a modernized Wuthering Heights.

The author’s ability to write from a woman’s POV is refreshing. I am hesitant when I read something written by a man, trying to sound like a woman. I generally feel like it’s not authentic,like there is something off. Not with this book. Em thought the way I would think, said things that I would say.

In the end, this novel deeply affected me. I have not read something that has touched me this much in some time. It spoke to me completely as I was tortured by my own Dex in my youth and early adulthood. The emotions are portrayed as they should be; the frustration, the yearning are, from my perspective, completely legitimate. I found myself feeling like I was reading bits and pieces of my own story. I had knots in my stomach through most of the book and after finishing this at 1 am this morning, I could do nothing but stare at the ceiling and walls, absorbing what I had read, tearing it apart mentally, and extracting lessons from it to be applied in life. That, for me, is the mark of a wonderful novel, reading that reaches into your soul and touches your heart, writing that moves you to feel.
...more

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Jul 07, 2011 Stephanie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: People who love: Message in a Bottle, Atonement, Love Story

Shelves: british, 50-book-2011, chick-lit

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

(I just copied this from my blog...and, didn't realize until it was pointed out to me (below) that I didn't copy the whole thing sorry!)

Please be warned this blog post contains SPOILERS for the following books: One Day, Message in a Bottle, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Lord of the Rings, The Way We Were, A Walk to Remember, Atonement, Bridges of Madison County, The Time Travelers Wife, The English Patient

This is the first book that is so beautiful tha ...more

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Aug 14, 2010 Tatiana rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: fans of depressing chick lit

Shelves: chick-lit, dnf

Frankly, after reading a spoiler about the ending, I simply have no will to continue on, there is just no pay-off after enduring this depressing tale sprinkled with occasional one-liners. Granted, I am never opposed to taking a good dose of drama, but melodrama I detest.

This story is about a man and a woman who one day come together as lovers, then break up, but stay connected. Their relationship is followed through the next 20 years by presenting just one day - July 15th - out of their lives.

T ...more

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Sep 21, 2010 Brittany rated it it was amazing

Is love really all that difficult? Yes, yes it is. David Nicholls crafts a beautiful love story about two people who are so different that they really only have one thing in common: they are both mad for each other. The frustrating thing is though, that however much these two people love each other, they maintain a "friends only" status throughout most of the book. What starts out as a possible love affair after just graduating college, Emma and Dexter's chemistry and attraction falls through th ...more

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Sep 03, 2011 Anna rated it did not like it

Shelves: romance, contemporay-fiction, audiobook

Every moment with this book felt like a waste of my time. I've seen it all before: the ugly duckling pining after the rich asshole who could be transformed into a better man if he only realized that the right woman was right there in front of him. This plot is so well trod that I feel like there are hundreds of better examples of it that I could have been reading. And here is the thing, I love these kinds of stories as the size of my romance shelf can attest. But I hated these characters so much ...more

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Jun 18, 2016 Amalia Gkavea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, contemporary, british-literature

“I think reality is overrated.”
This is a novel that takes you on a roller-coaster of emotions. It begins light, humorous, warm and aloof, just like most of us are once we graduate, all our efforts and studies paying off, looking into the future full of ideals, hopes and dreams. Then we face adult life and responsibilities, disappointment, and all the disillusionment that eventually knocks our doors.

At the heart of the story are Emma and Dexter, two young people who start out long-time friends

At the heart of the story are Emma and Dexter, two young people who start out long-time friends and one-night lovers and go on becoming so much more over the course of 20 years. David Nicholls chooses to have each chapter dedicated to a single specific date, the 15th of July, a chapter for every year. On this day, Emma and Dexter sometimes come together, sometimes they don't.

Emma is an extremely interesting character. Idealist, compassionate, cautious, caring. She is no saint, of course, but she is the only presence in the book who knows what she wants and succeeds in overcoming the hurdles. Dexter is not a likeable character and this is precisely as it should be. He is not meant to be well-liked, in my opinion. His cockiness is actually a facade most of the times and Emma is the only person who helps him bring out his better self. It is not an easy task and certainly not always successful. What is very interesting and telling is the fact that these two often do whatever is possible to keep the other at a distance, but they are always brought together. The secondary characters are really, really annoying.

(view spoiler)

One Day is one of the most celebrated novels of our times, full of nostalgia for decades passed, beautiful, realistic dialogue and excellent prose with two of the most memorable protagonists in recent Literature.

“So - whatever happened to you?'
'Life. Life happened.” ...more

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Dec 18, 2010 Wendy Darling rated it did not like it

Shelves: annoying-main-characters, adult, boys-who-are-jerks

Why do these two like each other, exactly?

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Jun 28, 2010 Trin rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, english-lit

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Let's talk about death. Not death which is inevitably part of life, but death in fiction, where it is not inevitable at all. Death in fiction is a deliberate, well-thought out decision: the writer is God, and he or she is choosing, for whatever reason, to Strike This Character Down.

There are good fictional deaths, and ones which feel cheap. This book lost me for good because it contains a death that felt exactly like the hand of God reaching down: Oh, thought the writer-god, I don't really know ...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Buggy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: top, fiction, love-story, cryin-over-u, shelf-11, not-so-hea, lmao, book-hangover, british

Opening Line: "I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference."

So I’m going to try to write a somewhat sensible review here that doesn’t come across as all gushy fan-girl. I will say (hopefully only once) that I adored this book but you should know that I'm a bit of a sucker for a tragedy too. ONE DAY was brilliant in every way; making me laugh and cry while filling me with nostalgia and longing. And because I’m the same age as Dexter and Emma the time frame here was also total Opening Line: "I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference."

So I’m going to try to write a somewhat sensible review here that doesn’t come across as all gushy fan-girl. I will say (hopefully only once) that I adored this book but you should know that I'm a bit of a sucker for a tragedy too. ONE DAY was brilliant in every way; making me laugh and cry while filling me with nostalgia and longing. And because I’m the same age as Dexter and Emma the time frame here was also totally relatable (see nostalgia) with little details I had forgotten about from the past two decades.

Equal parts heartbreaking and hilarious yet also suspenseful as each chapter takes place a year to the day after the last one so you have to figure out what’s happened in that time between. And of course you want the H/h to get together so you’re waiting with bated breathe for them to finally “see” each other too. In the end this also made me want to seize the day like it’s my last, phone up all my long lost friends and lovers and look at old photographs. Hmmm and I haven’t even gotten into the genius of the writing yet (how do you put that into words?)

I knew that writing a review here was going to be difficult (when you love a book this much there doesn’t seem to be enough correct words to do it justice) and I promised myself to just keep this short and to the point so here goes... This is one of the most hilarious, perceptive, witty, moving and heartbreaking books I have ever read.

Told in 5 parts in alternating POV’s and over a span of twenty years Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley meet in 1988. Em has just graduated from university and hooked up with that boy she’s seen around for ages. He is Dexter, beautiful, pretentious and in his mind destined for greatness. As the sun rises they drink wine and talk about their futures. They have their whole lives stretching out ahead of them in an endless number of days and isn’t it going to be wonderful they can achieve anything they want to.

Starting as lovers Dexter and Emma continue as friends and the book joins them on July 15th of each year (St Swithin’s day) through their 20’s and 30’s and into their 40’s. As anyone in their 40’s knows, life happens and it doesn’t always go as planned, missed opportunities and the like.

“When I was younger everything seemed possible. Now nothing does.”

Through phone calls and letters, in different countries and towns, through assorted relationships, jobs and life’s little surprises and ruts we join Em and Dex each year in a unique snapshot of their life. They don’t always get along but they do think about each other everyday in some way and in case you haven’t figured it out this is ultimately a love story.

I can’t say much more about this without giving it all away. But when I read the last word I wanted to start it again and nothing I’ve tried to read since compares. Cheers.

“Live each day as if it’s your last, that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that?” ...more

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Mar 02, 2017 Katie ♡ rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-read, movie-watched-before-read

Well well well... 3,7/5 stars for me...

If I get to tell you my feelings about this book in one single word, it would be "FINALLY!"

To be honest, having watched the movie, this book did not surprise me at all and all I can say about this one is how true to life and down-to-earth it is. The characters are alright, however, I personally "slightly" hate the leading male character Dexter who is, needlessly to say, arrogant, cocky and (ahem!) a pain in da ARSE! There I said it!

Seriously this takes me W ...more

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Aug 12, 2010 Rosanne rated it really liked it

A hilarious and realistic love story. Excellent characterizations, Nicholls captures life's ups and downs so well and tells Emma and Dexter's stories through snapshots on one day over the course of twenty years.

If you are a HEA junky like me, you might want to be aware that this is not a traditional happy ending at all, but in a way it is even better because the story continues beyond the HEA, it is real, honest and bittersweet.

I don't necessarily think this is a story everyone will enjoy, it is ...more

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Jul 27, 2010 Stephanie (Stepping Out Of The Page) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: too-much-hype, read-in-2011, lasting-impression, books-i-own, adult-fiction, comfort-novels, realistic-fiction, chick-lit, movies-or-tv, not-for-me

This book is completely overhyped. It is so dull. It's not exactly boring, but it's certainly not exciting. In my opinion, dull is the perfect adjective to describe 'One Day'. I was expecting something mindblowingly heart-wrenching from all of the praise I've seen for this book, but it was quite a disappointment. The book was well written and the premise was fantastic but it just didn't work for me - the whole thing just felt so drawn out and I didn't feel much for either Emma or Dexter - especi ...more

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Jan 26, 2011 EZRead eBookstore rated it it was ok

Shelves: amelia-reviews

Romances that bring friends together should show some reason why the two people like each other. Right? That seems to be the tactic that works for other stories.

As complete opposites, you’d think Dexter and Emma were turned on by these differing facts. But, the characters actually seem annoyed by most of what makes them dissimilar. In short, there is nothing to explain why they would actually care about each other. And, there’s no reason for me to care about them either, for that matter.

Dexter i ...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Heather rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011

Every now and then you read a book that sticks with you. It may have a serious tone, or in the case of One Day, no particular tone at all. I’m exceedingly glad that I withheld from reading reviews of this novel until after I was three fourths of the way through, as I’m not sure my experience with these characters, these words, would have been the same. It was bad enough to have been bombarded with blurb after blurb hailing this book as a comedy, others as a romance. I’m of the opinion that it is Every now and then you read a book that sticks with you. It may have a serious tone, or in the case of One Day, no particular tone at all. I’m exceedingly glad that I withheld from reading reviews of this novel until after I was three fourths of the way through, as I’m not sure my experience with these characters, these words, would have been the same. It was bad enough to have been bombarded with blurb after blurb hailing this book as a comedy, others as a romance. I’m of the opinion that it is neither. One Day is what life reads like.

*Spoilers Ahead*

I’m sure you all know the premise, if not, watch the movie trailer, it will spell it out quite clearly. Guy (Dexter) and girl (Emma) meet, have a brief hookup, and settle into a loaded friendship until finally, after nearly fifteen years of angst, they become lovers. It’s rather touching really, but what enchanted me most wasn’t the eventual coming together of these two disastrous fools, but rather the hot messes that these two characters are as individuals. What misfortunes they suffer! And what success! Thus is the beauty of this book.

Neither Dexter nor Emma are particularly likeable, but they love each other. Why, I do not know. Frankly, it was only when Dexter was in Emma’s presence that I could even moderately stand him, but again, I thought that was rather brilliant characterization on the author’s part. Haven’t we all met a shithead, or two, and thought to ourselves “I can’t stand this mofo, I bet he doesn’t have a single friend to his name”? Nicholls shows us, that not only do such shitheads have friends, they have a mother and father, and even a brilliant woman who loves them. They might even have good, shine worthy moments whilst in those individuals presence. Who’d have thunk it?

And Emma, what can I say about Emma? For most of the book she is a walking, talking catastrophe. Pinning after a man who isn’t worthy of her, lost and directionless. Filled with dreams and utterly clueless as to how to make them a reality. But she endeared herself to me with her fiery passion, intellect (except in matters of the heart), indecision and lack of self confidence. Why? Because I’ve been her. I think we all have. Most of us suffer through a quarter life crisis, otherwise, the coin never would have been phrased. And I’m certain most of us struggle with when to settle for our lot, and content ourselves with our fortune and when to press on and reach for our dreams, hopes and wants.

In seeing the disasters that are Emma and Dex, I was reminded that the beauty in life is best shown by living it. Adversity only magnifies accomplishment. And while we all surely have a fate, our choices very much determine the course of a life. One Day was a touching book, filled with relevant detail and rather lovely, readable writing. I’ll certainly read it again.
...more

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Aug 09, 2011 KarenH rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks-that-rock, sexy-with-a-capital-s-hero, heart-wrenching, audiobook, narrator-extraordinaire, keepers, definitely-worth-your-while, keep-the-kleenex-close-by, unusual-storyline, friends-to-lovers

I finished this book 3 days ago and I'm just now coming out of the stupor that I've been wandering around in since. One Day isn't a book with many gray areas...readers will absolutely love the story or they will hate it. I happen to be one of the former...so much so that I have spent all of my free time in the last 3 days hunting down pictures, articles, interviews, etc, related to the book and the movie adapted from it (opens nationwide August 19th). Since the author of One Day, David Nicholls, I finished this book 3 days ago and I'm just now coming out of the stupor that I've been wandering around in since. One Day isn't a book with many gray areas...readers will absolutely love the story or they will hate it. I happen to be one of the former...so much so that I have spent all of my free time in the last 3 days hunting down pictures, articles, interviews, etc, related to the book and the movie adapted from it (opens nationwide August 19th). Since the author of One Day, David Nicholls, also wrote the script for the movie, I have no doubt that this is going to be that rare exception where the movie will be as good or better than the book. The actors they have cast to play the lead protagonists are a perfect fit. In fact, Anne Hathaway loved the book so much, she flew to London to convince the director why she was perfect to play the part of Emma.

The story centers on the lives of two people, Emma Morley & Dexter Mayhew, who meet the night of their college graduation on July 15, 1988. The one-night-stand they attempt to engage in doesn't pan out; instead, they opt for being friends. Little do they know, this "off-the-cuff" friendship they've settled for will cultivate and grow - encompassing Dex, Em and all of the book's readers. Thus, July 15, 1988 marks the day that changes their lives forever. For each year thereafter, the story stops on that same day to check in with Dex and Em.

One Day is a character study like no other. I don't think I've ever read a book where I have known the H/h as intimately as I do Dex and Em. Their hopes and fears, successes and failures - as well as the steadfast bond between them - is all absorbed by the reader. Whether you enjoyed the book or not, I'd wager very few could deny the amazing chemistry between Dex & Em, as well as how thoroughly exposed & vulnerable their feelings become as the years go by. You will laugh a little at them and cry a lot with them. In fact, there comes a point in the story where the laughter will cease but not the tears...definitely not the tears. Even for those of us that normally don't cry at the drop of a pin...you might surprise yourself here. Forewarned is forearmed...have the box of tissue handy!

I am not going to elaborate on the storyline because it isn't one to tell; rather, it is a story readers should experience for themselves. Although it is a fictionalized account, there are situations in One Day that might hit home as being very personal to you. Friendship and love... does one lead to the other or should heading in that direction be avoided? Can they exist synonymously...running deep and true and eternal? Is there one specific day that changed your life forever?

The only genre I read is romance and IMO One Day is a 10-star contribution. However, if you require your romance to be all wrapped up in shiny paper with a big bow on top (like I usually do), I would recommend that you do not read this book. But for those of you who are willing to step outside of the box, you will get an extraordinary, emotionally-gripping, "laughter despite the tears" powerhouse of a novel in return. The cover of the book says it all!

...more

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Jun 16, 2010 Jasmine rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: british

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There will be spoilers...

I am no longer speaking to this book it has seriously pissed me off. It is imperialist unamerican and majorly depressing. I have done you a favor Mr Nicholls and decided not to kill myself lest it reflect poorly on your book, but you made me want to repeatedly. And yes I understand you are british and that there is something fundamentally wrong with british people that makes you uncomfortable with anyone have a remotely good day in a novel, but seriously. Honestly David There will be spoilers...

I am no longer speaking to this book it has seriously pissed me off. It is imperialist unamerican and majorly depressing. I have done you a favor Mr Nicholls and decided not to kill myself lest it reflect poorly on your book, but you made me want to repeatedly. And yes I understand you are british and that there is something fundamentally wrong with british people that makes you uncomfortable with anyone have a remotely good day in a novel, but seriously. Honestly David I am a bit worried about you and I think it maybe a good idea for you to go see a therapist you seem intensely depressed to me and you don't want to go ending up like B.S. Johnson now do you?

Right so now that I am done ranting about cultural differences on to ranting about the book. This book basically has the plot of an american romantic comedy. Nicholls even knows this and periodically remarks on it (comparing the main characters to Harry and Sally for example). Unlike an American story it's well depressing and not a little bit, all the time. I know it is hard to imagine but this is a book about two people who are basically depressed constantly, okay I lie once Emma is happy and maybe twice Dexter is happy in a course of 20 years, and it is never super happy, just eh okay happy. They are constantly in relationships they hate with people that hate them or generally terrible at whatever they are attempting to do at that moment. Seriously this is why I am getting up in the morning so that I can be miserable once again?

This book seems to me to have two options for trajectories:
The American: They get together and everyone lives happily ever after.
The british: they stay friends but they never seem to slow down long enough to get together.

The second option feels like the direction the book is going for a full 3 hundred pages. Dexter even at one point says something along these lines to Emma. And to be completely honest I was okay with that. I understand the idea that some people just can't slow down enough to make a relationship work. I understand that regardless of how much Emma and Dexter love each other, which is evident in the book, that sometimes things just don't manage to fall into place. This doesn't mean that they don't love each other enough or that there is something wrong with them, it simply means that circumstances are simply unable to create a world in which people like Emma and Dexter end up together. Perhaps they care to much, perhaps in the end we all settle. With passion comes disease and argument, and a relationship of love can never be quite as perfect as a relationship of compromise. Of Dexter marrying someone else and agreeing to become a just good enough husband, of Emma settling for a man who loves her whom she can't manage to change quite enough to love him back. This is where I thought the book was going to go. Perhaps the book still ends up here in a terribly horrendous way but first...

The book goes american on us. They manage to get together, and just in time, whew almost missed that whole biological clock thing, and yes circumstances could be better. I mean that idiot Dexter has a kid that truly belongs to someone else and he has been a loser and a drunk for the better part of 40 years, but at least it finally happens. And Emma fixes him. Yay for an american happy ending.

But wait on their two year anniversary "Emma Morley dies" and I am not kidding that is the amount of play it gets in the book. She thinks she is going to be late meeting dexter to look at a house and she dies. This is where the book and I began our grudge map. I did not wait 350 pages for something good to finally happen so that people could suddenly get killed off. And Dexter becomes a bad person again, but he gets over it and is friends with his ex wife again and dating the manager of his shop, um can you say incest? Serious at least date someone who your wife wasn't making jokes about you cheating on her with.

So seriously David I am worried about you if these are your introjects of the world, please email me I will help you find a good therapist. ...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Jess ❈Harbinger of Blood-Soaked Rainbows❈ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: popsugar-2015, favorites, reviewed, hard-copy, top-100, own-read, contemporary-fiction, favorite-reviews

Read a book with a number in the title.

This is by far the easiest 5 stars I've given out this year.

(forget the fact that it is only the second 5 stars I've given out this year.)

(also forget the fact that I'm writing this review the day before I finish Dark Matter which will most likely be its biggest contender)

And btw, fuck this book.

Maybe it's just bad timing for whatever, but I think you should head of to China or India or wherever and find yourself, and I'll get on quite happily with thing

Maybe it's just bad timing for whatever, but I think you should head of to China or India or wherever and find yourself, and I'll get on quite happily with things here. I don't want to come with you, I don't want weekly postcards, I don't even want your phone number. I don't want to get married and have your babies either, or even have another fling. We had one really really nice night together, that's all. I'll always remember it. And if we bump into each other sometime in the future at a party or something, then that's fine too. We'll just have a friendly chat. We won't be embarrassed 'cause you've had your hand down my top and there'll be no awkwardness and we'll be, whatever 'cool' about it, alright? Me and you. We'll just be....friends. Agreed?

This is going to be one of those personal reviews. Just so you're warned. If you don't like it, look away now. Spoiler tagging for those not interested.

(view spoiler) ...more

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Feb 25, 2014 Carrie Hope Fletcher rated it it was amazing

"Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY"

One Day I was standing at a train station confronted by a huge orange poster much like the front cover of a book I had bought a year earlier but hadn’t read. So i took it with me to Florida and didn’t put it down. ‘One Day’ was quite a match for ...more

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Apr 28, 2020 Baba rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romantically-minded

National Book Awards Winner. Essentially a romantic comedy, but one with superb characterisations of the main protagonists. On the 15th July 1988, Emma and Dexter meet on the night of their graduation in Edinburgh… the book then goes on to tell the state of their lives each and every 15 July for the next 20 years.

A charming life-affirming read that justly deserves the high critical acclaim it gained on publication. 8 out of 12.

...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Shahirah rated it did not like it

Yuck! What self-indulgent muck! I decided to read this book after having read extremely positive reviews in the British press, and upon finding out that a movie based on the book will be released imminently.

About 100 pages in, I was already hating it, and now, finally finishing it, I am convinced those raving reviews must have been written by people who hardly ever read books.

The book is cheesy and corny, predictable as a storm on a cloudy day, with characters who unfortunately display very li ...more

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Jan 01, 2015 Phrynne rated it liked it

Just a little bit disappointed because I enjoyed Us so very much and I expected this one to be good as well. It was okay but it never really pulled me in. I had considerable difficulty with how unlikeable both main characters were and I was totally unable to understand why they should like let alone love each other. On the other hand the story was good and the idea of writing about one particular day each year gave the book great structure. The ending was unexpected and confronting but then ther ...more

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Dec 17, 2014 Theresa rated it really liked it

Shelves: trauma, my-favorite-books, tear-jerkers

A beautiful and unconventional love story. I loved Emma. I thought she was funny, intelligent, feisty, and down-to-earth. Took me a while to warm up to Dexter, (he's not a nice guy at first) but when he grew-up emotionally, I found him charming and extremely loyal. This book will make you laugh, cry, and believe that true love is possible. Enjoy! :) ...more

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May 08, 2011 Kim rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: mmxi, hype, contemporary

I kind of hate this book. I can only reason that I picked it up because I felt lonely and hormonal and thought that maybe I could pass the time with a cute little chick lit book... maybe on the lines of The Time Traveler's Wife, which I can also, reasonably, (though I am not always that) can see as being a hokey book. But--- this... no, I can't let it go. Yes... I was menstruating and I'm sorry if that's TMI... it plays an important role in my reviewing of this book because I could be biased or ...more

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Jun 22, 2012 E rated it it was amazing

Shelves: novels

I feel as though I just went on a wonderful date with this book, but now I'm trying to justify to my friends, myself and the book why this isn't true love. Or at least true literature.

Like most page-turners, the dialogue is snappy, the ruminations are written like people talk, and the story is mostly plot-driven in a sea of Omigodwhathappensnext adrenaline. (And that scene where the new boyfriend nervously plays a game with the girlfriend's family only to play too hard and have everyone glaring I feel as though I just went on a wonderful date with this book, but now I'm trying to justify to my friends, myself and the book why this isn't true love. Or at least true literature.

Like most page-turners, the dialogue is snappy, the ruminations are written like people talk, and the story is mostly plot-driven in a sea of Omigodwhathappensnext adrenaline. (And that scene where the new boyfriend nervously plays a game with the girlfriend's family only to play too hard and have everyone glaring at him? IT'S BEEN DONE.) But so much of it was just so charismatic, so unforgivingly honest, that I often found myself putting it down in order to soak it all up. And I kept having arguments with myself as to whether or not I was really in love with real Literature.

Before I come off as any more of a snob, let me state my standards. Literature sets itself apart from genre fiction because it doesn't rely on formulas. A story avoids formulas by having a) complex, realistic characters, b) a creative writing style, c) an overarching theme about the human condition. So, does One Day have what it takes to keep itself out of the Romantic Comedy genre section?

A) Emma and Dexter are carefully crafted characters whose brilliant inner monologues could never translate to well film. Unlike so many modern authors, Nicholls understands Her as well as he understands Him, assigning them both self-destructive tendencies and a profound capacity for love. That they are constantly pointing out each other's flaws and constantly making each other laugh makes theirs one of the few literary relationships based not on passionate romance but passionate respect. (And respect is freakin' romantic.) Unfortunately, most of the supporting characters are stereotypes used mainly to tilt the reader's sympathy back to the main two. Whatever selfish mistakes Emma and Dexter make, Suki is just too ditzy, Ian is just too inept, Sylvie is just too cold, and Mr. Godalming is just too nondescript for the reader to ever risk siding with them. A few points lost there, but stereotypes can also be used to reflect the society in which the main characters are trying to survive (see American Beauty or White Teeth for more of that) and Nicholls does sometimes pull this off quite well.

B) An accessible style need not be shallow. Nicholls's descriptions never risk distracting you from the plot, but they decorate it very well. ("She looked up at the ceiling as if she were giving someone the chance to hide.") The story's structure, jumping one year ahead with each chapter, is clever and tantalizing, warning the reader that no scenes will be guaranteed. And, like the main characters, Nicholls can be very, very witty, when he wants to be. ("In a war film, Ian would be little Tommy writing home to his mother. Dexter would be, well, an effete Nazi.")

*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

C) The theme is perhaps the weakest part. Crazy stupid love and the difficulty of growing up aren't the most challenging topics ever put to paper, and the speed at which this story was turned into a screenplay at least whispers "standard fare." But it's no surprise the film did badly because Emma and Dexter are NOT just two cuties who riff until it's time for the Cinderella ending. They're friends first and foremost, and, as the NY Times observed earlier this year, pop culture doesn't have many stories about friendship. It doesn't really know what do with it. Nicholls does.

He's written that he feels ambivalent about leaving Dexter and Emma childless, but this was one of my favorite aspects of the plot because it serves as a testament to the strength of their friendship. They don't need a biological symbol of their loyalty to one another in order to justify it.

He loses a few points for talking so much about sex without proving he can write a sexy line describing the act. (FYI, "flesh" is not a very sexy word.) But their sexy friendship is portrayed in such a rainbow of delicate details that anyone who's had a crush on a close friend will relate to at least a colorful handful of them. And nothing epitomizes Nicolls's commitment to portraying all that is cruel and banal and frustrating in life than the fact that he spends no more time on their marriage than he does on Dexter's bereavement. As Roger Ebert has pointed out, every love story ends in death, and unlike so many pop culture storytellers, Nicholls is brave to let us see how Dexter struggles with that, skipping the melodramatic moment of discovery and going straight to the hell of healing.

Whether or not it's Literature, I am pleased as hell when there are books like this in the world. Like a fun date, there were points when I wished it could have been better, but I never wanted it to end. ...more

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Aug 15, 2011 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favourites

Em and Dex, Dex and Em. Two people that we catch up with every year on exactly the same day. This is the second time i've read this book and I’m sobbing, totally and utterly sobbing. If a book can do that to you twice then it’s a really good book and this is why its now a favourite of all time.

I can't imagine watching the film for this but maybe, one day ...more

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Jun 30, 2010 Rhi rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2010, books-for-grown-ups, 2-stars, contemp-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 04, 2019 GTF rated it liked it

'One Day' is an interesting, melancholy romance novel from David Nicholls, that follows the lives of two tentative love birds: Emma and Dexter.

The pacing of the novel is well done, as the yearly gaps in between chapters portray love and romance from a long-term perspective. The story is characterized by the highs and lows, and the struggles and triumphs that people experience throughout the course of their lives. The story is poignant in every sense, and the underlying messages of the book are; ...more

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Jan 28, 2020 Cynnamon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kat-contemporary

A surprisingly unkitschy romance novel that I (a woman who wouldn't want to touch a romance novel with a bargepole) would like to recommend.

I liked particularly how real the story and the characters felt to me. I was not so happy with the two twists in the end, especially the very last, harsh one, but altogether I enjoyed this novel very much. ...more

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Aug 05, 2011 Mith rated it did not like it

Shelves: rom-com-chick-lit, gave-up-on, never-again-ever, ugh

And I give up.

Twenty pages in and I was already regretting my choice of picking this book up. Now, after one hundred whole pages of this trash, I can't take it anymore.

How do I begin to explain this atrocity? One Day recounts the story of Emma and Dexter in a never-before-seen format - each chapter is the just the one day - July 15th - of each year of their lives. This could have had so much potential but the execution is just...agonizingly painful.

Now, Emma is a whiny, bitchy, insecure hipster ...more

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Mar 02, 2011 Nikki Mendoza rated it it was ok

Finally finished reading this book yesterday, it only took a whole month. I love the occasional chick lit, the kind of book that I would pretend I haven’t read if I were that kind of person who cares that people judge me by the books I read. Having said that, I will secretly judge you if you tell me that you love the Shopaholic and Twilight series, not that I haven’t read them, I have, I just don’t love them. I’ve read more books by Nicholas Sparks than I care to admit, I just keep hoping that t ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
Goodreads Brasil: Um Dia - David Nicholls (15/02 - 31/03)	2	34	Feb 15, 2021 03:06AM
Goodreads Brasil: Informações gerais	4	31	Feb 15, 2021 03:05AM
Bookworm Bitches : October 2011: One Day	85	299	Jun 23, 2018 02:06AM
Books2Movies Club: One Day - book and movie	1	26	Dec 03, 2017 11:30AM
The name Jasmine.	1	27	Apr 08, 2017 05:56PM
Which part do you like most?	1	26	Apr 08, 2017 03:34PM
The book and Emma	1	17	Apr 05, 2017 07:41PM

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About David Nicholls

David Nicholls

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David Nicholls is a British author, screenwriter, and actor. A student of Toynbee Comprehensive school and Barton Peveril Sixth Form College, he Graduated from the University of Bristol having studied English Literature and Drama.

After graduation, he won a scholarship to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, before returning to London in 1991 and finally earning an Equity ...more

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“This is where it all begins. Everything starts here, today.” — 2488 likes

“What are you going to do with your life?" In one way or another it seemed that people had been asking her this forever; teachers, her parents, friends at three in the morning, but the question had never seemed this pressing and still she was no nearer an answer... "Live each day as if it's your last', that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that? What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance.” — 1308 likes

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