2023 Walter Scott Prize for Best Historical Novel
Praise for this book
"A captivating novel exploring a lesser known chapter of Northern Ireland's story. Caldwell has managed to capture the spirit and tenacity of the Belfast I know and love. This is a novel which looks suffering straight in the eye and yet will leave you full of hope." - Jan Carson
"Meticulously researched, perfectly imagined, full of compassion and emotional truth." - Clare Chambers
"What a visceral, powerful, authentic novel! It's hard to believe Lucy Caldwell didn't actually live through the Belfast Blitz, it's so accurately depicted. I felt I was there with the bombs, the blood, the chaos, the fear, and the resilience." - Tracy Chevalier
"Meticulously researched and utterly convincing, These Days recovers the lost stories of so many, bringing the past horrors of the Belfast Blitz brilliantly to life like a haunting flare." - Sarah Gilmartin
"Elegant and precise, I loved it. The vivid interiority Caldwell brings to the characters, particularly the three main women, is so impressive. I cared passionately about all of them. These Days is a gem of a novel." - Marian Keyes
"Adroit, precise storytelling, atmospheric and satisfying: this is a novel of real substance." - Hilary Mantel
"Beautiful, lyrical, and deeply moving, These Days is a wonderful novel." - Louise O'Neill
"A novel of enormous heart; full of luminous passages of prose, this tale of the Belfast blitz is breathtakingly good." - Alex Preston
"Caldwell's luminous novel presents a city under siege and a family in anguish. Her sense of life during wartime and her psychological portraiture cannot be faulted; the cumulative force of personal and public crisis will not be forgotten. This is storytelling of a vertiginously high order." - Anthony Quinn
"These Days is a deeply moving story of family, loss, sisterhood and how you can find yourself, even in the darkest of times. A truly gorgeous piece of storytelling, I could see and feel every word. Another absolute triumph for Lucy Caldwell." - Fíona Scarlett
"Meticulously researched, perfectly imagined, full of compassion and emotional truth." - Clare Chambers
"What a visceral, powerful, authentic novel! It's hard to believe Lucy Caldwell didn't actually live through the Belfast Blitz, it's so accurately depicted. I felt I was there with the bombs, the blood, the chaos, the fear, and the resilience." - Tracy Chevalier
"Meticulously researched and utterly convincing, These Days recovers the lost stories of so many, bringing the past horrors of the Belfast Blitz brilliantly to life like a haunting flare." - Sarah Gilmartin
"Elegant and precise, I loved it. The vivid interiority Caldwell brings to the characters, particularly the three main women, is so impressive. I cared passionately about all of them. These Days is a gem of a novel." - Marian Keyes
"Adroit, precise storytelling, atmospheric and satisfying: this is a novel of real substance." - Hilary Mantel
"Beautiful, lyrical, and deeply moving, These Days is a wonderful novel." - Louise O'Neill
"A novel of enormous heart; full of luminous passages of prose, this tale of the Belfast blitz is breathtakingly good." - Alex Preston
"Caldwell's luminous novel presents a city under siege and a family in anguish. Her sense of life during wartime and her psychological portraiture cannot be faulted; the cumulative force of personal and public crisis will not be forgotten. This is storytelling of a vertiginously high order." - Anthony Quinn
"These Days is a deeply moving story of family, loss, sisterhood and how you can find yourself, even in the darkest of times. A truly gorgeous piece of storytelling, I could see and feel every word. Another absolute triumph for Lucy Caldwell." - Fíona Scarlett
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