This is a beautifully written, lyrical book following a young mother’s descent into madness. In put me in mind of a modern-day The Yellow Wallpaper. The narrator moves to Geneva when her husband starts a new job, and while he is away for increasingly long work days and business trips, she is home alone with their two young children, known only as E and B. Increasingly isolated, experiencing the world around her as sterile and threatening and struggling with the language, the narrator becomes obsessive, paranoid and compulsive. She loses track of time and occasionally is too afraid to leave the apartment. Her efforts to be a good mother and the right kind of wife strain her still further. The writing is beautiful and the imagery is really strong. Powerfully written, the sense of unease lingers after you have finished reading.

Little Bandaged Days is a phenomenal debut novel by Kyra Wilder that is as original as it is, scarily, recognisable - at least at the outer ring of its vortex - to any sleep-deprived mother.

However, I actually think Little Bandaged Days is more a portrayal of mental illness than motherhood and, by God, it's a compelling portrait. As much a page-turner as any tightly-plotted thriller yet with barely a plot to propel it, it's a descent into madness that pulls the reader down gently with the protagonist, always gunning for her - a young American mother relocated to Geneva by her husband's job - and increasingly hoping she and her kids will survive. (Her husband I had no time or sympathy for at all.)

Unlike some other reviewers, I loved the initialising of her children’s names as it equates them with her. This becomes clear when she runs them together: "I felt such a sinking then, without the keys, without any way back into that place where E and B and I could be alone together."

I found this brilliantly original, clever and then suddenly obvious all at the same time: ‘I’ is a tiny word with a huge meaning and it is also a letter. By levelling herself, ‘I’ with E and B she diminishes herself – literally her own sense of self – and inflates the stature, the significance, of her children in her life. They are all equal.
And this device encouraged me to imagine my own names for E and B so that I began to feel almost a sense or ownership of them, akin to maternal responsibility. I never judged their mother but I desperately wanted her to get better so that they would be safe.

The style of writing is, I think, unique - or at least I haven't read another book written in quite the same style; conversational, albeit a one-sided conversation - beautifully poetic at times yet barbed with uncertainty and a slight lack of confidence. The sentence structure is striking yet underplayed, often ending on a clarifying down-note that has the curious effect of deadening the sentence – almost in bathos. For example, ‘There was a part of me that really believed sheets could do that, could make someone feel that way.’ I could hear the narrator saying these words and felt a ping of sympathy and sadness for her at every full stop.

There is so much more to say about Little Bandaged Days - the loss of agency of a woman who surrenders her identity in exchange for motherhood and the expat 'wifestyle' of a successful man (is there something slightly Faustian about this, if procreation represents eternal life?) - the still waters of Lake Geneva reflecting (literally) the seemingly-perfect lives of expat families whilst hiding what goes on under the surface / behind closed doors. The theme of 'doors' itself is a recurring one; doors shut you in, they shut people out, they open up possibilities.

The foreshadowing scenes of the protagonist in a psychiatric hospital, where she seems locked inside her own psychosis, directing her expansive inner thoughts to a cleaner, are really quite heart-breaking. It becomes clear how much she has to say but can’t; instead, when assessed by doctors or meets her lawyer, she caws like a crow, imitates a toad or simply repeats the sign she has read and fixated on about visiting hours.

My only tiny quibble with Little Bandaged Days is with the marketing approach. The cover strapline, ‘How thin is the line between motherhood and madness?’ implies that all mothers are at risk of madness – or rather that they are more susceptible to madness than men, or than women who choose not to be mothers, or women who can’t be mothers. It also indulges the modern fetishisation of motherhood; the idea that sex and its consequences is a new phenomenon to be lauded and commercialised. Whereas actually several millennia of women have become mothers before us; the vast majority of them without slipping into psychosis. (Although of course post-natal depression is a very real and common experience.)
Besides which, the narrator is also impacted – I would say as much as she is by motherhood – by being a daughter herself. The flashbacks to her childhood and glimpses into her adult relationship with her mother do not suggest an emotionally healthy upbringing.
I'm only mentioning this here because I would have read Little Bandaged Days sooner without the reference to motherhood on its cover; it almost put me off. But as a credible, compelling portrait of the loss of self and the unstoppable onset of psychosis, I found it utterly marvellous.

I'm also confused by several mentions in other reviews, and also the book's blurb on the Picador website, to the protagonist's name, Erika. In the Kindle edition of Little Bandaged Days I read, the narrator remains anonymous throughout and I think this is much better, in keeping with the initialising of her family's names. By keeping her identity blank, she could be any one of us.

But these are minor quibbles and nothing to do with the novel itself, which I'll be recommending to all my friends. I was flabbergasted to see a few negative reviews of Little Bandaged Days on NetGalley. I know literary appreciation is entirely subjective but honestly these people should have their Kindles confiscated. So please don't be put off by any negative reviews: if you like truly great, original writing and you're interested in the human mind and its relationship to the sense of self and identity, you will love Little Bandaged Days.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Picador for the free copy of this book.

Reading this book stressed me out. I mean that in both a good and bad way. Good in the sense that if I have a real, solid reaction to a book then it's connected with me, but bad as I genuinely felt a little anxious as it went on and at some points debated if I should keep reading. I did keep reading though - couldn't stop, it turned out - as I needed to know the climax of this story!

And what is the story? Well, Little Bandaged Days tells of a mother's gradual descent into depression and madness. She has two small children; a baby and a toddler and finds herself living in Geneva when her husband gets a new job there. The change of scenery, inability to speak the language, her husband's constant long working hours and emotional neglect, plus the general monotony of tending to the every need of two small children leaves her isolated, alone and with little adult company or conversation. Due to this, she retreats further and further into her own head, with serious consequences. What makes this so clever is that she is not oblivious to what is happening to her, but there's just nothing she can do, 'It was just a question of practicality, of having to outsmart myself because, well, I couldn't quite trust myself.'

The narrator's children are similar ages to my own, so although this novel portrays an extreme version of events, it was, in places, relatable and certainly had a visceral effect on me. Any book that even hints at something happening to a child is enough to give me heart palpitations. For reasons never explained (although I guess it could be that the whole novel is meant to be her psychiatric report) she refers to her children and husband only by their first initial (baby B, toddler E and husband M). I didn't mind this, but it takes getting used to and makes these characters feel a little 2D, especially her husband.

Overall though, this book is very skilfully written; as the narrator's grip on reality slips, we are right there with her - some of her reasoning even makes a little sense - and, as I mentioned previously, it was so well done as to make me anxious while reading. I really enjoyed the tone and there were some wonderful, clever sentences that summed up huge parenting feelings in such a succinct way: 'With children the future is always unimaginable, it is so uncertain as to be nothing. Less than that.' Also: 'Mothering is a hard job, it needs a lot of space to breathe.' This might not be a book for everyone, but it is a carefully crafted character study of a woman your heart just cries out for. In terms of evocative, emotional writing that addresses an issue many mums might see little elements of themselves in (albeit milder versions), Little Bandaged Days is brilliant.

I didn't enjoy this book. I read at least half intrigued to know what happens next but from there on it didn't seem to go anywhere other than right over my head. This book is basically a monologue. The protagonist Erika never speaks to anyone, even conversations with her children are just thoughts in her mind, how she imagined a conversation with them might go.

I'm really not sure what story the author was trying to put across. The style of writing was good but in the end I just didn't understand the book. By 80% of the way through I was becoming irritated with it. The passages in italics made no sense other than it would appear the protagonist may possibly have been in a psychiatric hospital, she may possibly have been suffering post-natal psychosis - who knows, the reader never finds out. Nor can the reader make out when Erika may have been in a psychiatric hospital, was it before her move to Geneva and after the birth of her first child or is it where she is now and the rest of the book is her looking back - no idea. The book just ends with the reader none the wiser after reading all those words. Just words strung together in a haphazard way which in the end made no sense at all, not to me anyway. On reaching the end I was left feeling frustrated and felt I'd completely wasted my time reading it to be honest.

I commend this author for trying to write an intimate portrayal of a woman slowly spiraling into the depths of post natal depression. I found the emotional content a bit like a roller coaster ride with the highs and happiness her children brought her and then the deep dark depths of her loneliness.
Erika moves to Geneva when her husband gets offered a job so she becomes quite isolated from day 1, not knowing the language and her husband working all hours.

I didn't find the husbands character realistic and found it rather strange that he would leave her for days at a time and be away for nights at a whim. Generally this was a good book but parts of it I found unrealistic. I couldn't understand how Erika got her bruises and neither did I get the ending. All in all I will give this 4 stars mainly because it kept me engaged and I felt empathy for the main character.

This was a compelling read. On the surface life for Erika and her children was perfect but alas it wasn't. Erika's life with two young children her isolation made life very difficult for her and it was no surprise her mental health suffered. My heart went out to her.

This novel was original in a way I can't describe. It shows the spiral of deteriorating mental health quite well. Although I'm not really sure what triggered the deterioration.

I enjoyed the book to a point. However, although I understand the mind of those with mental illness can be fleeting and disorganised, I felt the book was difficult to understand at times.

I'm not sure how I feel about in all. It was a decent read but I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone.

Very cleverly written account of a mothers descent into madness. Compulsive reading which immerses the reader into the world of the characters. An uncomfortable subject, but relate-able. Not for everyone but I would recommend. My thanks to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully written, sinister and poetic read about a young woman's slide into post-partum depression and possible madness after following her high-flying husband to Geneva for business. Unfortunately, it was a bit too mannered for me and I was never really sure what the characters were feeling which made the story hard to connect with.

This is such a completely absorbing book and so beautifully written I found myself getting totally immersed in the life of the mother her two children B and E and husband M. Her descent into madness is strangely compelling, sad and uncomfortable at times but yet because of the sublime writing it makes for one hell of a read.
As others have remarked it’s hard to believe this is a first novel from Kyra Wilder and if this is the quality of her writing then I sure look forward to reading more of her books.
It’s a difficult book to describe strange, pitifully sad and dealing with some extremely traumatic issues it’s a book that is perhaps not for everyone but for me it was an excellent read.
My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan, Picador for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book wasnt anything like I was expecting! I found the style of writing strange and not really for me! It tells the story of a couple separated by his job so the mum of two children E and B has to cope alone with the isolation and childcare which causes her to slide into a depression, I found it repetitive particularly the outings to the park and no real backbone to the story, unfortunately I only got half way through the book before giving up which is something I very rarely do but this book just wasn’t for me!

In this novel the main character describes her descent into postnatal madness which was quite unsettling as I kept wanting to rush in and rescue her children. There were too many points in the plot where I questioned why there was no intervention from her husband and / or neighbours. This book didn't really work for me though I can't fault the quality of the writing which is why I have settled on giving a 3 star rating.

The writing was amazing. The feeling of suffocating and the walls closing in seemed to encompass me too. The only issue I had were the initials. There was no need and disconnected me.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Not sure about this book it was ok but did not leave any lasting thoughts so I could give a comprehensive review, sorry

A very claustrophobic story about a mother gradually being drawn into depression and possible madness. I found it to be very drawn out. I was unsure of how much the father needed to take the blame for what was happening to his wife and children, as they were certainly at risk. I was annoyed at the use of initials for her family. Why?.... It did not make sense to me. Not a book I particularly enjoyed.

Not quite sure how to comment on this book! Wasn’t for me although I persevered to the end! A mother’s descent into madness! Found it too unbelievable that her husband didn’t seem to notice or care! She is basically left alone with no language or company with small children! Kept waiting on the pace changing! Left me feeling flat!

Little Bandaged Days is the story of a young mother who has moved to Geneva for her husband's high-flying job. While he is working increasingly long hours at the office, or schmoozing clients over steak and champagne, his wife is taking care of their two small children. At great pains to seem like the perfect mother, our narrator - who remains nameless for much of the novel - is the model housewife to begin with: suits are pressed, the children are clean and well-dressed, and dinner is on the table every night. But as her sense of loneliness increases and her grasp on reality seems ever more tenuous, the reader begins to worry: just what is this over taxed young mother really capable of?

It's difficult to believe this is a first novel: Kyra Wilder has created a beautifully wrought work of fiction with gorgeous imagery, and a genuine sense of foreboding. Certain tricks are used to great effect, for example, referring to the children and husband by only initials rather than their full names makes them slightly less real to us than the narrator is; it also made me feel like I was reading a redacted record at times, where the names had been removed for reasons of privacy, which made the world feel even more real, and sinister. The prose itself is beautiful, lending itself more to poetry at times, though never over-flowery.

I was gripped by this book from the start, and spent most of the book hoping that everything turned out well while also being darkly sure it wouldn't (I won't say anything else about that as I don't want to spoil the book for people who haven't read it). Stunning writing from a ridiculously talented new author - I can't wait to see what Kyra Wilder writes next, but consider me first in line for her next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, who provided me with a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Creepy crawly less of of a thriller than a narrative of post party depression but still enjoyable in its way

A different sort of book, but easy to read. It took a bit of getting used to as the main character only named her family by their initials. It was fast paced, almost as though you could hear her breathlessly talking and trying to achieve things. It was harrowing in a way as you felt like a bystander, witnessing this woman’s isolation and decline. I felt there were a few unanswered questions - why were there conversations with her mother which suddenly ceased, what was really happening with her husband? All those questions may be in keeping with the narrative of the book, though.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Pan Macmillan - Picador, for the ARC.
I'm afraid this really wasn't for me; from the description I thought it would be much more of a 'story', whereas the narrative conveys, in interminable detail, the almost 'depraved' decent into madness of a young mother.

Erika, with husband 'M' and 2 young children 'B' and 'E' move to Switzerland for 'M's job. He's missing more and more from their rented apartment, you never find out what he actually does and he seems to be oblivious to his wife's mental decline. Erika is at first enchanted by the move but not speaking French tends to leave her isolated. She wants to be the perfect wife and mother but as she dwells on this she begins to lose her identity and she neglects her children, barricades them for hours in the apartment under the pretext of games and feeds them bizarre combinations of snacks and drinks.

The narrative is split between Then and Now - where the reader has to assume that Erika is in an asylum, locked into her own thoughts.

Frankly, after skimming a lot of the book just to get to the ending, having reached it - I still have no idea what actually happened.