If you read my Top Books of 2023 or listened to the ‘Tea or Books?’ episode where Rachel and I shared our favourite reads, you’ll have already heard that I really loved Day by Michael Cunningham. It came out last year in N. America but has only just been released in the UK – so my review has gone live over at Shiny New Books.
Here’s a quote from the review – read the whole thing at Shiny New Books.
To the casual reader, Cunningham probably remains best-known for The Hours, with its three parallel storylines of Virginia Woolf writing Mrs Dalloway, a mid-century housewife reading Mrs Dalloway and a 1990s woman whose life very much resembles Mrs Dalloway’s. Day follows the theme of having a timespan in the title and taking place in three sections – though following the same group of 21st-century people. The first section takes place on the morning of 5 April, the middle section is the afternoon of 5 April, and the third section is the evening of 5 April. The twist on this idea is that the first part is 2019, the second is 2020, and the third is 2021. It’s the same day, but it is emphatically not the same day. This is, of course, Cunningham’s Covid novel.
I have to admit I am not (yet?) a Michael Cunningham fan. I think I must be one of the very few that actually did not like the Hours; I imagine that almost sounds like heresy to you!(but there we are I have confessed)!!
Nevertheless I was interested enough to consider Day after your last tea or books podcast and I am looking forward to hearing more when you and Rachel discuss it. This review has further fuelled my interest so I will try to get a copy to see for myself soon.
I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve not yet read The Hours but I immediately wanted to read this when you added it to your 2023 list and now, having read your excellent review, am even more keen.
This is a Cunningham I haven’t read yet. So far, my favorite of his is The Hours. I’ll have to try this one.
P. S. If you wonder that I am commenting on a bunch of your posts at once, it seems as if I haven’t been receiving your posts in my email box lately. I signed up again.
I think The Hours remains my absolute favourite, but he is so wonderful almost always.