These Days

Lucy Caldwell

From Shelf: Books I just had to buy (2022)

From 'one of Ireland's most essential writers' (Sunday Times) comes the exquisite story of two sisters trying to survive in life and love against the backdrop of the Belfast Blitz.

WINNER OF THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTIONWINNER OF THE E. M. FORSTER AWARDAS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4s BOOK AT BEDTIMETwo sisters. Four nights. One City.April, 1941. Belfast has escaped the worst of the war - so far. Following the lives of sisters Emma and Audrey - one engaged to be married, the other in a secret relationship with another woman - as they try to survive the horrors of the Belfast Blitz, These Days is an unforgettable novel about lives lived under duress, about family, and about how we try to stay true to ourselves'Brilliantly evokes wartime love and heartbreak.' Guardian'Breathtakingly good. A novel of enormous heart; full of luminous passages of prose.' Observer'Meticulously researched, perfectly imagined, full of compassion and emotional truth.' CLARE CHAMBERS