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Day

Cunningham, Michael

$37.99

2 in stock

2 in stock

‘Unsparing and tender’ Colm Toibin, author of Brooklyn

‘A brilliant novel from our most brilliant of writers’ Colum McCann, author of Apeirogon

‘A quietly stunning achievement’ Ocean Vuong, author of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

As the world changes around them, a family weathers the storms of growing up, growing older, falling in and out of love, losing the things that are most precious – and learning to go on.

April 5th, 2019: In a cozy brownstone in Brooklyn, the veneer of domestic bliss is beginning to crack. Dan and Isabel, troubled husband and wife, are both a little bit in love with Isabel’s younger brother, Robbie. Robbie, wayward soul of the family, who still lives in the attic loft; Robbie, who, trying to get over his most recent boyfriend, has created a glamorous avatar online; Robbie, who now has to move out of the house – and whose departure threatens to break the family apart. And then there is Nathan, age ten, taking his first uncertain steps toward independence, while Violet, five, does her best not to notice the growing rift between her parents.

April 5th, 2020: As the world goes into lockdown the brownstone is feeling more like a prison. Violet is terrified of leaving the windows open, obsessed with keeping her family safe. Isabel and Dan circle each other warily, communicating mostly in veiled jabs and frustrated sighs. And beloved Robbie is stranded in Iceland, alone in a mountain cabin with nothing but his thoughts – and his secret Instagram life – for company.

April 5th, 2021: Emerging from the worst of the crisis, the family comes together to reckon with a new, very different reality – with what they’ve learned, what they’ve lost, and how they might go on.

From the brilliant mind of Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Cunningham, Day is a searing, exquisitely crafted meditation on love and loss, and the struggles and limitations of family life – how to live together and apart, and maybe even escape the marriage plot entirely.

‘Cunningham is one of our great American writers, and here is another masterpiece … Read it and be changed’ Andrew Sean Greer, author of Less

Format: Paperback
Pages: 288
Imprint: HarperCollins UK
Publication date: 14/11/2023

Staff review

Day
by Michael Cunningham
Review by Bel
A soothing, gentle read if you like novels rich in character and beautiful sentences. Cunningham offers a unique take on the pandemic (I thought I was sick of reading about it but turns out I’m not). Covid is never the focus. It’s the characters’ interior lives that are brought to the foreground, which makes for an intimate read.
The book unfolds on April 5th in three consecutive years: 2019, 2020 and 2021. These three days in the characters’ lives focus on small moments, where the reverberations of the big ones are keenly felt. There’s space and time for consequences to be weighed and measured as they go about their daily lives, which are profound in their universality – so often the most insurmountable question on any given day in any given partnership is, ‘but what will we do about dinner?’ So relatable! Cunningham very cleverly reveals plot via the negative space of these moments. He is a master-stylist – we always feel we’re in good hands.
The characters crept up on me – worked their way right under my skin, and I happily moved through the quiet moments of their days, noticing small changes – growth and backwards steps, the opening and closing of hearts. Let this one surprise you with its beauty and compassion.

ISBN: 9780008659998 Category: Tag