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augie_'s review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Cursing, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
lucyatoz's review
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
These Days by Lucy Caldwell tells the story of the Belfast Blitz from the view point of two daughters of well to do doctor and his wife as they experience four nights of bombings which destroys much of their city.
Audrey is engaged to be married and Emma is in a relationship with Sylvia, a fellow First Aid volunteer, which no one knows about, and the sisters have significant turning points in these relationships as the story unfolds. They are both faced with confronting deep questions about who they are and what they want in the mist of the Second World War.
It is a powerful novel about an important period of WWII which the author has taken time to research. The only thing about this book was the annoyance with the spoken dialogue was not placed in quotation marks. Otherwise, a well written piece of storytelling which was powerful and captured the spirit of a community during a time of war.
Audrey is engaged to be married and Emma is in a relationship with Sylvia, a fellow First Aid volunteer, which no one knows about, and the sisters have significant turning points in these relationships as the story unfolds. They are both faced with confronting deep questions about who they are and what they want in the mist of the Second World War.
It is a powerful novel about an important period of WWII which the author has taken time to research. The only thing about this book was the annoyance with the spoken dialogue was not placed in quotation marks. Otherwise, a well written piece of storytelling which was powerful and captured the spirit of a community during a time of war.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, War, and Death
Minor: Pregnancy
booksjessreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
These Days is a historical fiction novel about the Belfast Blitz over Easter in 1941 told predominantly from the perspective of sisters Audrey and Emma, and occasionally from other characters, such as their mom, Florence. Having multiple points of view meant that there was a holistic view of women experiencing the Blitz which was a refreshing perspective. Furthermore, this was a period of history that I didn't know much about, of which I felt much more informed having read this.
There is no doubt that Caldwell has done her research. The intricacies of everyday life were told with such detail, and the descriptions of bombings in Belfast also felt real, as though you had been transported there yourself. The descriptions of casualties and reactions to the bombings were unequivocal, candidly brutal and emanated the shock and disbelief of the Belfast people with accuracy and care. In these sensitive moments, the imagery used was next to none.
However, I did have issues with pacing in this book, coupled with some writing and stylistic choices. The first half of this book was quite slow, and I did have issues finding my way with the characters, their points of view, and their recollection of memories and events. At around the half way mark though, things did really pick up and I would say it was more medium paced. However, this shift in pacing was quite jarring and didn't create a smooth reading experience. Furthermore, the lack of speech marks did not work for this novel. I had got into the swing of it by the end, but it just felt misplaced in this book. For some novels, this works really well. For this one, in my opinion, not so much. And finally, the use of the Belfast dialect was only casually used. This then felt messy and it would have worked better had this been implemented more consistently, or not at all.
Overall though, this was a good read and I would even re-read and recommend this to others. A really great perspective and narrative of the Belfast Blitz as a whole that has been well researched and was insightful.
There is no doubt that Caldwell has done her research. The intricacies of everyday life were told with such detail, and the descriptions of bombings in Belfast also felt real, as though you had been transported there yourself. The descriptions of casualties and reactions to the bombings were unequivocal, candidly brutal and emanated the shock and disbelief of the Belfast people with accuracy and care. In these sensitive moments, the imagery used was next to none.
However, I did have issues with pacing in this book, coupled with some writing and stylistic choices. The first half of this book was quite slow, and I did have issues finding my way with the characters, their points of view, and their recollection of memories and events. At around the half way mark though, things did really pick up and I would say it was more medium paced. However, this shift in pacing was quite jarring and didn't create a smooth reading experience. Furthermore, the lack of speech marks did not work for this novel. I had got into the swing of it by the end, but it just felt misplaced in this book. For some novels, this works really well. For this one, in my opinion, not so much. And finally, the use of the Belfast dialect was only casually used. This then felt messy and it would have worked better had this been implemented more consistently, or not at all.
Overall though, this was a good read and I would even re-read and recommend this to others. A really great perspective and narrative of the Belfast Blitz as a whole that has been well researched and was insightful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, War, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Vomit and Medical content
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, Abortion, Animal cruelty, and Homophobia
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