Books That Take Place Over a Single Day

Books That Take Place Over a Single Day

This article relates to Pick a Color

Souvankham Thammavongsa's novel Pick a Color takes place over the span of one day at a nail salon, Susan's, owned by the main character Ning. This slice-of-life style of storytelling has been employed by numerous authors for different purposes—to heighten dramatic tension, to explore one character's daily reality, or to defy traditional narrative expectations. The latter two are certainly features of Pick a Color. The lack of overt conflict or suspense sets it apart from the three-act plot arc we typically see in novels.

If there is an origin point in modern literature for this single-day storytelling, it could be James Joyce's Ulysses, which follows Leopold Bloom through one day in Dublin in June 1904. Ulysses, in turn, inspired Virginia Woolf's crafting of Mrs. Dalloway, which takes place over the course of one day in the life of the titular character as she prepares for a party.

There's a good chance that Thammavongsa's structuring of Pick a Color was inspired in part by one or both of these predecessors. Here are some other contemporary novels that also take place over the span of a day.

The Three of Us by Ore Agbaje-Williams (2023)

Agbaje-Williams's debut novel takes place during a single afternoon and revolves around conflict between a woman, her husband, and her best friend. Divided into three parts, the book gives the reader access to each character's perspective as buried secrets are revealed and long-simmering tensions threaten to explode. In a starred review, Kirkus called the novel "wickedly funny" and noted its "ingenious final twist."

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney (2017)

This novel's plot revolves around an 85-year-old woman named Lillian Boxfish taking a walk through New York City on New Year's Eve, 1984. In the present day, she engages in conversation with various strangers she happens to encounter, and flashbacks reveal aspects of the fascinating life she has led. These include her illustrious career in advertising as a chief copywriter (the character is based on Margaret Fishback, who wrote copy for Macy's), her family life, and her mental health challenges. A BookBrowse First Impressions reviewer called Lillian Boxfish "charming, witty, friendly, fearless, and indomitable."

Orbital by Samantha Harvey (2023)

Like Pick a Color, Samantha Harvey's Booker Prize-winning novel Orbital follows women at work, only instead of technicians at a nail salon, they are astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Harvey, too, eschews plot in favor of focusing on the rhythms of the day in a specific location. As Ning is able to discern things about her clients they may not even know about themselves, Orbital explores life on Earth in a way only possible by those who have left its orbit. As BookBrowse reviewer Kim Kovacs said, "This dazzling novel may well help many appreciate how precious and fragile our world is."

Assembly by Natasha Brown (2021)

Natasha Brown's novel Assembly has been compared to Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway in that it also takes place over the span of one day and centers on a woman attending a party. Also like Mrs. Dalloway, much of the dramatic tension in Assembly comes from the main character's internal monologue. The unnamed narrator of Brown's book is a British Jamaican woman who works as an investment banker and contends with racist microaggressions and sexism in her personal and professional life. She is attending a garden party put on by her white boyfriend's family immediately after being diagnosed with breast cancer, and the book contemplates the effects of racism on the body. Reviewer Valerie Morales calls it "a powerful work of art" that "shows what marginalized women experience in the dark moments of their workdays."

Filed under Reading Lists

This article relates to Pick a Color. It first ran in the October 22, 2025 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.