Reviews with content warning for Death - These Days

Reviews tagging 'Death'

These Days by Lucy Caldwell

7 reviews

bootrat's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

lucyatoz's review

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

booksjessreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

james1star's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I initially picked up this book because of a certain character being ‘in a secret relationship with another woman’ and whilst this storyline clearly does take the back burner quite early on, I was still very invested. Little (and non) fiction literature has been written about WW2’s impact in Northern Ireland with much focus primarily being on Germany’s bombings in England and the London Blitz but Belfast was hit just as hard with the Easter Raid of 1941 having the highest casualties outside of London. In These Days, Caldwell uses three attacks (Dockside, Easter and Fireside) to separate the book and generates a narrative through the perspective of the Bells, an ordinary middle class family. The patriarch, a doctor, Philip and their young son Paul have no real chapters of their own. Florence has lived a seemingly happy marriage, creating a family but from living through WW1, the current events are bringing back the memories of a lost lover Renard and the life she could’ve lived. The oldest daughter 21-year old Audrey I’d say plays the biggest role, she’s an office worker who’s recently proposed to by respectable Richard, a doctor to whom marriage seems the obvious next step in life. Her English friend Doreen makes her reconsider her actual love for him and whether there are other things in life she might want instead. Finally, 18-year old Emma is my favourite character as she’s sure in herself and what she wants, she volunteers as a first aider and starts a relationship with her supervisor, the older Sylvia but clearly given everything she’s up against this is a hard thing to keep a hold onto. As the bombs come down how will the Bells and other ordinary citizens of Belfast cope?

I think the book holds the most power in its portrayal of the ordinary person. From the start, it’s clear Belfast is suffering from ongoing problems but the Bells are doing quite well, they even have a maid! Similarly, rationing is a thing, highlighted in the chapter on the train with Maisie and her mum coming back from Dublin being inspected but it’s not massively bad such that Doreen is surprised by the supply of food in comparison to England. Again, Philip, Richard, Emma and others are seemingly professionally ready for the casualties but when it actually happens it’s another story. It’s shows how difficult it actually is when faced with the disgusting reality of civilian casualties and in such huge numbers. The actual bombings are one thing but additionally the mindless searching for family and friends, lovers, pets, seeing your street demolished, having to identify someone by their boot alone, a volunteer first aider treating a major incident because the hospital has been set alight and the rest are full and so much more… it’s harrowing and Caldwell truly brings these horrors to life. Another point I really enjoyed was how the book is used to give a voice to those that often didn’t have one with women clearly being the focus. Their ‘role’ in the family and society is presented well but also their desires, past, aspirations and innermost thoughts too which I couldn’t fault one bit. Furthermore, the inclusion of two queer female perspectives in 1940s Belfast, a then (and still) very religious city was great.

Following on from this last point comes my main criticism of These Days, in that I personally didn’t like how the narrative developed after a certain event around the halfway point. Already from the start I gathered my presumptions of how the plot and format would pan out were proven wrong with Emma’s lesbian relationship with Sylvia clearly not being a main plot point. To this I was quite dejected but decided to carry on (thankfully so) but then other events which further reduced the queerness of the book I felt were a missed opportunity on Caldwell’s part. An argument can and is made for her reasons which I get but I think a lot could’ve been said and messages withheld more gravitas had more been done. In a similar vein to not liking this particular part of the narrative, I did get quite lost in the third section of the book as we moved towards the end. Things weren’t fully pulled together in my opinion despite the work being done, some outcomes were to my liking but I dunno… there were just a few too many loose ends. A final issue is that is maybe a few too many characters? Sort of? Yes? No? I’m not too sure, but I pressumed from the book’s description it would’ve been more like dual-pov from Audrey and Emma but it’s a mix of them, their mum Florence as well as Wee Betty Binks, Maisie, Doreen (people in the city who only get about two chapters) and sometimes a general overview which I wasn’t too keen on, I would have much preferred more balance between the three and others within these or having just stuck to the sisters.

Final note: the Northern Irish dialect references I personally loved and it gave me Derry Girlsvibes including things like: ‘wain,’ ‘so it is,’ ‘so I did,’ ‘so it was’ and the like. The inclusion of curse words I did find a little random and maybe rather crass at times though.

Content Warnings

wordsofclover's review

Go to review page

emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Belfast, 1941 - over two months, the Belfast Blitz rips through the Northern Irish city leaving broken buildings and bodies in its wake. During These Days, readers follow two sisters Audrey and Emma as they fight to survive and continue normal life during the war - but both are left scarred in different ways from loss and shock.

Shamefaced I have to admit I didn't know a huge amount about the extent of the bombing on Belfast during WW2, and reading about the horrific impact left behind during this novel was really startling - especially when thinking about the 'relative' peace people were living in just south of the border. I actually really liked the scene set on a train from Dublin as people tried to hide items from customs people, and the absolute waste that was the customs men just throwing items out of the train. From a history aspect, I found it really interesting.

I liked both Audrey and Emma - though I will say I think Audrey was a slightly stronger character for me - Emma felt a little bit meek and pale in comparison, and even when she was with Sylvia, her almost overbearing feelings towards the woman felt a bit immature. I think I enjoyed Audrey's predicament a little bit better - this struggle between the societal norms of marrying and children battling her desire to work and do 'more' with her life. I also really liked the chapters we get from Audrey and Emma's mother Florence - hints at a young love she still remembers - scenes of which were quite aching and moving yet never taking away from the love she had for her husband and almost grown family. I found her a very interesting character, and would actually happily read a prequel novel about her (presumably set during WW1 and her first love Reynard).

While this was well written and taught me a lot I didn't know, I think overall I would have liked maybe a little bit more of everything. Some of the character decisions felt maybe slightly surface level and I would have liked to follow the characters for longer and seen more character growth. It's disappointing that the story fell into the 'kill your gays' trope as well but the story wasn't going to end without at least one tragedy close to home.

Content Warnings

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I wasn’t going to pick up These Days, despite it winning the 2023 Walter Scott Prize, because I was sure I didn’t need anymore World War II historical fiction in my life. And when I did pick it up I found it hard to get into initially- partly due to life stuff , partly due to my preconceptions. I almost DNF’d not once, but twice, before finally committing to it. I am glad I persevered, for a couple of key reasons. The first is that it is focussed on an event - the Belfast Blitz, four separate bombing raids which took place during April and May of 1941 - that I’d never heard of before, despite the massive loss of life and physical devastation that resulted. The second, and more relevant, is that this book is incredibly immersive. It takes place in little over a month with a major focus on just a few nights. We experience most of the action through the eyes of the Bell family, particularly adult daughters Emma and Audrey. This tight focus lets the author hone in deeply on the experience. We’re jammed under the stairs with the family during the first raid, outside with Audrey and with Emma during subsequent attacks, sharing the sights and sounds with them; privy to all their thoughts and feelings. It’s clear Caldwell’s done her research - and that she has no desire to shield her readers from the brutal realities of those raids. With Emma, a volunteer at a First Aid Post, and father Philip, a doctor, there is no shortage of medical content. It’s gory at times but not gratuitous. Caldwell is excellent at showing rather than telling. She doesn’t tell readers what the Belfast Blitz was like; she immerses them in it so they can experience it for themselves. Of course, Belfast inhabitants had no idea if or when the German bombing raids would occur and in between times, life went on as best it could and Caldwell shows us these aspects of her characters’s lives also. But it’s the way she immerses her readers in the intense and destructive Belfast Blitz, giving them as realistic experience as is possible via the written word, that made this book a winner for me.

Content Warnings

what_heather_loves's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

"Here we are, she thinks bitterly, the eighth of April 1941, the pinnacle of Western so-called civilisation, hiding in a bloody wee cupboard under the stairs while the world ends around us."

Belfast, Northern Ireland , April 1941 , which saw the 'Belfast Blitz', as a result of the city's contribution to the Allied war effort (ships, aircraft and munitions) and its poor preparation and defences. Split into three parts, The Dockside Raid, The Easter Raid and The Fire Raid, the author describes the lives of the Bell family and others they meet during this period. Father Philip is a beleaguered doctor; mother Florence (pining for a long-lost love) is a housewife; grown-up daughter's Audrey and Emma are struggling with their romances, against the backdrop of war and; younger son Paul dreams of joining the troops. Four days and nights in their lives are described with such richness and emotion 'It's hard to believe Caldwell didn't live through the Belfast Blitz" (as Tracy Chevalier's epigraph describes). Dread following the first raid, is accompanied by the violence, destruction and loss of wartime life. Whilst the narrative standpoint shifts (and the absence of inverted commas is noticeable) the style and story never loses focus. Incredibly sad, the stoicism of the women, who are the novel's focus, stand out. Gloriously engaging, this piece of historical fiction is impeccably researched whilst the characters' narratives are raw and emotional. A fitting tribute to the Belfasters who lived through this tragic period of the city's history.

Content Warnings

More...