One Day

by David Nicholls

First published 2010

Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley spend a single day together after their university graduation in 1988. They part ways but cannot forget each other. Each July 15th becomes a window into their separate lives as they pursue different paths. Dexter chases fame and pleasure while Emma struggles with unfulfilling jobs and relationships. Some years they stay in touch, others they drift apart completely. They watch each other succeed and fail, fall in and out of love with other people, and slowly discover who they really are. Their friendship deepens and changes as they move through their twenties and thirties. The annual snapshots reveal how two people can remain connected across decades of distance, misunderstandings, and missed chances. Dexter and Emma must decide whether their bond can survive the weight of time and unspoken feelings.

Genres: fiction, drama, romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, 21st-century, contemporary-romance

Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, second-chance

Period: 1988, Twenties, Thirties

437 pages · Paperback · Vintage Contemporaries

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