This is the first novel by Catherine Hall and one of the titles on Waterstones' New Voices for 2009. I managed to read the novel, which is just under 300 pages, very quickly because I found it impossible to put down. If this is a taster of what the other novels by the New Voices will be like then I've got a great time ahead of me.
The novel tells the story of Nora and Grace who are teenagers when WWII begins. Nora is an evacuee from London who gets sent to live with the Rivers family in the Kent countryside. Grace is the daughter of Rivers family that takes Nora in. The novel moves between different time periods: during the war and after the war. For the period after the war, the story centres around Nora's relationships with a neighbour, Rose.
Nora and Grace strike up a friendship that is a product of the times they are living in and the people they come into contact with. This leads to unbearable consequences for both of them.
Grace is more adventurous than Nora; however, both would like nothing more than just to be in each other's company and enjoy themselves without fear. Throughout the novel they try to find a place that they both could call home but this becomes increasingly impossible to do.
Various themes run throughout the novel: faith, secrets and fear being the important ones. Nora was brought up a Roman Catholic and continuously feels that all the bad things that happen around her are a result of losing faith in her God. Secrets are abound in the Days of Grace. The Rivers' family, with whom Nora comes to stay, aren't all as pure as they seem. Strong feelings of love are hidden where it is hoped that time would make them reciprocal. Fear is never far from being felt. When its not the sirens going off signalling the next bombing raid, its the sense of what other challenges will tomorrow bring and will Nora and Grace be able to overcome them.
What makes the novel great is the way the author absorbs the reader into the plot. This is done through two principal ways: the structure of the novel (moving through different time periods) and the perfect description of the settings and what the characters are feeling. The structure allows for careful revelations of details and the descriptiveness makes the events more memorable.
I would be hard pressed to find fault with Days of Grace. What I would say, though, is that a lot of events happen in the novel that have a huge impact on the characters. Now, whilst their feelings are well detailed, I would have liked more meaning to have come out of it. This isn't really a criticism at all though as, on reflection, there is a quote by William Blake at the beginning of the novel which embodies all the meaning itself.
