Maybe Next Time

“It’s completely typical of you that you want to force me to remember that day. Hattie said she peed herself a little when you recounted it to her a few months later.”

The novel uses Dan’s letters to Emma as a device to introduce his voice into the narrative. The letters provide insight into their relationship and his perspective on Emma. They help develop the characters’ backstory and their complexities. The novel establishes its thread of humor early, and the story immediately introduces Hattie as an important part of Dan and Emma’s life, a third character who later plays an essential role.

“I was nervous of that letter too. Dan’s could be funny, loving, but they were always honest. And this year I was scared of honest.”

Throughout the novel, the letters share information and backstory about Emma and Dan’s relationship but also elaborate on Dan’s character. Early in the book, Emma’s nervousness about the contents of his letter suggests that she already knows she hasn’t lived up to last year’s promise to reform, creating tension and suspense.

“Another Monday, another ordinary day. How many of these faces had I unwittingly stared at on other Mondays? I pulled out my phone once more.”

In this first iteration of the fateful Monday, Emma is caught up in the world of her phone and the tasks on her to-do lists. She feels disconnected from the people around her. This shows her state of mind at the beginning of her character arc. The irony her of considering the day just another Monday becomes apparent later.