First-Time Caller

First-Time Caller is a clear homage to Nora Ephron’s 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle. In the film, a widowed father, Sam Baldwin, played by Tom Hanks, discovers that his young son, Jonah, has called in to a radio station expressing the hope that he will remarry. Meg Ryan’s character, Annie, hears Jonah’s call from where she lives in Baltimore and is drawn to the man she knows only as “Sleepless in Seattle,” even though she is engaged to someone else. Annie, like Aiden, is skeptical of the magic of romance, while others around her profess strong belief in it. Sam, for his part, is certain that true love exists because he experienced it with his first wife, Maggie. In addition to these parallels in premise and characterization, the novel contains several more minor allusions to the movie—for instance, the use of Maggie for the name of Aiden’s boss. Similarly, Lucie’s coffee shop goes by the pseudonym of “Brooks Robinson,” a famous baseball player. In the film, baseball is an interest that Sam and Annie share, which they learn when Annie expresses her particular admiration for Robinson.

Sleepless in Seattle itself makes frequent references to another romantic film, An Affair to Remember, which features Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr falling in love after a series of missed connections and relationships with others. Similarly, both Sam and Annie try to date other people, but Annie’s fiancé, Walter, realizes they are not meant for one another and amicably ends the relationship. First-Time Caller preserves this element of both movies, with Lucie dating other men and ultimately parting with Oliver on good terms.

The novel also pays homage to Ephron’s broader oeuvre. Ephron’s various films, from When Harry Met Sally to You’ve Got Mail, explore the idea that every person has a perfect match, even if they meet in unlikely or unusual circumstances. Borison relies on this aspect of the genre, and the commitment to a happy ending, in setting up Aiden’s call with Lucie as the event that changes both their lives.

Nevertheless, there are significant differences between First-Time Caller and Sleepless in Seattle. Unlike Sam and Annie, Aiden and Lucie meet early and connect often, adding complexity to their dynamic, which becomes more about the nature of intimacy and self-actualization than the nature of fate and whether it exists. The Epilogue, however, returns to the latter themes, as Aiden realizes that he likely came close to meeting Lucie many times before their first phone call.

Other recent contemporary romance novels have also involved homages to Ephron films, such as Kristina Forrest’s The Neighbor Favor, which is an update of You’ve Got Mail, and Kate Goldbeck’s You, Again, which has elements in common with When Harry Met Sally. Workplace romances like First-Time Caller are also common in the contemporary romance genre. For instance, Rachel Lynn Solomon’s The Ex Talk features ex-lovers doing a radio show together who secretly reunite but must hide their renewed connection for the sake of their careers. With its greater emphasis on career, First-Time Caller thus expands upon the text that inspired it to explore modern ideas about personal fulfillment, gender, and dating while honoring the spirit of Ephron’s work and her influence on the romantic comedy genre.