One Day

Many days long, long ago I read One Day and never got around to telling you about it.  Now that the movie is making it's American debut, I was reminded of it and thought my first post-baby post would be about it.  Apparently it was some sort of phenomenon in the beach read world some time back; thus making it a candidate for the Hollywood treatment, complete with Anne Hathaway playing a British girl and Jim Sturgess playing a British toff (new word I remembered I had learned whilst watching Top Gear the other day on BBC America...how very Anglophilian of me). 

Anyway, I don't usually read anything that could be considered beach reading, nor do I read romance novels; but I got a copy of this book as a prize in an Oscar trivia contest and pregnancy does crazy things to one's brain.  So, like I said, I read the book. 

How did I feel about it?

At first I didn't really have any connection with the characters.  They seemed to be hackneyed characters for a romance novel: the brainy, middle class girl secretly pining for the upper-crust, aloof guy stunted in the emotional maturation department.  The only thing I found interesting about the book was the structure of it.  Each chapter is set on the same day, each year for a number of years, begining with the day after college graduation for both characters.  I think the structure is what kept me coming back.  It was like some soap opera I couldn't turn my back on even though the characters do everything predictable soap opera characters do.  I guess I was hoping they would go all Passions on me and have a witch with a little person who creates lots of mischeif. 

No such luck.

The story remains predictable through most of the book.  What wasn't predictable was my reaction to the end of the book.  Either the characters had grown on me so much that I feel in love right along with them OR I was so overloaded with hormones whilst reading it, that I bawled for an entire afternoon as I finished the book.  I think it must have been the latter because when I look back on it now, there is no way it was the characters. 

So, the age old question: Should I read the book or see the movie first?  Well, I don't think I can answer that for you, because I haven't seen the movie.  But, having read the book and having seen other romantic movies from Hollywood, I can tell you: there's not much special to see or read here.  I think you might be better served saving your money on both the book and the movie.  How about Pride and Prejudice instead? 

Rating: 3 out of 7

-L