One Day

Every once in awhile we are taken back to a time in our life that will remain frozen, as we decide we never want to leave it.  Funny, huh?  Not really, makes great sense.  Especially for someone like me, who tries and stay “frozen” in time at the best days of my life, college.  Even though it is set in England, college life transcends the Atlantic.  You see, this book I just finished (thanks much Taylor, who suggested it) starts on the last day of college, graduation day and that’s where One Day by David Nicholls begins the journey of Emma and Dexter.  The book returns to the intersection of the two characters' lives every July 15, from 1988 until 2007.  The book really resonated with me, as it is set just around the time I was graduating from my college experience, and many of the things that occur were things that I saw, did, and miss to this day.  Dexter, a “live now” guy who never seems to leave the freshman “get drunk” live large life, and Emma, an activist feminist, begin as friends after they hook-up (not sure that is the term for today, but apropos for the 80s).  Hook-up in the sense, they don’t have sex, maybe more than kissing for sure…. Nonetheless, they separate but end up crossing paths every year, and then some.  It becomes a love story that the reader is pulled into and while I don’t know how Emma would want to be with Dexter as he seems to be the antithesis of Emma, you root for them as the years go on.  Dexter ends up marrying someone else, oh no!, while Emma stays single.  Many turns occur and finally…. Well, not sure I want to reveal what happens to be honest.  Let’s just say that your heart should be warmed and also torn at the end.  Life has a really funny way of not always delivering us what we deserve, or does it?  Nicholls' characters are believable and I was drawn into the complexities of life and what we think we want we really shouldn’t and we should be aware of what is in front of us.  A love story that all 40-somethings will love.   I listened to this one driving through the blizzard of 2010 NYC to Albany and back.  Good read for sure.