Quite simply this was an absolutely brilliant idea for a novel - and in my reckoning it might only be surpassed by Lionel Shriver's "Post Birthday World" for it's ingenuity.
To base the entire novel around one day over the period of 20 years is so simplistic yet works beautifully. Perhaps more so because Nicholls doesn't try to make that the day that absolutely everything must happen... it is very simply just a date.
As often with these reviews characterisation is what makes the writing special for me. The main characters in "One Day" are simple yet deep - and I think what makes it work so well is that you can actually find yourself believing them to be real people. None of the story is contrived, and the actions the characters take are believable ones on the basis of how Nicholls has created them.
I have actually just picked up the book again to remind myself of it, and to be honest with you I have a lump in my throat just thinking about it. This book is beautiful throughout and so sad through the final chapters.
For me the message this book brings is the one thing I will most definitely take away from it - take your chances when you can, because you don't know if you will get another...
A must read.
This highlights our difference in taste. I thought this book was tedious and gave up reading mid-way, skipped to the end, read the sad bit and was utterly unmoved. And I cry at anything. Remember when we watched Finding Neverland?
ReplyDeleteI really didn't like this book, in short...