I loved both The End We Start From and The Harpy which made me keen to read Megan Hunter’s Days of Light. She’s a poet whose use of language is often very striking, part of the attraction for me. This third novel tells the story of Ivy, the daughter of a bohemian Sussex family, through six pivotal days in her life beginning with Easter Sunday in 1938 which ends in tragedy.
She had been trying to write poetry lately, had been trying to content herself with being unkissed, untouched, to imagine that nature itself was her lover, that the whole world – meaning nobody – could adore her.
Ivy wakes to the sound of her brother singing, one of the few things he does badly. She’s nineteen with none of her family’s obvious artistic or literary talent, searching for meaning and a way to be. Joseph has invited the woman with whom he is in love to Cressingdon for Easter and Ivy is eager to meet her. Two weeks later Ivy is at a funeral, grief stricken but finding solace with a man much older than herself which will lead to marriage and children in a cottage not far from her family home. Towards the end of the war, a friendship ripens into a love that might fulfil Ivy’s longing for meaning, hopes dashed ten years later on a day in which she experiences an epiphany pointing her to another way of life altogether. On the sixth day, Ivy remembers the many Easters she has lived through and the course her life has taken, understanding that her quest for meaning has been fulfilled.
Now, when Ivy thought of that day, it was in sepia, in an orange gauze, every movement softened with the ongoingness of life. This was before death, she felt, before any fact of death in her life.
Ivy’s story is unfolded from her perspective although not in her voice which suits this woman cast as an observer on the edges of a colourful family caught up in their own lives, unsure of her place in the world. Hunter’s writing is luminously beautiful at times – the Sussex countryside surrounding Cressingdon is lyrically described – and there’s an elegiac quality to the early party of the novel which lends it a gentle melancholy. Through Ivy, Hunter shows us a changing world from 1938 with war on the horizon to the turn of the century when she hardly recognises the London in which she now lives. Throughout it all, she remains haunted by the tragedy of 1938, unsure to the end if she might have played a part in it. Looking at pre-publication reviews, I see that some readers found Hunter’s novel unsatisfying, but I loved it, partly its structure suited it well but mostly for its quietly gorgeous writing.
Picador Books London 9781529010183 288 pages Hardback
I’m a fan of her writing too, for exactly the reasons you describe. I really like the sound of Ivy’s story so I’ll definitely be looking out for this one!
I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. It’s very different from her other two but equally good.
Yeah, I thought this worked brilliantly. The structure is effective and you’re right about what an intelligent move it is to tell the story from Ivy’s perspective but not in her voice; I hadn’t thought about that.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Given how different it is from her previous novels, I was sure what to expect but she carries it off beautifully.
Oh I enjoyed The Harpy too. Must check this one out, it sounds very good.
It’s very different from The Harpy but just as good. I’m wondering which direction she’ll go in next.
i hadn’t realised she had a new book out. I will investigate further.
I think it was published yesterday, Annabel. Highly recommend it!
This sounds wonderful and just the kind of writing I love. It’s on my list!
Pleased to hear that! I hope you enjoy it when you get to it.
I do like the sound of this very much, especially the structure and the lushness of the descriptions. Never tried the author before but will look her up!
Of the three she’s written, I think you’d enjoy this one the most, Mallika.
I’d placed a reservation on this a while back, and see I’m now Number One in the queue at the library. I’m looking forward to reading it.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
This is very much my kind of novel and I hope to read it this year – definitely on the wish list, and a beautiful review, Susan.
Thank you! I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
It sounds very timely, and although at first glance I wasn’t sure about the cover image, the angles and reflections suggest some layers to the writing too (if that’s fair to gather from the photo!) .
I think, perhaps also the light shed by the six days on her life.