Day

With "Day" Miss Kennedy joins the distinguished group of women writers who describe actual combat in war. Brilliantly written, the underlying obsession is not war as such, but Miss Kennedy's own inner demons. An over-elaborate plot spoils the narrative.

"Day" is well researched, and wears its erudition lightly. The central character is realised in the round, and is attended by a large number of subsidiary characters. These are 2-dimensional, giving the book an empty, surreal quality. Miss K is good on wartime RAF slang and wartime RAF jokes, memorably so. Unfortunately this type of humour drives out her own personal brand of excoriating wit, which is less in evidence in "Day" than in any of her books so far. The focus on war-time horror slips far too frequently onto more gratuitous acts of violence.

As an anti-War book "Day" does not quite cut the mustard. Miss Kennedy's moral eye is squinting. The bombing of Hamburg is equated with the extermination of Jewish villagers by their Ukranian neighbours. Random acts of violence, including grievous bodily harm and parricide, are treated as adventitious. Miss Kennedy's moral indignation leads nowhere. The constant shifting of focus between place and time gives the story depth but is wearisome. The love interest is unconvincing, its emphasis on physicality leaving a vacuum at its heart.

Altogether "Day" reinforces the impression that Miss Kennedy is a wayward genius who is always worth reading but who never quite manages to get her act together, a short story writer rather than a novelist. Maddening.

Moving, enjoyable but also slow (1/1 people found this helpful)

Unlike one of the other reviewers, I devour books. Like him I found this book very impressive. I did enjoy it and found it very moving indeed - in no way did I regret buying it and reading it. However, unlike him I found it quite slow, not a page turner. Indeed it took me longer to read than any other book I can remember for a long time.

The hero is a complex character and we see his personality develop through the book as he emerges from an abusive childhood and finds a capacity to love. There are two, perhaps three objects of his love. Joyce, his crewmates with whom he fully expects - and wants to - die, and perhaps the Lancaster bomber in which he occupies the rear turret.

I have to say I missed the 'insanity' of which some of the other reviewers write. What I saw was a person reclaiming his memory and his life after shattering experiences during the war which come to life as he participates as an extra in a film about life in a PoW camp similar to the one in which he had been incarcerated.

The dialect he spoke was quite unfamiliar to me and I couldn't place it at all easily. This got in the way a bit at the beginning, but only for a few pages. It only reappears from time to time.

I do recommend this book.

A hypnotic read (1/1 people found this helpful)

One of the most innovative and compelling novels I have read in a long time. An original voice at last, and unputdownable. The reviewer who took the mickey out of the writing style was admittedly quite clever and funny, but I would argue that this novel is far more interesting in its style and content than so much of the dross out there. (You can satirise Dickens, Faulkner, or any of the other greats, too.)

Writing too complex resulting in a poor read (0/0 people found this helpful)

I was looking forward to this book but have found it a great disappointment. The style of the narrative is a big problem. It's a bit like reading some of TS Elliot, you know you are in the presence of greatness, but you still can't understand it. The book is far too wordy and moves between tenses so often that the plot slips away if you don't apply utter concentration. It is trying to be too clever with the writing at the expense of the novel. I found it difficult to read, which for me meant it was too easy to put down, and too difficult to get back into. Not a good read more like an exercise in English Literature. How it won the Costa prize I cannot imagine.

Interesting way of writing a novel (0/0 people found this helpful)

I always enjoy new and novel approaches to books, that's why I occassional read the odd graphic novel - they tend to include lots of narative, the thoughts of characters and clever dialogue. I do like to see authors monkey with the format a bit as it keeps things fresh. I really didn't know what to make of the book to start with but, as is oftern the case, I found myself warming to the character, enjoying the gradual steps with Joyce and being shocked at the horror of war. The banter between the crew is typical of servicemen, casual, disposable and almost meaningless but in the end serves the purpose of binding the men together as close as brothers.
Alfie is a tough little man with a cold heart but reserves affection for those closest to him. Bit of an Eodipus complex going on too I think.
Would I recommend it? Yes, probably, although I'd try and explain the feel of the book, the way it drifts from one place to the next. And I'd recommend that before anyone reads it they read a few good graphic novels...

Is it The Great Escape that they are filming? Seems to be.

A. L. Kennedy

Reader Reviews:

A blemished tour de force (0/0 people found this helpful)

Moving, enjoyable but also slow (1/1 people found this helpful)

A hypnotic read (1/1 people found this helpful)

Writing too complex resulting in a poor read (0/0 people found this helpful)

Interesting way of writing a novel (0/0 people found this helpful)

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