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Today
How would you live today, if you knew there was no tomorrow?
Follow the lives of three ordinary people as one tragic day unfolds that changes everything:
Country girl Laura, struggling to cope with her move to London. Frugal John, desperately saving to get on the property ladder and womaniser Charlie, racing through as many conquests as he can.
Today is a story of the struggles of modern life, society's obsession with planning for the future, and the lack of control we have over the hand fate deals us.
Praise for Today:
"Today is a cracking tale of contemporary life in the unforgiving city that is modern day London. Both disturbing and thought-provoking in equal measure." Ian Ayris, author of Abide with Me and April Skies.
"“Really taps into the melancholy of modern times” – Sid Lambert, author of Cashing In.
Follow the lives of three ordinary people as one tragic day unfolds that changes everything:
Country girl Laura, struggling to cope with her move to London. Frugal John, desperately saving to get on the property ladder and womaniser Charlie, racing through as many conquests as he can.
Today is a story of the struggles of modern life, society's obsession with planning for the future, and the lack of control we have over the hand fate deals us.
Praise for Today:
"Today is a cracking tale of contemporary life in the unforgiving city that is modern day London. Both disturbing and thought-provoking in equal measure." Ian Ayris, author of Abide with Me and April Skies.
"“Really taps into the melancholy of modern times” – Sid Lambert, author of Cashing In.
102 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 9, 2015
4 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Webber
5 books23 followersAndrew Webber is a writer of contemporary fiction based in London.
His debut novel Lad, a satirical take on UK lad culture was released in October 2016.
His novella (Today) and short story collections (We Are All Lost) have common themes, focusing on the isolation and weariness with modern life felt by many ordinary people.
He is a voracious reader, with a particular fascination with John Niven, Chuck Palahniuk, David Mitchell, Murakami, Alan Watts, psychology, philosophy and Soreen Malt Loaf.
His debut novel Lad, a satirical take on UK lad culture was released in October 2016.
His novella (Today) and short story collections (We Are All Lost) have common themes, focusing on the isolation and weariness with modern life felt by many ordinary people.
He is a voracious reader, with a particular fascination with John Niven, Chuck Palahniuk, David Mitchell, Murakami, Alan Watts, psychology, philosophy and Soreen Malt Loaf.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 6, 2024
This is a quick read at just over 100 pages in which you enter the lives of 3 main characters that should be living for today, however they are living in the past or obsessed with the future until disaster strikes.
I read this is one go and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Four stars.
I read this is one go and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Four stars.
May 26, 2016
TODAY is a novella set in modern day London, telling the story of three young people trying to make their way in the capital.
First, we have John. John lives in a grotty little room in a grotty little shared house, his every waking thought driven by the desire to one day have a place of his own.
Laura lives far away from her family, and spends all her time working in a job where she feels undervalued, overlooked, yet expected to work herself into the ground. And she does.
And then there is Charlie - whose only desire is, well, himself. Charlie's occupation is babe-magnet, lover extraordinaire, a modern day Casanova in fake tan and too-tight T-shirts. Charlie has no thought, or feeling, for anyone but the face staring back it him in the mirror.
All three of these characters are introduced one by one, Webber carefully grounding the reader in the insular world of each before moving onto the next, with prose that is fluid and imaginative. The repressive, almost nihilistic, nature of the characters' life choices becomes clearer and clearer with each turn of the page, until the lives of all three suddenly and violently collide in a simply devastating scene.
TODAY is a cracking tale of contemporary life in the unforgiving city that is modern day London. It is a novella that is both disturbing and thought-provoking in equal measure.
Highly recommended.
First, we have John. John lives in a grotty little room in a grotty little shared house, his every waking thought driven by the desire to one day have a place of his own.
Laura lives far away from her family, and spends all her time working in a job where she feels undervalued, overlooked, yet expected to work herself into the ground. And she does.
And then there is Charlie - whose only desire is, well, himself. Charlie's occupation is babe-magnet, lover extraordinaire, a modern day Casanova in fake tan and too-tight T-shirts. Charlie has no thought, or feeling, for anyone but the face staring back it him in the mirror.
All three of these characters are introduced one by one, Webber carefully grounding the reader in the insular world of each before moving onto the next, with prose that is fluid and imaginative. The repressive, almost nihilistic, nature of the characters' life choices becomes clearer and clearer with each turn of the page, until the lives of all three suddenly and violently collide in a simply devastating scene.
TODAY is a cracking tale of contemporary life in the unforgiving city that is modern day London. It is a novella that is both disturbing and thought-provoking in equal measure.
Highly recommended.
February 1, 2016
This novella charts a day in the lives of three young people living in London. John wants to buy his own flat and is scrimping and just about surviving in a grim little room in a shared house so he can amass enough for a deposit. Laura, brought up on a farm, is six months into a job in the capital. She hates it but feels she'd lose face if she returned home. Chris is working his way through as many internet dating sites as he can, looking for the buzz but not the commitment. Today, fate brings them together.
This is a thoughtful book. The characters are nicely drawn and we see enough of each to get to know them. It asks us to consider our ambitions, our hopes for the future, and whether we are really taking the right path. It's a thought-provoking story which you can read in an evening. I'm glad that I did.
This is a thoughtful book. The characters are nicely drawn and we see enough of each to get to know them. It asks us to consider our ambitions, our hopes for the future, and whether we are really taking the right path. It's a thought-provoking story which you can read in an evening. I'm glad that I did.
December 13, 2016
After reading a previous book from the same author I did wonder what feelings this book would bring from me. Well it was such a lovely book that all should read including adolescents. I shall definitely be sharing this with my teenagers hoping the morales of the story will stay with them. There is sometimes no tomorrow so make the most of today.
October 28, 2016
The story of 3 ordinary Londoners and how their lives and paths crossed on one ordinary day
January 31, 2017
An imaginative piece of work form Webber. Would definitely pick up another work from this writer.
September 20, 2018
Love webbers style
I thought lad was the best book i read for a long time
Great characters that you could relate to
This books exactly the same
Just like lad it leaves you feeling empty the end feeling rushed negating the previous enjoyment
I love Webber style though I recommend his books to anybody
If the author
I thought lad was the best book i read for a long time
Great characters that you could relate to
This books exactly the same
Just like lad it leaves you feeling empty the end feeling rushed negating the previous enjoyment
I love Webber style though I recommend his books to anybody
If the author
September 22, 2018
A shorter read than I normally prefer, but interesting none the less. I enjoyed it.
February 5, 2017
Today takes place (mostly) on one day, Dec 5 2014, and is about three Londoners ~ John, Laura and Charlie. John is living in squalid circumstances while he saves up every penny for his glorious future. Country girl Laura detests living in the City but is determined to stick it out for another year before going home. Charlie, who I see as the forerunner to the brilliantly portrayed Danny in Lad, is a vain, superficial ladies' man.
The story nips back and forth between the characters as the day moves on to its grim climax, and is like a 'life in the day of' each one as we explore their hopes, dreams, history and current state of mind. The event at the end of the day has a massive effect on all three. In the aftermath, a couple of weeks later, I thought that Charlie's story was a little too unlikely and clear cut, but Laura's was happy, sweet and what I would have wanted for her, and John's was absolutely heartbreaking, so well written.
It's a story with a heavy moral message, and an important one. The book could do with another edit and a better proofread, but, hey, it's a first book (his second is superior in style, content and presentation), and I enjoyed it enough to read most of it in one sitting and feel reluctant when I had to put it down. I like the way Mr Webber writes very much, and look forward to more books by him.
This is free; what are you waiting for?
The story nips back and forth between the characters as the day moves on to its grim climax, and is like a 'life in the day of' each one as we explore their hopes, dreams, history and current state of mind. The event at the end of the day has a massive effect on all three. In the aftermath, a couple of weeks later, I thought that Charlie's story was a little too unlikely and clear cut, but Laura's was happy, sweet and what I would have wanted for her, and John's was absolutely heartbreaking, so well written.
It's a story with a heavy moral message, and an important one. The book could do with another edit and a better proofread, but, hey, it's a first book (his second is superior in style, content and presentation), and I enjoyed it enough to read most of it in one sitting and feel reluctant when I had to put it down. I like the way Mr Webber writes very much, and look forward to more books by him.
This is free; what are you waiting for?
June 16, 2015
I wanted more.
I liked the style of this, and I felt like this had the potential to really grow into something gripping and touching, but it felt like it kind of fell flat. I wanted more from these characters. More from this story. Perhaps it should have been a full length novel instead of a novella. I'm not sure, but it just felt like something was missing, which is a real shame because I really enjoyed Webber's writing and was truly starting to believe in these characters just as it all came to a close.
I liked the style of this, and I felt like this had the potential to really grow into something gripping and touching, but it felt like it kind of fell flat. I wanted more from these characters. More from this story. Perhaps it should have been a full length novel instead of a novella. I'm not sure, but it just felt like something was missing, which is a real shame because I really enjoyed Webber's writing and was truly starting to believe in these characters just as it all came to a close.
January 15, 2017
Short, clever and thought provoking. Andrew Webber tells the stories of different but very believable characters and how their lives play out during one cold and miserable day in London where they all live. The settings, both residential and office feel like places we have been (or lived and worked in) ourselves. The characterisation was surprisingly in-depth for such a short book of only a hundred pages or so.The emotional connection is there for the reader from the start and I readily recommend this to anyone who likes a good concept well executed.
January 24, 2017
A salutary lesson, live for today!!!!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews