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A Perfect Day is about Robert and Allyson, a couple who meet in college, fall in love, get married, and live life. The compelling part of the story takes place in the beginning of the book, when Allyson goes home from college to visit her father and spend a perfect day with him. Allyson’s father reveals that he’s ill and won’t be living much longer. Allyson is devastated. She withdraws from college and spends the rest of the semester with her father. Robert visits Allyson over the holiday break at her father’s home. By this point, her father is almost gone. Robert walks into the father’s room to greet Allyson, who is pale and void of life herself. She excuses herself for a minute, and Robert gets the opportunity to speak to her father alone. He tells her father that it’s all right to pass and promises that he will love and take care of Allyson for the rest of their lives. Moments later, her father dies.
The story jumps forward in Robert and Allyson’s lives. They now are married with a child. Robert has worked for many years selling ad space for a radio station. He’s the top salesman in a downward spiraling station, and he thinks he’s up for a promotion—but he couldn’t be more wrong. After he’s fired, Allyson tells him that this is the opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a writer. Robert is hesitant but eventually decides to give it a try. Robert eventually completes his novel, which is about the final days Allyson spent with her father.
Robert joins the writing community and leaves home for his book tour. He’s gone for 40 days, during which time his entire focus on life changes from his family to his book and money. We watch Robert choose between his celebrity status and family commitments, often choosing badly. Then, when Robert reaches the point of greatest success, he chooses to leave his family and continues to pursue his dreams. Allyson is devastated, but Robert’s agent has a plan to help.
This is where the book builds with twists and turns you wouldn’t expect until it ends with a bang.
When I first got this book I thought, Oh, no…here’s a Nicholas Sparks wannabe. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. Richard Paul Evans is a terrific writer who draws in the reader from page one. A Perfect Day is one of the best reads I’ve had in a while, and I simply can’t wait to read another of Richard Paul Evans’s books.
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