*** CONTAINS SPOILERS *** Having just finished David Nicholls' One Day, I feel utterly overwhelmed to put my thoughts and emotions adequately into words. There are so many facets to the story that it is difficult to pin them down. I suppose the notions the author wants to convey adapt to the reader’s past and mindscape. Remarkably, everyone can take away something from the narration. One Day is a tale of anguished friendship, yearning, missed opportunities and the long, arduous path to maturity. The format of the book is quite ingenious. In 1988, Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew unexpectedly meet at a graduation party. As the story unfolds, each chapter transports the reader to the same day a year later. It follows them through the decades and the different stages of their lives. Emma and Dexter are two characters who could not be more different. Emma is smart, witty, and full of hope to bring about some positive change in her immediate surroundings. Dexter is handsome, charismatic, shallow and very full of himself. Unsurprisingly, none of them knows exactly what to do with their lives. The reader gets front-row seats as their lives unfold. Their twenties are shaped by trying out different occupations, travelling, short-lived relationships and thoughtless decisions. As the years wear on, their regular communication peters out. The yearning is palpable and never seems to fade away. There is one particular incident that could have changed the course of the story. Dexter, in an inebriated state, writes Emma a letter urging her to come to India. But as fate would have it, the letter gets lost and never reaches her. I keep thinking about what would have happened if Emma received the letter. Would they have saved themselves so much disappointment and heartbreak? The thirties are kind to Emma, whose career as a writer finally takes off. Dexter, on the other hand, is on a path of disasters. Not only does his career get derailed, but his marriage is failing. His wife cheats on him, which is karma’s payback for Dexter’s promiscuous behaviour in his twenties. At long last, Em and Dex get together and start building a life, until one fateful day everything falls apart. Emma dies in a freak accident, and Dexter loses himself completely. Having only just found his soulmate and lost her, he chooses to numb the pain with alcohol. He cannot handle grief; he was off the rails when his mother died and repeats the same mistakes after Emma’s death. Her death was cruel, and in some ways, amidst all the sobbing, I questioned the author’s decision. Undoubtedly, this tragedy serves as a stark reminder not to take people for granted and that everything can change within a split second. The style and prose are immaculate. The story is told from different points of view, switching from Dexter to Emma mid-chapter. A beautiful story with crucial messages about life, friendship and interpersonal dealings.

Emma und Dexter treffen sich am 15. Juli 1988 in Edinburgh zum ersten Mal. Eine warmherzige Geschichte voller Humor und viel Gefühl beginnt. Als Lesende begleitet man die beiden über eine Zeitspanne von 20 Jahren und darf an großen und kleinen Lebensentscheidungen und -veränderungen teilhaben. Ein sehr angenehmer Schreibstil voller Wärme und Leichtigkeit mit humorvollen Einschüben macht das Buch absolut lesenswert. Em und Dex kann man nur ins Herz schließen.