It is an ordinary Monday and harried London literary agent Emma is flying out of the door as usual. Preoccupied with work and her ever growing to-do list, she fails to notice her lovely husband Dan seems bereft, her son can barely meet her eye, and her daughter won’t go near her. Even the dog seems sad.
She is far too busy, buried deep in her phone; social media alerts pinging; clients messaging with “emergencies”; keeping track of a dozen WhatsApp groups about the kids’ sports, school, playdates, all of it. Her whole day is frantic—what else is new—and as she rushes back through the door for dinner, Dan is still upset. They fight, and he walks out, desolate, dragging their poor dog around the block. Just as she realizes it is their anniversary and she has forgotten, again, everything changes.
The next day Emma wakes up… . And it’s Monday again.
And again.
And again.
Emma tries desperately to change the course of fate by doing different things each time she wakes up: leaving WhatsApp, telling her boss where to get off, writing to Dan, listening to her kids, reaching out to forgotten friends, getting drunk and buying out Prada. But will Emma have the chance to find herself again, remember what she likes about her job, reconnect with her children, love her husband? Will this be enough to change the fate they seem destined for?
A moving “What if” story of what it is to be a woman in the modern world—never feeling we’re getting it quite right—about learning to slow down and appreciate life that is sure to resonate with women’s fiction readers. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)
I don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading Maybe Next Time, but I'm so glad that I finally did! And now I want to read Cesca Major's more recently published novel.
I've read many books with the Groundhog Day trope, but this one was so enjoyable that revisiting the trope didn't bother me in the slightest. It features a working mother (Emma), who is so relatable in many ways. I couldn't help but cheer her on as she tried to figure out ways to simplify her life in hopes of getting a better result. I also loved her husband as he was so sweet. His letters to Emma were so romantic and reminded me of the things my husband says to me in person. (Sorry to give anyone a toothache!) I also found it amusing that her husband and son share first names with my brother-in-law and nephew.
Emma had so much stress that I was stressed out on her behalf and wanted to yell at everyone who was annoying her all day long! She really had to deal with some unpleasant people too. Like Arthur and his refusal to "abide by granules" or to even meet her halfway in order to save his own "bum". He was one of the worst, next to her boss and Denise from playgroup. That was compounded by her husband and kids being cross with her whenever she didn't get things right on any of the given iterations of her repeated day.
There's a lot that happens in this story and I don't want to say too much more as to not spoil it. I'm back-and-forth on how I feel about where things went, but that's all. Like I feel there needs to be a sequel about Emma's life after her repeated day ended all its cycling. The only thing I wasn't thrilled about was when Emma went meta with promoting books by other names that the author uses. I thought it was a bit extra. It didn't take away from how great this story was, but it also felt unnecessary.
Overall, this was definitely a worthwhile read! It kept me turning the pages and wondering what would happen. Would Emma finally get her day right or would she still have to do another repeat...and then another? (And so on.)
(Trigger warnings below.)
Movie casting suggestions:
Emma: Hayley Atwell
Dan: Dan Stevens
Hattie: Teresa Palmer
Jasmina: Mimi Keene
Linda: Janet McTeer
Jurek: Edvin Ryding
Also by Cesca Major: If I Were You
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TW: Death of spouse (sometimes from being hit by a car), sick dog, cyberbullying, miscarriage, emotional abuse (mentioned by another character), depression
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