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One Day
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Oooh I have this one already! I suppose that's good.. but it does mean I don't get to go shopping :(Off to hunt my shelves for it, although being orange it shouldn't be too hard to find... I hope!
I've reserved my copy at the library:)
Yay! I read the first chapter last night, he is pretty funny on first impression, I found his style easy going. It's set a bit before my university days (but not much) and the opening scene is a little reminiscent of that!
Mod
Read it at the start of this year and really enjoyed it. David Nicholls writes for TV and you can see it in his prose writing, but that takes nothing away from it. He has a great ear for dialogue and smart one-liners but his characters and situations are real and believable and he's smart enough not to keep his plot predictable or formulaic. It will be interesting to see if the movie version, which I watched them film parts of in Edinburgh earlier this summer, lives up to the books' high standards.
I'm on to chapter 12 which is 1998, so I've got through 10 years so far!I'm enjoying it. The device of only writing from the perspective of that one day is an intriguing one. Sometimes I find myself wishing at the end of the chapter that the narrative would continue a bit so I could find out what happened next, rather than having to jump forward a year. He always fills in the important background bits though as he has the character remembering what happened in between if it's relevant. It keeps the story rattling along though, and the characters are written well so I find myself wanting to find out where they are going.
I have to say I find Dexter very much a complete pr**k and would love to slap him silly. Emma is a bit pompous at times but I am loving her.
Been trying to get a copy through RISI but no luck so far, may pop to the library tomorrow and see if I can get a copy there.
Finished! (I know it's not a race, I just tend to not be able to leave a book alone if I am enjoying it, sorry). I did enjoy it, but I do have a couple of nits to pick. I'm interested to see if anyone else feels the same way I do about the last three or four chapters.
You are speedy Kay, on ch 5 but should get some reading time in next week now kids back to school and earlier to bed!
My copy hasn't arrived yet:) If anyone discusses the book on this thread please don't forget to add *Spoiler* before your comment, sorry if I'm preaching to the converted:)
I am still trying to get a copy from RISI!
My copy hasn't arrived yet, so looks like we could be reading this together.
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What a coincidence! I have been signed up at goodreads since June but only active as of today. This morning I decided I would start One Day as I have had it on my to-read shelf for quite a while. I look forward to participating!
Obviously, it's just the right time to read One Day! I'm half way through, finding it easy going and funny, the characters feel real, think they're shades of people I know. Think it'll make a good film too.
I think this is a very good book. Unusual method of looking a single day a year which worked very well. I didn't like the characters much at the start but they grew on me. I thought the ending was good and not what i was expecting. I would recommend it to anyone.
I've just finished the book. I liked it to begin with but my opinion had changed by the end. I felt like Nicholls was ticking the boxes of what makes a good story but it didn't really work when put together. It was a good concept (one day over 20 years) but for me the rest of the book wasn't good enough. Poor writing (except some good one-liners), shallow characters and an unimaginative ending.Part of me wonders if this book is popular because of Nicholls reputation and the publicity surrounding the book. Had this been Nicholls' first novel, I doubt it would have been received so positively.
I think the above sounds worse than it should but I'm not sure how else to express it. On the surface I liked it, it was on further reflection that my dislike of the book developed. The reviews for this book seem to be divided into two groups (love/hate, no middle ground) so I'm interested to hear what people on here think.
******SPOILERS******This is the first book of David Nicholls that I've read but I did see the film of Starter for 10, so I had a good idea of what to expect from it in terms of tone and style. The plaudits plastered on the inside cover of my book by the likes of Nick Hornby, Tony Parsons etc also contributed to my view. I anticipated that it would be a book in line with those writers mentioned above and I expected it to be one that would end up in film as well.
I think the book is popular because it's an enjoyable one, pretty easy going to read and immediately accessible which I think encourages more people to pick it up in the first place. Although the previous reputation of the author may have helped, I can certainly think of plenty of writers who have a great response to their first book and an awful one to their second so it's no guarantee!
I liked the concept and I thought it was a smart book, as you've said good one liners but I also found the characters believable, if not always likeable - both were annoying at times! However, for me they were recognisable characters and I cared about them both the more I read of them. In all, it was much sadder than I would have guessed at the outset - I found it quite moving in places.
I didn't have any particular expectations of how it would end, I thought they might live happily ever after (but I've never been good at predicting endings to be honest.)
* * Spoilers * *Looking at the Goodreads reviews of this book and the majority of people give it a high rating, however there is a core of people who really didn't like it at all, giving it very low ratings. I wonder why some people have taken such a dislike to it! The main characters are not very likeable, particularly at the start, but they do grow on you. Some people didn't like the death, but i thought this was a good twist rather than the predictable happy ending. I also wonder if people's expectations were set very high from a lot of good reviews.
I think that's a good point Andy, alot of the time it is our expectations of a book that affect our experience when we read it. A couple of times I've read a book that everyone is raving about and then been a bit disappointed with it as a result.
**Spoilers**I read a few of the reviews after I finished reading the book, and it seems that the majority of the complaints were about the death. Many people thought it was unnecessary and just a lazy plot device and I can see what they mean. Sometimes life is the big adventure, and the two of them trying to make a go of it, the problems with conceiving, settling down to mundane everyday life, that would have been the challenge. To have her die like that was too easy. Personally, I didn't see the point of it. The point that they were better people together than they were apart had already been made, and the divorce had given him his epiphany, he really didn't need another one. The scene where his father takes him home and makes him soup was incredible though, I had problems seeing the page at the end of that chapter, my eyes were so full of tears.
****Spoilers****Glad it wasn't just me who was weeping Kay!
Popped into the library today and found a copy of One Day.Will catch you all up tonight as I have a shift so will be reading this to keep me awake!
Kay wrote: "**Spoilers**I read a few of the reviews after I finished reading the book, and it seems that the majority of the complaints were about the death. Many people thought it was unnecessary and just ..."
I can see what you’re saying but can't agree; I thought the death was no way an easy option. It was different, unexpected and very moving; it would have been easier to go with the happy ever after ending leaving the book not being half as memorable. The death was also the whole point of the book, as it was why St Swithins was the day of each chapter.
Mod
Will catch you all up tonight as I have a shift so will be reading this to keep me awake!"
I'm STILL waiting for my copy from the library - someone is taking a long time to read it! I put in a request for Perfume: The Story of a Murderer last week ( a re-read for my bookclub, here) and that has arrived already, so I'll just have to get stuck into that for the moment....
Have got to Chapter 4 so far as my night shift was sadly cancelled so wasn't able to read all night!
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Yes, I think you can tell he's used to writing for TV - so much of the story-telling is actually done through the dialogue, which is sharp and funny.
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One Day took me two days to finish - a great way to catch up on my 50 book challenge. It's a good page-turner and I enjoyed it. It made me laugh and cringe at the same time.
I got sucked in immediately, but disliked Dexter from the start - did someone use the word pr**k? I'll second that. It takes him so long to evolve (realistic, I suppose, at least he doesn't change overnight), but why does Em waste so much of her life holding a torch for him?
Nicholls gets all the nineties pop-culture references spot on - I worked in TV in the 90's and some of this was scarily familiar ('Largin' it' - 'The Word' perhaps? and 'The Poseiden' has to be 'The Atlantic Bar & Grill')
I do have a problem with the ending. Dex & Em were just settling into their 'married bliss' and I thought, 'Hang on, we've still got over 70 pages to go, how is this going to end..? Happy-ever-after is too easy, perhaps one of them will die?' Surprise, surprise. If I hadn't seen it coming, I might have been moved. Such a shame as I really had enjoyed the ride.
I hope the film keeps the wry humour and doesn't over-sentimentalise the story. How is Anne Hathaway going to manage the Yorkshire accent?
About half way now but had to put it to one side as I have a library book to finish for my Sci Fi Group (House of Leaves) and has it was sent from another library in the county I can't renew it.So far though its a good read but I don't like Dex and Ian would get on my nerves!!
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Ho, ho! Anne Hathaway's managed received pronounciation (ie BBC English) ok before, but the Yorkshire accent - she'd better have a damn good voice coach........
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Of course she is, I'm sure she spends all her idle moments with her nose in a good book... ;)
**********Spoiler**********I enjoyed reading this one. Was a bit of a shock near the end - poor Emma!
i really enjoyed this book and found his style of writing easy to read, would recommend it! :)
This is the book that I am to giveaway for World Book Night.
Hi LynneIt's the one I picked too. I just loved the sharp dialogue!
Yes it was definitely a different kind of read.
....coming late to the party as I have only just read this. Thought it was a really good holiday read- not too challenging, and characters you could really believe in, even if you did wonder at times why Emma kept coming back for more! I thought the idea of returning to the same day each year particularly clever- I found myself second guessing what might have happened in the meantime each year. Some of the story lines along the way felt a bit predictable including the Hardyesque ending- but overall an enjoyable read.
What are people's thoughts of the movie Vs. the book?
** Spoiler **I thought the film was good- saw it at the weekend. Inevitably some of the story lines were a bit condensed- but overall given the same script writer it followed the book pretty closely. Was it just me or was Anne Hathaway's Northern accent stronger as the film went on? The denouement was still quite shocking- even though I was waiting for it, and it meant we left the film in quite a sombre mood (particularly as my wife had not read the book so wasn't expecting it!!)
UK Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (other topics)House of Leaves (other topics)
One Day (other topics)
Polling has ended and the book with the most votes is, *drumroll*:
One Day by David Nicholls (as suggested by Em).
So, if you're interested, get hold of a copy and start reading, posting your thoughts here.....