I picked this up for my summer “beach read”, and it was that and a little bit more. As I was reading, I couldn’t get past the idea that this was sure to be a movie soon, and the quote from Nick Hornby on the cover seemed to confirm this. This idea produced the odd effect of me casting the characters as I read.
It’s true, you can almost hear Hugh Grant’s voice every time Dexter Mayhew speaks. (You know it’s a beach read with a name like that.) Emma, of course, could be Renee Zellweger, or whatever young actress is considered the new Renee Zellweger these days. Ok, I guess Hugh Grant is too old too, but can Bradley Cooper do an English accent?
Dex and Em meet cute — and a little sheepishly — on the night they graduate from the University of Edinburgh. Emma Morley, the brainy, working class girl, is way out of Dex’s league, but he is attracted to her, and we are heartened that the privileged cad is kinder than we thought. We are not really given all of the details until later, but we assume that they’ve gotten drunk and spent the night together, perhaps, as Emma hopes, chastely. Dex, despite his initial instincts, does not run away the morning after. They spend what turns out to be an awkward and yet wonderful day together (July 15th), and then they part, not sure whether they will see each other again. Their paths cross in different contexts over the next twenty or so years, and the letters they send echo the strange friendship they have developed.
What sets this book apart from the typical “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back” formula is the device the author uses to give us glimpses of their relationship. Each chapter takes place on July 15th, in each of the subsequent years. Sometimes we learn about what has happened in the interim, but more importantly we see specifics about that particular day; where they are, what they are doing. As time passes, the day develops a deep significance to both of them. I liked this format, though it did make me wonder how it would translate into what I believe is the inevitable movie.
The book has many flaws, but the banter between the characters is wonderful. You feel their pain in their constant sarcasm and deflecting comments, but they are hilarious at the same time. No two people could possibly have this many great comebacks, but I don’t care, it’s a novel. Plus, I love to read the words “posh”, and “does he fancy me” and pretty much any other cute expressions that you would find in a novel that takes place in England. Read this one for a fun story that may even surprise you.
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