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Nine Days

Toni Jordan

Why we're reading this: Melbourne, Victoria
[close] Melbourne, Victoria

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Aug 11, 2012 Andrea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: australian-author, challenge, top100longlist, favorites

I honestly don't understand why this has been languishing on my bookshelf for such a long time. Perhaps because I thought it was going to be a slightly different kind of book? Whatever the reason, I'm so glad I've now read it, and been able to add it straight to my Favorites shelf.

This is the story of the Westaway family, told from multiple perspectives over 4 generations. Each of the nine chapters describes one pivotal day in the history of the family, from the point of view of a family member I honestly don't understand why this has been languishing on my bookshelf for such a long time. Perhaps because I thought it was going to be a slightly different kind of book? Whatever the reason, I'm so glad I've now read it, and been able to add it straight to my Favorites shelf.

This is the story of the Westaway family, told from multiple perspectives over 4 generations. Each of the nine chapters describes one pivotal day in the history of the family, from the point of view of a family member or someone with a close relationship to the family. It goes back and forth in time, building up a detailed picture of events and connections that provide all the context we need to get the full impact of the bittersweet - quite tragic - ending; an event which sits a little way into the story's timeline.

I loved this inventive structure, and I loved each of the nine major characters, some of whom were not very sympathetic until they had the chance to 'explain themselves' by way of their own subsequent chapter. But by far my favourite character was Kip Westaway, the younger twin of the 2nd generation and in fact, the subject of chapter 1. He provided such a strong moral and emotional presence in this family, despite being misunderstood (or so he thought). Kip has some advice for his teenage grandson, Alec:

'You must know this. People disappear. They just go puff. Thin air. Every time you see someone, you never know if you're seeing them for the last time. Drink them in, Alec. Kiss them. It's very important. Never let anyone say goodbye, even for a little while, without kissing them. Press your lips against the people you love. Hands, they can touch anything. Open doors, hold cameras, hang clothes on the line. It's lips that matter.'

And when it is revealed why Kip feels this way, the knowledge is devastating.

If you could only put this book into one box, it would be the historical fiction one. But it's so much more than that. It's historical, but equally contemporary, and Toni Jordan's contemporary fiction pedigree shines through. I loved this passage from chapter 2:

People who work out are so gullible. They think they'll live longer. Well, good luck to them. It's a shame most of them aren't bright enough to realise that the extra time added to their life when they're eighty and too old to do anything productive with it is roughly equal to all the time wasted in the gym when they're young and capable of having fun.

Highly recommended.

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28 likes · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2014 Judy marked it as to-read

Sep 08, 2017 Lissa Reidel rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Dec 28, 2021 Sally is currently reading it

Shelves: cr-box-91

Aug 22, 2023 Hend marked it as to-read

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