One Day (2009) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

show spoilers

Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

show spoilers

• Emma Morley: Studious and lacking self-confidence, Emma comes from a working class background and strives to make a difference in the world through drama and teaching.
• Dexter Mayhew: He is rich and gained a 2.2 in anthropology. He goes through life with money as no object - a stark contrast to Emma who is often working bad jobs for little money. Dexter is fairly self centered and immature, but has a special place in his heart for Emma.
• Ian Whitehead: Works at Loco Caliente with Emma. Has a crush on Emma, who shuns his many advances. He wants to be a comedian, but is not all that funny.
• Sylvie Cope: A beautiful woman from a well-off family. Dexter eventually begins a relationship with her.
• Mr. Godalming (Phil): The headmaster of Emma's school. He cheats on his wife. Known to students as "Beard" or "Monkeyman" due to his large, dark beard.
• Callum O'Neill: Dexter's college friend who made it big by refurbishing computers and then opening natural food stores.
• Suki Meadows: Dexter's very bubbly and very loud co-presenter on TV. Dexter and Suki date for a short period of time.
• Jasmine Alison Viola Mayhew: Dexter's daughter, a product of his relationship with Sylvie.
• Tilly Killick: Emma's roommate and friend from college. She is often mentioned as leaving her bras in the bathroom sink, and as having a brief relationship with Dexter.
• Sonya Richards: A very smart and aggressive girl at Emma's school that she considers her 'project'. She is one of the students who is involved in the production of 'Oliver'
• Gary Nutkin: Director of Sledgehammer Theatre Co-operative. He offers Emma a job in the theatre company, acting out instructional lessons for kids.
• Naomi: One of Dexter's many girlfriends. Her name is pronounced Gnome-y
• Tara: A woman and masseuse that Dexter meets in a nightclub that prefers using her hands to communicate.
• Murray Cope: One of Sylvie's younger brother - a twin.
• Sam Cope: One of Sylvie's younger brothers - a twin.
• Stephanie Shaw: College friend of Emma's. Works at a book publisher. Emma often thinks of Stephanie's success, and wishes the same for herself.
• Marsha: Stephanie Shaw's boss. Stephanie describes her as an eccentric but brilliant woman.
• Scott McKenzie: The manager of Loco Caliente, the Mexican restaurant where Emma works. He leaves the job to work at an Italian restaurant.
• Alison Mayhew: Dexter's mother, a very beautiful woman. She studied fashion in London but now sells 'expensive rugs and chandeliers to genteel Oxford with great success'.
• Stephen Mayhew: Dexter's father. He often takes a tough stance on Dexter's erratic and disrespectful behaviour.
• Lionel Cope: Sylvie's father.
• Helen Cope: Sylvie's mother.
• Ingrid: Also called 'Scary Ingrid'. One of Dexter's many love interests.
• Martin Dawson: The head boy of the school where Emma teaches. He plays Oliver Twist in the production Emma directs.
• Julie Criscoll: Fictional character in a book series written by Emma Morley.
• Marianne Morley: A nurse, Emma's sister. Divorcee with two children, somewhat bitter and critical
• Toby Moray: Dexter's antagonistic co-presenter
• Fiona Godalming: Phil Godalming's wife. Does not know that her husband is cheating on her.
• Jean-Pierre Dusollier: A man Emma meets in France. They begin dating, despite the language barrier.
• Cassie Mayhew: Dexter's sister. Takes care of their parents when they are in ill health.
• Jim Morley: Emma's father
• Sue Morley: Emma's mother.
• Maddy: One of Dexter's employees.
• Pete: One of Dexter's employees
• Jack: One of Dexter's employees
• Miffy Buchanan: Add a description of this character.
• Sarah C
• Samir Chaudhari: One of Emma's students that performs in the class production of 'Oliver'
• Luiza
• Barbara
• Sid
• Adam
• Lech
• Aaron
• Tove Angstrom: One of Dexter's English-As-A-Second-Language students.
• Benoit: One of the cooks at Loco Calliente, where Emma works
• Yolande: One of Dexter's many girlfriends.
• Jerzy
• Heidi Schindler
• Mrs Grainger: One of the staff members at Emma's school. She assists with the production of 'Oliver'
• Biggsy
• Mari

Quotes edit see section history

show spoilers

• “" 'I suppose the important thing is to make some kind of difference,' she said. 'You know, actually change something.' 'What, like "change the world", you mean?' ' Not the whole entire world. Just the little bit around you."”

  Emma & Dexter

• “`Live each day as if it‘s your last', that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and courageous and bold and to make a difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you. Go out there with your passion and your electric typewriter and work hard at something. Change lives through art maybe. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance.”

• “"We've always told you that you can be anything you want to be, if you work hard enough."”

• “Once again Dexter is struck by how easy conversation can be when no-one is in their right mind.”

• “Sylvie sighs. "What have you been up to?"I have smoked cigarettes, got drunk, doped our baby, phoned old girlfriends, trashed the house, danced around mumbling to myself. I have fallen over like a drunk in the street.”

  Dexter

• “Like some overcrowded party, no- one had noticed her arrival, and no-one would notice if she left.”

• “Recklessness, spontaneity didn‘t really suit her, she couldn‘t carry it off, the results were never what she hoped for.”

• “He wanted to live life in such a way that if a photograph were taken at random, it would be a cool photograph.”

• “As the possibility of a relationship had faded, Emma hadendeavoured to harden herself to Dexter’s indifference and thesedays a remark like this caused no more pain than, say, a tennis ballthrown sharply at the back of her head. These days she barely evenflinched. ‘That’s nice for you both, I’m sure.’ She poured wine into aplastic cup. ‘So if she’s not your girlfriend, what do I call her?’”

• “Good. Here it is. I think you're scared of being happy, Emma. I think you think that the natural way of things is for your life to be grim and grey and dour and to hate your job, hate where you live, not to have success or money or God forbid a boyfriend (and a quick discersion here--that whole self-deprecating thing about being unattractive is getting pretty boring I can tell you). In fact I'll go further and say that I think you actually get a kick out of being disappointed and under-achieving, because it's easier, isn't it? Failure and unhappiness is easier because you can make a joke out of it. Pg. 42.”

  Dexter Mayhew

• “"So - whatever happened to you?""Life. Life happened."”

  Dexter Mayhew

• “Sometimes you are aware when your great moments are happening, and sometimes they rise from the past. Perhaps it's the same with people.”

• “They spoke very little of their mutual feelings: pretty phrases and warm attentions being probably unnecessary between such tried friends.”

• “Dexter, I love you so much. So, so much, and I probably always will . I just don‘t like you anymore. I‘m sorry.”

  Emma to Dexter

• “Dexter: I just thought it might be a good idea. Dex and Em, Em and Dex, the two of us. Just try it for a while, see how it worked. I had thought that‘s what you wanted too.‘Emma: It is. It was. Back in the late Eighties.‘Dexter: So why not now?‘Emma: Because. It‘s too late. We‘re too late. I‘m too tired.‘”

  Emma and Dexter

• “Live each day as if it‘s your last‘, that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that?”

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance.

  Highlighted by 936 Kindle customers

• ‘Live each day as if it’s your last’, that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that? What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn’t practical. Better by far to simply try and be good and courageous and bold and to make a difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you.

  Highlighted by 543 Kindle customers

• The trick of it, she told herself, is to be courageous and bold and make a difference. Not change the world exactly, just the bit around you. Go out there with your double-first, your passion and your new Smith Corona electric typewriter and work hard at … something. Change lives through art maybe. Write beautifully. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved if at all possible. Eat sensibly. Stuff like that.

  Highlighted by 527 Kindle customers

• He wanted to live life in such a way that if a photograph were taken at random, it would be a cool photograph. Things should look right. Fun; there should be a lot of fun and no more sadness than absolutely necessary.

  Highlighted by 433 Kindle customers

• I love him, she thought, I’m just not in love with him and also I don’t love him. I’ve tried, I’ve strained to love him but I can’t. I am building a life with a man I don’t love, and I don’t know what to do about it.

  Highlighted by 400 Kindle customers

• ‘Sometimes you are aware when your great moments are happening, and sometimes they rise from the past. Perhaps it’s the same with people.’ James Salter, Burning the Days

  Highlighted by 358 Kindle customers

• ‘That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a long moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on that memorable day.’ Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

  Highlighted by 273 Kindle customers

• Their friendship was like a wilted bunch of flowers that she insisted on topping up with water. Why not let it die instead?

  Highlighted by 266 Kindle customers

• Letters, like compilation tapes, were really vehicles for unexpressed emotions and she was clearly putting far too much time and energy into them.

  Highlighted by 178 Kindle customers

• ‘They spoke very little of their mutual feelings: pretty phrases and warm attentions being probably unnecessary between such tried friends.’ Thomas Hardy, Far From the Madding Crowd

  Highlighted by 152 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• London
• Edinburgh, Scotland
• Richmond, England
• Greece
• Paris
• Rome
• Soho
• India
• China
• Tahiti
• Belsize Park
• Leeds

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• growing up: Describe this theme.
• Don't take love for granted.
• You never know that what you need is right there under your nose the whole time
• love doesn't always look like you think it will, but it's that love that you'll keep forever.
• Some people get into your heart when you meet them, and they just stay there forever.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and followed by The Pillars of the Earth.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. David Nicholls (Author) - is an English novelist and screenwriter.

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Exclusive Books Boeke Prize (2010)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: PR6114 .I27 O54 2010
• Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › British › Contemporary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Women's Fiction › Single Women
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Comic
• Books › Romance

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• One Day - Two People

Movie Connections edit see section history

• One Day (IMDb): 2011 film directed by Lone Scherfig and starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

Books Cited by This Book edit see section history