One Day: A Novel by David Nicholls (Vintage, $14.95, 448 pages; Random House Audio, $19.99, 13 compact discs)
If ever there was a clear-cut category for One Day, “dramedy” is where it belongs. By now it’s likely that the book, audio book and movie have been enjoyed by countless tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people. The story thread is not really new. A similar example this reviewer recalls is Same Time Next Year. In the play and movie of the same name, a couple’s thrown together by chance, has a romantic encounter and agrees to meet on the same weekend each year. They do so for 24 years.
One Day revisits the main characters, Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew each year on the 15th of July, St. Swithin’s Day, for 20 years following their graduation from Edinburgh University in Scotland. Emma and Dexter spend graduation night together at the beginning of this saga. Dexter is a beautiful young man from a well-to-do family who enjoys being admired and bedded by many women. Emma, on the other hand, comes from a lower-class background and is significantly brighter academically than Dexter. However, her life experience and confidence are seriously lacking which does not bode well for her success in life.
Post-graduation finds them in London. Dexter exudes confidence and is highly photogenic which lands him a job as a TV show host while Emma toils away at menial jobs including as a waitress and eventually the manager of a Tex-Mex restaurant. Their annual check-ins prove to be both funny and poignant.
The years roll by and it is clear that both Emma and Dexter are good friends, although Emma is clearly more devoted to Dexter than he to her. Let’s face it, Dexter is devoted to Dexter. On St. Swithin’s Day their lives don’t always intersect, although Nicholls provides the reader with ample evidence of how each is managing life.
This novel has been reviewed twice previously on this site. The prior reviews were written based on the hard copy. This review is based on the unabridged audio book. The word “unabridged” is key here because, unlike the book, the movie version is highly abridged and offers little more than snapshots of some of the July 15th episodes. This reviewer is grateful to have heard the audio version prior to viewing the movie because the film was no more than a shallow glimpse into the characters’ actions. Sadly, the serious and deeply moving aspects of the book were lost in the movie version.
Author Nicholls is a genius at dialogue and fortunately for this reviewer, the audio version was captivating. Anna Bentinck lends her talents to the character voices and manages to do a good job on both the men and women’s parts.
Highly recommended.
Ruta Arellano
The audio book was purchased by the reviewer’s husband.
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