The debut novel from journalist Jamie Fewery, takes a unique narrative concept to tell the story of a relationship over 10 years.
Esme and Tom, meet by chance at a fancy dress party - they are the two who have not bothered to get dressed up so immediately there is a kinship bond between the two of them, a common footing from which to spring off.
That night Tom escorts Esme home to her flat south of the river, this walk they get to know each other and they agree to meet the next day. A relationship is blossoming.
Fast forward to 10 years later, on the day of their 10th anniversary, as a treat Esme decides to play a game where Tom has to come up with the story about their life together. 24 post-it notes, one signifying one hour of any hour of any day from the last 10 years - so we embark upon a flash backing and jumping around narrative where we encounter surprise birthday parties, Christmas get-togethers, long disruptive car journeys that paint the picture of a partnership and the obstacles that society can thrust upon you such as parental passings and the past that hangs around you.
While comparisons will be drawn no doubt to David Nicholls' One Day, this is an altogether different book which does not have the unnecessary ending Nicholls' book had which redeemed the quite frankly awful character of Dex.
Fewery has taken great care in constructing two lead characters who are fully rounded and while they have negatives and drawbacks, the realisation is 'don't we all'. Tom is flawed in that he has his demons from his university days, attempting to deal with the pressures of uni life by drowning his sorrows too much and forcing himself to make a terrible decision. That decision comes back to haunt him and his rendering is one of the better ones to show the pain of mental illness in young men, a portrayal rarely seen in literature and goes hand in hand with the current social groundswell taking place.
Esme meanwhile is written beautifully, like women in fiction she is stubborn, forthright and opinionated but loyal and faithful to Tom to a tee. In the inevitable adaptation, you can picture Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones) taking on the mantle of her role. We are now past the manic pixie dream girl and landed in the land of beautifully stubborn young lady.
Fewery writes with a conciseness and clarity, I read the book in less than a week ripping through chapters at will. He has created two very rounded characters - a forthright female with her own ambitions and stubborn as hell, while in Tom he has written a man who has his demons and is wary to share them. This is a great portrayal of mental illness; we as men need to open up and share our problems - when you communicate openly you can share the burden but also find some resolution and consolation in being honest about how you are feeling.
This book will garner a great audience and is a lovely book to purchase for Christmas; this is a book written for both sides of the argument, this is not a book solely written by the male gaze instead it can be considered a metrosexual novel of an altering relationship.
Our Life In A Day is published by Orion Books on 27th December 2018.
