# Novels whose stories take place within one day. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 3, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043 "2011-02-03T16:32:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/1 "2011-02-03T16:32:45Z")
During the great ice storm I re-read Ben Elton’s Blast fromt he Past. One of my observations was that main story takes place between 1 - 4 a.m. in a London flat. That got me thinking: What other tales take place within 24 hours? Note: Flashbacks are okay; Dream sequences are not. Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich is an obvious choice. Mary Higgin Clark’s first mystery novel “Where Are The Children” takes place on the protagonist’s 32rd birthday. Looking for others, folks! ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/2 "2011-02-03T16:40:22Z")
Ian McEwan’s Saturday all takes place on one Saturday in 2003. Other than that, I’m not coming up with anything. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/3 "2011-02-03T16:41:14Z")
**Ulysses** is the first thing that popped into my head. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/4 "2011-02-03T16:44:10Z")
_Mrs. Dalloway_ by Virginia Woolf. ETA: Oh, and check out [this list](http://www.readinasinglesitting.com/2010/11/22/list-books-that-take-place-over-a-single-day/). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/5 "2011-02-03T16:44:23Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > **Ulysses** is the first thing that popped into my head. There’s also Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowery, which is strongly influenced by Ulysses. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/6 "2011-02-03T16:52:57Z")
Christos Tsiolkas’ _Loaded_ starts in the morning, runs into the night and concludes early the next morning. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/7 "2011-02-03T19:10:23Z")
The third Wild Cards book, **Jokers Wild** , takes place on one day, specifically September 15th. In truth, the book is made up of sections written by seven different authors, about the same characters and events, taking place on a single day. It does form a single narrative, though. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/8 "2011-02-03T19:36:01Z")
Nicholson Baker’s first two novels, _The Mezzanine_ and _Room Temperature_ both take place during extremely short periods of time. The former takes place during an escalator ride and the latter during the bottle-feeding of an infant. Obviously, they both concern themselves heavily with how the mind free-associates. FWIW, _The Mezzanine_ was very good. _Room Temperature_ I could have done without. ETA: His later book _Vox_ may cover a very short period of time as well, I don’t remember it as well. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/9 "2011-02-03T19:42:46Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Nicholson Baker’s first two novels, _The Mezzanine_ and _Room Temperature_ both take place during extremely short periods of time. The former takes place during an escalator ride and the latter during the bottle-feeding of an infant. > > Obviously, they both concern themselves heavily with how the mind free-associates. Might as well add _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_ and _Through the Looking-Glass_, each of which takes place during a nap (although I think even the dream-action in both is still limited to a single day). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/10 "2011-02-03T19:49:24Z")
Would Dickens’s _A Christmas Carol_ count? It takes place in less than a 24-hour timespan, late afternoon on Christmas Eve to early Christmas morning. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/11 "2011-02-03T20:15:11Z")
**High Noon** with Gary Cooper ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/12 "2011-02-03T23:28:53Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Might as well add _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_ and _Through the Looking-Glass_, each of which takes place during a nap (although I think even the dream-action in both is still limited to a single day). > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Note: Flashbacks are okay; Dream sequences are not. . . . ---
**Author:** ![Eriond\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ad7895/32.png) [@Eriond\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eriond_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/13 "2011-02-03T23:49:40Z")
Stephen King’s _Rage_, about a young man who takes his high school classroom hostage, takes place over a mere few hours. (Does the novelization of _24: Redemption_ count?) > [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > DNote: Flashbacks are okay; Dream sequences are not. What if the person takes a nap and has a dream about his childhood? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/14 "2011-02-03T23:50:59Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > . > . > . Ah, I missed that. Though I’m afraid I fail to see the point of the stipulation. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/15 "2011-02-03T23:57:52Z")
[_One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Day_in_the_Life_of_Ivan_Denisovich). Fantastic book. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/16 "2011-02-04T00:06:39Z")
Da Vinci code? Angels and Demons? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/17 "2011-02-04T00:13:31Z")
Apart from numerous flashbacks, the action of _The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman_ is pretty well limited to the birthday of the protagonist. (And by “birthday” I mean the day that he was born.) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/18 "2011-02-04T02:49:45Z")
:smack: I can’t believe I didn’t think of _Shandy_. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/19 "2011-02-04T14:10:19Z")
I can’t believe I didn’t think of Mary Higgins Clark’s _Silent Night_, which starts at twilight on Christmas Eve and ends Christmas morning. Her daughter Carol Higgins Clark’s _Zapped_ takes place on a night when NYC is having a blackout, except for a short epilogue taking place the following night. Dram sequences don’t county because book’s dream sequences can take years (yes, Ira Levin, I’m pointing to you with my middle finger), and that just doesn’t happen in real life. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043/20 "2011-02-04T14:55:17Z")
24: The Novel Though it’s really annoying. It requires you to buy four books and put them together in a square to read certain passages simultaneously. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-whose-stories-take-place-within-one-day/570043.md?page=2)