My first post is a book review. Because I am a nerd child at heart.
I read "One Day" because David Nicholls is one of my favourite authors. His best known novel is "Starter For Ten", which was made into a film, and he's also written a book I love (but no one seems to have read), called "The Understudy".
READ THIS BOOK.
But back on topic. "One Day" is about two main characters, Emma and Dexter. Emma is a woman lacking in security or self confidence, but hides this behind sarcasm and banter. From the start, something draws you to Emma (well it certainly did for me anyway), and you can tell that she is intriguing. Dexter has it all, money, looks, and although he isn't sure what awaits him, he will (we believe) have a secure, easy future. It starts on Friday 15 July 1988 (St Swithins Day), as the two of them think about the future, having just graduated from Edinburgh University. They have this one night together, as tomorrow, they will almost definitely part ways forever.
From then on, each new chapter is the same date exactly one year on. In this way, we get to see Dexter and Emma grow literally and as people, as they embark into their adult lives. One of my favourite things about this is the fact that as a reader I got to be surprised by the paths that the two principle characters take in their lives. We get to see Dexter's career in television kick start as he ends up on "largin' it" (and later ruin this for himself by going live while completely drunk). Emma on the other hand, first attempts (half-heartedly) to become an actress, then working in a dismal mexican cafe, until eventually becoming a teacher.
Dexter and Emma continue their strong friendship, both flitting in and out of relationships with others (Dexter even having a daughter), but of course we can all tell that "Dex-and-Em" are meant to be, which inevitably happens, which was extremely satisfying.
The way that the book is written makes it interesting and varied to read, but regularly results in the frustrating situation of something big being about to happen on the 16th July, but before we get to see what happens, we jump a year. This does keep you reading though, and obviously everything is explained in the end.
Another interesting aspect of the story is how your initial predictions of the characters are proved wrong by the midpoint of the plot, by which time Emma's life has taken a positive turn in her successful career as a children's author, and following a series of unfortunate happenings, Dexter's life becomes tangled with complications.
Overall, the book is an interesting way of looking at the way that human beings change over time, and the exciting paths that lives take. Mainly, it shows the relationship between Emma and Dexter growing, and the way that they both need each other - far from them saying final farewells after their first night together, they end up being prominent figures throughout each other's lives. There are plenty of moments of drama, lots of comedy, and moments of shock. I mean shock - I nearly dropped the book in my cereal.
"One Day" is a very good book. It still hasn't matched up to "The Understudy"'s standards in my opinion, but definitely worth reading.
