- Paperback: 294 pages
- Publisher: Portobello Books (December 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1846271843
- ISBN-13: 978-1846271847
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 322 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #751,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Book Description
"My memories of Grace" never added up to how she really was. She was always impossible to pin down, dancing just out of my reach, exactly as she did when she was alive. Nora was a girl of twelve when the war broke out and she was forced to join the train-loads of evacuees leaving London's East End for rural Kent. Her surrogate family, the Rivers family, are unlike anyone she has met before and she soon comes to love her new life with them, and in particular with twelve-year old Grace. Over the next few years, as the dog-fights rage ever more fiercely over head and it becomes clear that the Rivers marriage contains deep and irreparable cracks, Nora and Grace grow as close as sisters - though, to Nora's confusion, even this is not quite as close as she would like - What happened next is a secret that will gnaw away at Nora for the rest of her life - a secret that she can only begin to tell when she is certain that she is approaching the end.
About the Author
CATHERINE HALL was born in the Lake District in 1973. She worked in documentary film production before becoming a freelance writer and editor for a range of charities specialising in human rights and development. This is her first novel
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.1 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Grace, Dec 1 2009
By Steve Benner "Stonegnome" - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Days of Grace (Paperback)
Catherine Hall's début novel, "Days of Grace" is, quite simply, an amazing achievement. Complex and emotionally charged throughout, it spans some 50 years in two alternating but converging narratives of a single life -- that of Nora, now an old woman, living alone and dying of cancer; consumed by a guilty secret that has haunted her for much of her adult life. The tale tells of love, loss, and abandonment but really, above all, the fatality of impossible relationships, the anguish they create, the guilt they engender and the tragic outcomes that inevitably ensue. And yet, this book follows by no means any standard pattern of tragedy; there is no formulaic element to this book at all. Ms Hall keeps her reader both engrossed from the outset as well as guessing right to the very end, maintaining a high standard of writing throughout. If the book has a flaw it is that some of the pivotal characters are a little thinly developed and their actions do not always sit right upon them. That said, the story remains mostly credible; it strikes me that it would dramatise well and I would not be at all surprised to see this as a two- or three-parter on (British) TV some time. I would urge you to read the book before that happens, as much of its beauty and complexity will inevitably be lost in that process and it would be a shame to miss out on that.Highly recommended.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unputdownable, April 18 2009
By Margaret Smith - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Days of Grace (Paperback)
Catherine Hall shows a maturity in her writing far beyond her years. Not only does she have insight into the inner most thoughts of two young girls with whom, no doubt, she can relate, but she has an uncanny knack of getting inside the heads of characters far older than herself. Her powers of observation and psycho-analysis are extraordinary. The story takes us winging back, at one moment, to our own precious, innocent childhoods and then, in the next moment, plonks us firmly back in the present - with all the intricate dilemmas created by our own maturation.On the one hand there is a familiarity about the story and, on the other hand, there is a mystery which keeps one reading, with baited breath, until the very last page. Poignant, sad, inevitable, thought-provoking; call the story what you will. Talented,remarkable, destined for fame - that, in my humble opinion, is Catherine Hall.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Touching and Beautifully Written, Jun 11 2010
By Whatsername - Published on Amazon.com
Ce commentaire est de: Days of Grace: A Novel (Hardcover)
This is a touching and beautifully written story of a young girl/old woman telling her past and speculating on the future as she lies dying of cancer. What makes this book so fascinating is that there are two subplots - one about the experiences of her youth and the second with her realizing that she can still do some good before her life slips away. The tales are told in alternating chapters, and both are compelling, holding the reader's attention from the first paragraph to the very last. In fact, the last page of this book is the best and most movingly written ending of any novel I have ever read.I agree with other reviewers that the secondary characters could use some more development. However, this one minor flaw is not enough to detract from the telling of a painfully exquisite love born in childhood and framed within the horrendous realities of war. Read this book and you will be transported from the war-torn streets of London to the innocence of youth in an English countryside and back again. Very highly recommended.
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