Her Classic Book Of The Week… One Day

With our hectic lives and all of the new books that we are trying to keep on top of, we can often forget about the classics, those books that we loved to re-visit or the books that we just haven’t got to quite yet. Every week, we pick a classic book of the week that is a favourite of ours in the office. This week we take a look at the tragic romance, One Day. “You can live your whole life not realizing that what you're looking for is right in front of you.”  Although it was only published in 2009, One Day is often listed as one of the classic romantic books of our time and that it certainly is. Winning the Galaxy Book of the Year, on top of the audiences that deeply loved the book there were certainly more than a few critics who were in love with the book. One Day tells the story of Emma and Dexter over the course of 20 years, checking in with them on the same day every year, the 15th July. From their first meeting at Edinburgh University, right through their various relationships and career changes, we see the relationship of Emma and Dexter develop heartbreakingly over the years. Despite the fact that we are introduced to Dexter as pretty much the stronger character in the book, most certainly the main personality, it is Emma who he falls back on, who he goes to when things in his life change, who is there through his suffering, through the good times and the bad. Their relationship is beautiful to witness, going through ups and downs over the years where they both help each out, arguably Emma more so than Dexter. However, throughout the friendship it is clear that Emma is entirely in love with Dexter and her life suffers quite a bit because of it. She constantly puts him first, up to the point where she just can't take the heartache anymore and then she has to let him go. It is only when Emma decides to move on from Dexter that he begins to understand what she means to him. One Day is beautifully written, full to the brim with so much emotion it pours out of the pages. It is the definition of the modern love story, full of angst, pain, sorrow, rejection and most importantly, love. If you do not cry at that end however, you may just have a heart of stone. You should maybe consider reading that last chapter alone.