Days of Grace

A simple premise, truthfully told of WWII London evacuees, reluctant children taken from grieving, yet unfaltering mothers and fathers to a safer haven in the English countryside. Thus, we meet Nora and her devoted mother as they part, forever lost in that innocent moment, never to physically reclaim that indestructible bond of mother and child.

Catherine Hall immaculately weaves the evocative narratives of Nora’s ostensibly carefree and guileless countryside life with beautiful, charming Grace and her presumably conventional parents, Vicar and Mrs. Rivers. As secrets unfold, Nora and Grace clandestinely embark upon a haunting and gripping sequence of events in London, which culminate, in a perilous journey from innocence to guilt that show more will tragically consume Nora until her final days.

Finely embellished with past and present narratives, Nora Lynch’s unexpected evolvement from lonely window peeper within her limited narrow world to an intrepid leap in her reluctant reaching out to another young woman in need, ultimately compels Nora not only to face, but to acknowledge and forgive her youthful transgressions and to find comforting release.

Discomforting at times, yet undeniably forceful, Grace and Nora suffer unexpected hardships too soon, as Shakespeare reminds us: “…My salad days, /When I was green in judgment, cold in blood…” Unquestionably, a most provocative read, not to be forgotten as I considered how many post-WWII young women faced overwhelming circumstances, and how each confronted resulting personal demons through vastly diverse paths. show less

Nora is twelve years old when, because of World War II, she becomes one of the thousands of English children put on trains out of London into the safer English countryside. Her mother puts her on the evacuation train for her safety, but Nora feels it as an emotionally devastating rejection. When she reaches rural Kent and is taken in by the Rivers family, she bonds immediately with their daughter, Grace, is enchanted by Mrs. Rivers, and grateful for the new world Rev. Rivers opens up to her with education.

Nora and Grace grow as close as sisters, but as the girls reach adolescence, she discovers that even that is not quite close enough. She wants more, something that at that time and place she can't even ask for. And gradually she learns show more that this idyllic family is not quite so idyllic as it looked at first. There is a grief and a barrier between Rev. and Mrs. Rivers, and a fatal weakness in the Reverend.

The story alternates between Nora as a young girl and young woman during the war years, and Nora as an old woman, dying of cancer and taking in a young woman, Rose, a single mother disowned by her own family. Nora isn't always the most lovable character; she's hard on herself and others, unable to forgive herself for her mistakes. I found this nevertheless an absolutely engaging character study, as the young Nora struggles with feelings she can never talk about, and the old Nora struggles to do the right thing for herself and those around her, after a lifetime of mistakes.

Recommended.

I borrowed this book from the library. show less

I am giving this book three stars as I think the writing was very good. Maybe it is because I am an older reader but I found that in many parts of this book that I had to "suspend belief". I found it hard to imagine that two young girls during WW 2 would live such a solitary life..being just a gang of two so to speak. William,the slow boy in the village is the only other young person mentioned and then only about three times.
Nora delivering the baby and Rose,Nora and baby Grace living such isolated lives is not to be believed. To not have visiting nurse come to the house to see the newborn or take baby Grace to clinic for her baby immunizations would be child abuse!
I found the character of Nora and her story to be one of the most show more depressing I have read this year.
The Very Thought Of You by Rosie Allen that I read earlier this summer is very,very similar to this book in plot and is almost as much of a downer. show less

This is an astoundingly good debut novel. It is the story of Nora Lynch's life as an evacuee to the country from London at the onset of WWII in counterpoint with her life fifty years later. The memories of her life center around her relationship with Grace, the daughter of her surrogate family in Kent during the evacuation. The challenges inherent with deception color Nora's life as she faces end-of-life issues and lead, ultimately, to grace. I hope to read more by this talented new author.

If you are a man, do not read this book because there is not a single redeeming male character in the entire book. Nora's experiences with men is jaded as she is raised fatherless, sent away from war-torn London by her mother to live with a creepy rector and his wife and loses her best friend to a predatory man. Even her marriage to George, a wheelchair-bound polio victim and her friendship to Michael, a slow-witted young man never show any type of healthy male relationship. Nora has grown to be a tortured and lonely old woman who never learns to have a healthy relationship with anyone she meets. I enjoyed reading this book for the complexity of the story but it was very depressing. I looked for some redeeming quality in Nora's show more character but unfortunately I couldn't find any show less

I’m not sure I can discuss this book without spoilers. The recommendation I read gave me to understand, incorrectly, that this was a story of requited love. Unfortunately it isn’t, the narrative is of bitter and jealous unrequited love. I wasn’t really in the mood for such a downer of a book, in which half the chapters are flashbacks to pining during WWII and the other half are the same character dying of cancer in the present day. The whole thing was nicely written, albeit in the first person, yet I was disappointed by the general gloom of the narrative. The odd moments of joy, largely relating to present day baby Grace, were overwhelmed by everything else. The overall message seemed to be that it is terrible being a woman and show more that solidarity and love between women will always be eroded by jealousy over men.

In short, I liked the writing but was less keen on the content. However, it is only fair to ascribe that in part to incorrect expectations. show less

Beautifully written.

I loved this book from page 1. It was one of those rare books that are simply a joy to read.

Nora appears in two time frames - as an old lady dying of cancer and as a thirteen year old girl evacuated from London during the war. The young Nora is adopted by a vicarage family in Kent; I thought the descriptions of her settling into her new environment were wonderful. She adores Grace, her new playmate and is treated well by the family.
As time runs out for the older Nora, she begins to retell the story to a young mother whose baby she helps deliver. Secrets that have been buried for years begin to emerge as she relives the experiences of that time.

Excellently paced, I couldn't put this book down. It was a pure pleasure show more to read.
I hope Catherine Hall is hard at work writing her next novel as I shall be buying it in hardback!

Your Tags: wwii show less