MARCH 2011 - ONE DAY BY DAVID NICHOLLS

[[deleted user]]

Am I the only one that loved this book?

[Martina]

Just finished One Day.. Really liked Emma., and Loved her taste in Music..Dextor, I think every girl knew a Dextor at some stage. Strange book, at times didn't know whether I loved this book or I could easily have put it away at other times. Did anyone else feel like that??

[[deleted user]]

@Sam. It was a fairly successful selection. Nobody has really disliked it. If future selections go like this I'll be happy.

@Martina. I could easily have forgotten about it after the death of Dexter's mother. He'd spent so many years living on his own and looking after himself and yet fell apart like wet tissue when she died. I didn't get it.

[Katie]

Sam; You're not the only one. I loved it too and gave it 5 stars.

[Katie]

I didn't even know there was going to be a movie! Hmmm, I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing... I suppose the hype around most books passes me by because so few of my friends read. I should probably reread it before I comment but I loved the ending (view spoiler)[ Emma's death made the book work for me and I was totally unprepared for it, I love when an author surprises me! I think in some part of my mind i paused the story just before Emma died and let them have a happy ever after... then I read on and found out what the author wanted to happen. I get what you are saying about the happy endings though; they are the best thing about fiction. (hide spoiler)]and from what I remember of Dexter I found him believable. As I said maybe I should give the book another go. :)

[Sarah]

I enjoyed overall, loved Emma's character but as I said about Dexter I don't think he is easy to relate too and if it wasn't for the jokes back and forth between him and Emma and there relationship will it won't it happen.... I could easily have forgot about him. Emma's Death took me by surprise and like Declan said was brave of the writer..but to be honest I was thinking thats it for Dexter nothing new happened he hit the bottle again and I wasn't really surprised with the ending.
I didn't think Emma came across as a shallow character I think she was very similar to a lot of people at some stage in there life but then again that's my opinion. : )

[[deleted user]]

I only heard about this book a few weeks ago, Richard Bacon put it in his 5 best books on My Life in Books on BBC2, that got me interested then it was mooted as the book read. I wouldn't have read it otherwise, but glad I did.

I'm happy it didn't have a traditional "and they all lived happily ever after" type ending. I wonder if they will change the ending for the movie? They do that sort of thing in Hollywood you know :-)

[John]

I finished it on Friday. I guess at this stage anyone reading this far has finished it but just in case...

(view spoiler)[
I thought last few chapters really turned things around. In fact I found the book got slowly better as it went on and when I finished it, I had more positive thoughts about it than when I was halfway through. Even though Emma's death was a bit gimmicky as a plot device... and then the sudden switch from linear to non-linear narrative which ultimately resolves in a happy ending on the last page.

Tarantino pulled the same trick with Pulp Fiction when pitching it to the movie execs "So Travolta dies but we still see him alive at the end strutting down the street as the credits roll?" Yep "Ok you got a deal!"

But I think it would be a bit cynical to call it a cheap gimmick. It was done well and I enjoyed it. Not sure why but I had a feeling she was going to die at some stage.
(hide spoiler)]

[Keith]

Well I finished this at last. I lost interest about half way through and went and started The Wise Man's Fear, which is just after being released. Unfortunately, that also hasn't been able to hold my attention. (Bad month for books for me :( )

If you had asked me last week what rating I was going to give One Day, I would have said one...maybe two stars. I really couldn't warm to either character and found them both to be very immature and self obsessed. The lack of a plot made this a huge problem, as the book was a character driven book, with really annoying characters...go figure.

After a break away from the book for a week though, I was able to give both characters another chance....and you know what? They actually grew on me a little (like mould on bread?)

In the end, it lived up to my expectations. An easy enough read, and fairly humorous in places. The "one day a year," device didn't work at all for me though. I know that this was the premise of the book, but does anyone else not think that this is a HORRIBLE way to tell a story????

And whats with all you guys giving Dexter such a hrad time, and letting Emma off the hook? I agree that Dexter was a moron, but come on...Emma was such an annoying self-righteous *****!!! Ugh...she annoyed the hell out of me. Anyone agree???

[[deleted user]]

Mostly I found Emma bland, but she was a little pompous at times especially when dealing with Dexter in the later chapters. Her lack of direction, for most of the book, was very boring. Dexter was irritating, but I didn't mind his character too much as most of the laughs came from his direction.

About the one-day-a-year angle? It was wholly unnecessary. I think it was a unique selling point more than a plot device, from a writer who is very media savvy.