The phrase coup de foudre is one that has stuck with me past high school French. It means something along the lines of "when lightning strikes," an unforgettable moment that you want to keep close to your heart forever. And, of course, it usually has to do with love at first sight. That's what Laurie, Josie Silver's heroine, experiences within the opening pages of this insightful novel. Laurie and Jack's love story indeed takes twists and turns after that moment, through other lives and other searing moments. Overall, Josie Silver crafts a novel from a beautiful coup de foudre moment that at times was hard to stick with, but had a rewarding ending for sure.
Josie Silver is an unashamed romantic who met her husband when she stepped on his foot on his twenty-first birthday. She lives with him, her two young children, and their cat in a little town in the Midlands.
Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn't exist anywhere outside of the movies. But then, through the mist on a bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man that she knows, instantly, is the one. Their eyes meet, there's a moment of pure magic . . . and then her bus drives away. Certain they're fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London, hoping for another glimpse of what she trusts is true love. But she doesn't find him. Not when it matters, anyway. Instead they "reunite" at a Christmas party, where her best friend, Sarah, giddily introduces her new boyfriend--Jack, the man from the bus--to Laurie. What follows for Laurie, Sarah, and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming, and immensely moving love story, and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.
This story is undoubtably Laurie's. All the resolutions we see at the beginning of each year reflect her deepest wishes, and all of the major moments in the book belong to her. Something super interesting and heartbreaking and exciting happens for this character each year, including a love at first sight moment, a wedding, a funeral, a new job, and on. But I just did not like Laurie's voice. She was pretty whiney, almost too introverted, and more reflective than any other romantic heroine I've read before. That might be a product of her character being almost the "side kick" to Sarah's exuberance, excitement, and larger-than-life personality. I've often been the Laurie friend in that kind of situation, but I couldn't validate her whininess. I think part of that dislike for her voice also stems from her validating not standing up for herself. When she first meets Jack, I wanted her to say something--who cares if Sarah thinks she's going to marry him, they've only been dating two months! Laurie often contradicted herself with that kind of thing, especially when it related to Oscar. Maybe it comes from just being a reader, but I didn't want her to marry Oscar either. I knew it would end badly, and maybe that was the point. I felt like I was a horror movie goer, just shaking the book and trying to communicate to Laurie don't do it! I just couldn't understand what Laurie loved about Oscar, and even what Oscar loved about Laurie. Yes, Thailand, but to have an actual relationship there has to be more than that, and I couldn't see it. There were just a lot of parts about Laurie as a character and narrator that I couldn't get behind. But I stuck with the story because I was so interested in the plot of the story itself, more than the characters.
The decision to include some moments in Jack's point of view was one that I don't fully support. This story was Laurie's, as her voice was the strongest at the end of the day. It was Laurie who experienced loss and triumph throughout the novel, whereas Jack was the unattainable love interest. I did feel more connected to him as a character whenever he got to speak, but when I was reflecting on what his voice really added to the novel, I couldn't come up with a conclusive answer. I liked his voice more than Laurie's, but he almost seemed to take the focus off of Laurie in an unproductive way. And that's when I got to wondering, if we got Jack, why not Sarah? Or Oscar? There were two characters who were definitely closer to Laurie throughout her life that we never really got to hear from. Rather than hearing from Jack, I would have liked to see how Laurie and Oscar really developed their relationship to the point where I understood what they loved about each other. Or, rather than hearing moments from Jack's point of view, I would have much rather seen more moments of Laurie and Jack--not just reflections and pining, but actual one-on-one moments with the two of them. It would have made the ending that much sweeter, that much more exciting.
I said before that I was more interested in the plot of the story itself once I realized Laurie wasn't the narrator I expected. It is true, the plot of the story was so intriguing, especially since the premise itself was what drew me to the book. Even though I was yelling at Laurie to speak up for herself, to not marry Oscar, these twists and turns made this book fascinating to me. Taking a random vacation, losing her father, watching a friend experience a horrible accident were all "life steps" (as I think Laurie refers to them as) that made the story feel very real to me. As if you could really have a coup de foudre moment--anyone!--at any point, and that it would truly shape the rest of your life. The premise itself was magic, and this little thought nagged me all the way until the end of the book. It wasn't a traditional steamy romance or anything, more like a rom-com where you're waiting for the two characters to get together the whole time, and yet I found I enjoyed that approach for this story. Like I said, it makes the love story more realistic, and plausible, for anyone who takes public transit. Or just anyone in general! I'm a romantic at heart, so the premise and the plot were two things that supported the story when the characters couldn't. This approach, the life steps and the separation of years and the steady progression to the end, was fabulous, and Silver really nailed all of that with her pacing and planning.
I'm not going to let my dislike of these characters to stop me from trying Silver's other book, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, because it also has an interesting premise. If you want more Josie Silver, find her at her website, josiesilver.com.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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