‘A radiant, absorbing novel, intensely alive to the beauty and mystery of the everyday."—Joanna Quinn
From the author of The End We Start From, now a major film starring Jodie Comer, and taking inspiration from the influential artists and intellectuals of the Bloomsbury Group, Days of Light is a sweeping, sensual historical novel of art, desire, and faith set against the backdrop of a changing England
Easter Sunday, 1938. Ivy is nineteen and ready for her life to finally begin. Her sprawling, bohemian family and their friends gather in the idyllic English countryside for lunch, arranging themselves around well-worn roles. They trade political views and artistic arguments as they impatiently await the arrival and first sight of Frances, the new beau of Ivy’s beloved older brother, Joseph. In this auspicious atmosphere of springtime, Ivy’s world feels on the cusp of something grand–but neither she nor those closest to her predicts how a single, enchanted evening and an unexpected tragedy will alter the rest of their lives.
A radiant, philosophical, and intimate journey through time, Days of Light chronicles six pivotal days across six decades to tell the story of Ivy’s pursuit of answers—to the events of this fateful Easter Sunday and to the shifting desires of her own heart. Moving through the Second World War up to the close of the 20th century, Hunter captures the galvanic love and transformative moments that define a winding, beautiful life.
Genre: Literary Fiction
From the author of The End We Start From, now a major film starring Jodie Comer, and taking inspiration from the influential artists and intellectuals of the Bloomsbury Group, Days of Light is a sweeping, sensual historical novel of art, desire, and faith set against the backdrop of a changing England
Easter Sunday, 1938. Ivy is nineteen and ready for her life to finally begin. Her sprawling, bohemian family and their friends gather in the idyllic English countryside for lunch, arranging themselves around well-worn roles. They trade political views and artistic arguments as they impatiently await the arrival and first sight of Frances, the new beau of Ivy’s beloved older brother, Joseph. In this auspicious atmosphere of springtime, Ivy’s world feels on the cusp of something grand–but neither she nor those closest to her predicts how a single, enchanted evening and an unexpected tragedy will alter the rest of their lives.
A radiant, philosophical, and intimate journey through time, Days of Light chronicles six pivotal days across six decades to tell the story of Ivy’s pursuit of answers—to the events of this fateful Easter Sunday and to the shifting desires of her own heart. Moving through the Second World War up to the close of the 20th century, Hunter captures the galvanic love and transformative moments that define a winding, beautiful life.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Praise for this book
"A glittering marvel of a novel, tender, beautiful, and deeply moving." - Stephanie Bishop
"Wonderful, luminous . . . the language is radiant . . . it channels Woolf and Mansfield and feels completely fresh." - Mark Haddon
"Days of Light is elegant and piercing: the story of a life in six days, with all the epicness and intimacy a premise like that holds. Hunter depicts Ivy's longing and anguish with painterly precision." - Sarvat Hasin
"Extraordinary . . . The words themselves seem lit up from within. A luminance in the prose itself. It's beautiful, line by line, moving and absolutely transporting." - Cynan Jones
"Days of Light is sublime. Wielding tremendous emotional power, it is a novel that is both raw and reverent, attuned to the intricacies of loss, desire, hope and how to be in the world." - Hannah Kent
"Days of Light is a jewel of a novel. Brimming with heart and compassion, a whole life shines through its pages. I am in awe of Megan Hunter's profound grasp of human nature, as she carries us through grief and desire, hope and forgiveness." - Elizabeth Macneal
"There's warmth and depth in Hunter's well-wrought prose. The characters stay with you in the best way." - Sarah Moss
"Megan Hunter is a writer of liquid, incandescent prose. Days of Light is a singular novel about art and loss, love and violence, God and mystery. I've always been a fan of Hunter's work, and this is her best book yet." - Jamie Quatro
"A radiant, absorbing novel, intensely alive to the beauty and mystery of the everyday, Days of Light describes one woman's life through a series of six pivotal days. Each day is drawn with such tender care it's as if we are experiencing Ivy's life from the inside out, from youth through marriage and motherhood into old age, as she navigates her desire for others and her desire for meaning. Megan Hunter has written a thoughtful, sensual novel that, like the work of Graham Swift, shows us how the world can change in a moment and how our daily lives are run through with both the ordinary and the extraordinary." - Joanna Quinn
"Both transcendent and stylish, it's a classy gem of a novel steeped in rapturous feeling and the cumulative awe and pain of a life deeply lived. It has a certain timelessness and also marks a thrilling evolution in Megan's already brilliant career." - Sharlene Teo
"What Megan Hunter does in time and space within the confines of this book is amazing. Days of Light has that quality that all Megan's books have, restrained but with so much momentum, an exacting turn of phrase and the ability to make the hair on your arms stand up through beauty and also something much darker." - Evie Wyld
"Wonderful, luminous . . . the language is radiant . . . it channels Woolf and Mansfield and feels completely fresh." - Mark Haddon
"Days of Light is elegant and piercing: the story of a life in six days, with all the epicness and intimacy a premise like that holds. Hunter depicts Ivy's longing and anguish with painterly precision." - Sarvat Hasin
"Extraordinary . . . The words themselves seem lit up from within. A luminance in the prose itself. It's beautiful, line by line, moving and absolutely transporting." - Cynan Jones
"Days of Light is sublime. Wielding tremendous emotional power, it is a novel that is both raw and reverent, attuned to the intricacies of loss, desire, hope and how to be in the world." - Hannah Kent
"Days of Light is a jewel of a novel. Brimming with heart and compassion, a whole life shines through its pages. I am in awe of Megan Hunter's profound grasp of human nature, as she carries us through grief and desire, hope and forgiveness." - Elizabeth Macneal
"There's warmth and depth in Hunter's well-wrought prose. The characters stay with you in the best way." - Sarah Moss
"Megan Hunter is a writer of liquid, incandescent prose. Days of Light is a singular novel about art and loss, love and violence, God and mystery. I've always been a fan of Hunter's work, and this is her best book yet." - Jamie Quatro
"A radiant, absorbing novel, intensely alive to the beauty and mystery of the everyday, Days of Light describes one woman's life through a series of six pivotal days. Each day is drawn with such tender care it's as if we are experiencing Ivy's life from the inside out, from youth through marriage and motherhood into old age, as she navigates her desire for others and her desire for meaning. Megan Hunter has written a thoughtful, sensual novel that, like the work of Graham Swift, shows us how the world can change in a moment and how our daily lives are run through with both the ordinary and the extraordinary." - Joanna Quinn
"Both transcendent and stylish, it's a classy gem of a novel steeped in rapturous feeling and the cumulative awe and pain of a life deeply lived. It has a certain timelessness and also marks a thrilling evolution in Megan's already brilliant career." - Sharlene Teo
"What Megan Hunter does in time and space within the confines of this book is amazing. Days of Light has that quality that all Megan's books have, restrained but with so much momentum, an exacting turn of phrase and the ability to make the hair on your arms stand up through beauty and also something much darker." - Evie Wyld
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