These Days - by Lucy Caldwell (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Visceral, powerful, authentic . . . It's hard to believe Lucy Caldwell didn't actually live through the Belfast Blitz . . . I felt I was there with the bombs, the blood, the chaos, the fear, and the resilience." --Tracy Chevalier, New York Times bestselling author of Girl with a Pearl Earring

WINNER OF THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2023

A Washington Post 10 Noteworthy Book of April 2025 - A NPR Best Book of 2025

An "exquisitely lyrical" (Louise Kennedy) WWII novel from a singular Irish writer following two sisters over the course of four nights as they reckon with their futures in crumbling Belfast.

April 1941: Belfast has escaped the worst of the Second World War--so far. Over the next two months, it will be so destroyed from above that people will say, in horror, "My God, Belfast is finished." Many won't make it through, and those who do will be forever changed.

Living amid the rubble are sisters Emma and Audrey. One is engaged to be married; the other is in a secret relationship with another woman. As the bombs fall, and tomorrow feels further and further away, these young women must grapple with the cultural expectations standing firm around them, and try to seize control of their destinies. After all, Emma thinks, if one is to survive, one must survive for something.

Featuring the voices of the community--from their mother to the wee girl down the road--These Days is a timeless and poignant tale of interrupted girlhood, life under duress, and the struggle to stay true to ourselves. Winner of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Lucy Caldwell's portrait of the Belfast Blitz is to be cherished.

"Adroit, precise storytelling, atmospheric and satisfying; These Days is a novel of real substance." --Hilary Mantel, Booker Prize-winning author of Wolf Hall

Review Quotes

WINNER OF THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2023

One of Lit Hub's and Zibby Owens's Most Anticipated Books of 2025 - One of The Washington Post's 10 Noteworthy Books of April 2025 - One of NPR's Best Books of 2025

"Adroit, precise storytelling, atmospheric and satisfying; These Days is a novel of real substance." --Hilary Mantel, Booker Prize-winning author of Wolf Hall

"Intertwined with vivid descriptions of the horrific collateral damage in the city itself are intersecting narratives that remind us how persistently the dramas of daily life can exist even when the world is in flames." --Alida Becker, New York Times

"Lucy Caldwell so beautifully balances a book that feels intimate and deeply personal, as if you're reading someone's diary, with the greater historical resonance of this very real chapter of World War II." --Shannon Rhoades, NPR

"In pared-down prose, Caldwell affects a sense of immediacy, showing the surreal and terrifying impact of the early-morning bombings via nightmarish sounds and eerie imagery. Fans of WWII historical fiction will be enthralled." --Publishers Weekly

"What a writer Lucy Caldwell is. Emotionally astute, stylistically delightful, exquisitely lyrical. These Days grabbed me on the first page and left me breathless." --Louise Kennedy, Women's Prize shortlisted author of Trespasses

"Beautiful and poignant, this intimate and vivid portrayal of wartime life shines a light on the personal toll of war while quietly recognizing the resilience and unity of communities under attack. A powerful read and a great selection for book clubs." --Booklist

"What a visceral, powerful, authentic novel! It's hard to believe Lucy Caldwell didn't actually live through the Belfast Blitz, it's so accurately depicted. I felt I was there with the bombs, the blood, the chaos, the fear, and the resilience." --Tracy Chevalier, New York Times bestselling author of Girl With A Pearl Earring

"A hardworking elegy for a city's devastation." --Kirkus

"Lucy Caldwell's These Days effortlessly and elegantly transports the reader to WWII Belfast through the lives of women trying to survive the firebombing unleashed by the Nazis on the northern Irish city. Beautifully written, the novel is eye-opening in its frank depiction of a little-known aspect of the war, and life-affirming in unexpected ways. A must read." --Mark Sullivan, bestselling author of Beneath a Scarlet Sky

"A story of haunted love and heartbreak set during the Belfast Blitz in 1941, These Days . . . looks set to be Caldwell's breakout book in America." --Lit Hub (Most Anticipated Books of 2025)

"A highly accomplished novel that will surely become the defining work of fiction about the Belfast Blitz . . . sensationally good . . . It's the kind of writing you want to inhale and feel coursing through your bloodstream." --Sunday Times (UK)

"Haunting . . . This fine novel by one of Northern Ireland's most accomplished contemporary writers . . . brilliantly evokes wartime love and heartbreak." --Joseph O'Connor, Guardian (UK)

"These Days is an intimate celebration of sisterhood and a moving tribute to childhoods cut short by war. Rich in voice and beautifully rooted in place, Lucy Caldwell's characters leap from the page in all their joy and devastation. The result is a novel of stunning ambition." --Sarah Jessica Parker, SJP Lit

About the Author

Lucy Caldwell was born in Belfast in 1981. She is the author of three previous novels, several stage plays and radio dramas, and three collections of short stories. She won the BBC National Short Story Award in 2021 for "All the People Were Mean and Bad." Other awards include the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the George Devine Award, the Dylan Thomas Prize and a Major Individual Artist Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2018, and in 2019 she was the editor of Being Various: New Irish Short Stories. In 2022 she was the recipient of the EM Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters for her body of work to date.