Almost all adults can name and remember “The One That Got Away.” Maybe it was a blind date that could have been more, or maybe that “ex” ended it for no reason, or it could even be a crush you had in high school and you were never brave enough to ask him out dancing. For Timothy Anderson, Melody is the one that got away.
In One Love, author Thomas Duffy tells the story of how Timothy finds Melody in a newspaper personal ad and the two young lovers decide to meet. Her first date is more beautiful than Timothy dared to hope, but even though she promises him a second date, Melody stops answering Timothy’s calls. Even after Timothy moved on and began a relationship with a new girlfriend, the elusive Melody haunted his memories of her. However, in his case, Timothy finds and rediscovers Melody, the one who got away.
One Love follows the wild and melancholic adventure of Timothy and Melody as the two struggle to find security, peace and passion in their lives. For Melody, this meant rekindling her marriage to Timothy, but for Timothy the path is not so clear. Timothy had high aspirations, but instead finds himself stuck in a dead-end job. Timothy lives a life of what he feels is unfulfilled potential; wasting his work in retail while he dreams of writing the next great American novel. It becomes a metaphor for the unrealized ambitions of each reader. Timothy is a lonely character, often overwhelmed by life, and we respect him for it.
The best part of Timothy, what makes him so real, is the way his story unfolds slowly, naturally following the course of the novel. His character developed in real time, before our eyes, in direct response to the decisions he made. He spends a lot of time on Timothy and Melody’s affair as the two lovers approach middle age and make some tough decisions. Exploring the story of Timothy and Melody, it is impossible not to put yourself in their shoes. They are caught between love and responsibility, which is the more moral? As author Thomas Duffy promises, readers must search their own souls to choose.
Melody, in particular, becomes more real as she struggles between her role as wife and mother, while comparing herself to the person she was before she got married. Timothy is overloaded with his undeveloped potential, a trait that develops throughout the novel. Melody reminds the reader that all of our parents have their own lives to live, as well as being there for their children.
Without giving away too much of the ending, what I like best is that Timothy didn’t need a partner to fulfill his ambition. All the advice that his elders gave him about the need for marriage and children were just steps in his search to discover himself.
This book has a positive theme, in the conclusion of One Love we are reminded that every ending is a new beginning. The end of the novel is not the end of Timothy’s story; rather it is the bridge to the next chapter of his life. He also reminds us that every mistake we make is a learning opportunity. The mistakes we all make, as significant as they may seem, do not ruin our entire lives. In the end, like Timothy, we just need to be brave enough to take the steps forward to get our lives back on track.