It’s an interesting premise but, to be honest, I didn’t feel that it worked. Partly, it’s difficult to get into writing about COVID, but there was also too much choppiness between the different stories. It was hard to get motivated to continue.

Sorry I didn’t enjoy this one, it got quite monotonous with the structure. Also wasnt keen on the ending. I’m sure lots will love this as a short story collection rather than read as a novel

I was not about the subject of this book because I hated the Covid lockdowns in the U.K.
This is an interesting and absorbing story with memorable characters and it is fascinating how the story follows through with different authors writing each chapter.
I was surprised at the end when I found out who wrote each chapter.

This could be described as a book of short stories but the interweaving of tales against the backdrop of disaster and the interaction between the group make this book even more profound as their inner fears and anxieties surface during the time of isolation.

What an admirable feat it is to marshal 36 writers and put together a collaborative novel that reads beautifully, about a time that most of us would rather forget.

Inspired by Boccaccio's Decameron (a 14th Century book of stories about people who were escaping the Black Death by sheltering in a luxury villa outside Florence). Fourteen Days is edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston, and written by both editors and a team of esteemed and best-selling writers (among them Emma Donoghue, Celeste Ng, RL Stine, John Grisham and Meg Wolitzer).

The book is set in New York, in a Lower East Side tenement at the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020, when the virus was spreading rapidly throughout New York, and its hospitals, healthcare workers and mortuaries were struggling to cope with the influx of sick patients and dead.

The residents of the apartment building, led by the building's superintendent, meet nightly on the roof, initially to clap healthcare workers and then to share cocktails and stories, light and dark.

As with any collection of short stories (yes this is a collaborative novel and reads as such but really it is a number of short stories stitched together skilfully to make a novel), some are more interesting than others, and the pace is uneven at times, but it is always colourful, interesting, beautifully written and surprising. I gasped a little at the ending and I loved finding out afterwards which writer had written each chapter. This is one that I think would work brilliantly on audio with a cast of characters. Very enjoyable. 3.5-4/5 stars

*Many thanks to the authors, the publisher Chatto & Windus for the arc via Netgalley. As always, this is an honest review.

On the surface, this is a bunch of short stories from a bunch of authors, grouped within a framework involving a bunch of characters telling a variety of stories, and a bit of an overview of those characters. And it is that, so of course as with any collection of short stories (especially a collection by a range of authors), I liked some of the stories more than others. The reader is not told until the end of the book which author provided which story, and while there were a couple whose authors I was able to identify with some certainty, there were others that very much surprised me - and one or two by authors I've not yet read that left me really wanting to grab their books because I loved the writing so much.

But this is so much more than a collection of short stories. It's a meditation on the power of storytelling, and it's extremely cleverly-constructed, with clues/foreshadowing all the way through, with links - not immediately apparent - between stories (sometimes stories by different authors), and the overall framework is far more than it initially appears. A day or so after finishing it, I went back and read it again, mainly to try to clearly create the framework in my head, but in re-reading, I discovered so much that I'd missed on first reading.

I have far more that I could say if I weren't trying to avoid spoilers (not usually something a reviewer needs to worry much about when it's a book of short stories!)

This would make a fabulous bookclub book for the right type of bookclub.

Surprisingly entertaining, very thought-provoking, and highly recommended!

Original premise. Superb writing. I guess as would be common with most people and the authors are so varied that I connected more with some parts than others. Brilliant concept and well executed

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Really interesting concept and very well executed! Some of the stories weren’t for me but overall an enjoyable read.

This brilliant collaboration between writers will keep you turning pages. Smart, thrilling and pithy. This may be your read of the year!

I was intrigued by the concept of this book, understanding it to be a collection of short stories set in a New York apartment block at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. As usually happens for me with an anthology, I preferred some of the stories (mostly ghost or “shaggy dog” tales) to others, but what I liked best was the overarching narrative telling its own intriguing and surprising story as the book progressed, and which I had not expected. A very good read, only loosing a star because of the few stories that did not appeal to me.

An interesting idea, but not very well constructed. It very much felt like a book written by a large group of different people, rather than being coherent. Also, no one needs more Covid lockdown books. We all lived it, we know it was terrible.

The premise of ‘Fourteen Days’ is intriguing. Take a load of authors, all of whom are critically-acclaimed in their own right, and get them to collaboratively write one novel. I can only imagine the logistics behind organising that one, especially during a pandemic. I can only admire the experimental nature of this novel and the radical approach to its construction.

Reading ‘Fourteen Days’ made me question the nature of novels. What makes one book of 300 plus pages a novel, whilst another is a collection of short stories with a series of motifs and shared characters?

‘Fourteen Days’ is set in New York during well, fourteen days, of the COVID lockdowns. It tells of the hopelessness, boredom, grief and terror that many faced during those difficult months of 2020. Each night, the building’s residents congregate on the roof and tell their stories, recorded by the buidings’ super, Yessie.

I started to read Yessie’s story as a novel, enjoying the protagonist and her life story. After a few chapters, the other characters’ stories became a larger focus and the framing narrative seemed to be forgotten, with Yessie simply writing up the stories on some nights. I particularly enjoyed ‘The Spider’, ‘A Gift for Your Wedding to Which I Was Not Invited’, ‘The Iron Lung’, ‘The Tapes of Charlotte P’ and ‘Shakespeare in Plague Times’, although there is something in here for most people. By about halfway through the book, I was definitely reading it as a collection of unconnected short stories. However, towards the end, I felt that things were coming together into a more cohesive narrative once again.

Overall, I did enjoy reading ‘Fourteen Days’, and whilst I’m not convinced that it completely achieves its aims of being a ‘novel’ in its truest sense, there is a strength in the collaboration and the concept seems altogether fitting as a product of the covid lockdowns.

I knew that this book would be a little different to what I usually read but I underestimated by how much. Even now, a few weeks after reading it I’m still not sure what to think.
I should say that it is very good. It’s original, powerful and very modern. But it’s also strange. It says a lot when the most normal thing about it was the pandemic. Only a few years ago but in many ways it feels like a lifetime. Seeing the daily figures, the deserted streets, the fights over toilet roll and the clapping for the health workers. Only thing different was that it took place in New York and not in the UK.
I gave up early on trying to work out who wrote what. Instead I focused on the increasingly bizarre characters. Obviously there is the usual likeable/ unlikeable feeling but there was also the feeling that none of them were as they initially seemed. All had a backstory, a lot of which was confusing for this reader with not really knowing about the attitudes towards different cultures in America. Some of the stories were fascinating, some upsetting, some a little bit scary. But almost all of these people I had sympathy for. In particular Yessie, the super, who was struggling more than the others to be accepted and struggling with not being able to see her father. Another was the character known as Maine. A medic who has experienced first hand the devastation in the hospitals.

Set during the dreaded COVID19 pandemic, this book follows the life stories of a group of tenants in New York with nothing better to do than get to know each other.

The premise of this book (minus the covid part) really interested me but what really got me was the collaborative authoring of the stories however this is the aspect I enjoyed least as some of these authors have very distinctive voices that really disrupted the flow of the book.

As with any short story structured books, there was some stories I enjoyed more than others. Overall a good read but not revolutionary.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC.

The cover, the premise and oh thar list of authors drew me this book, as an avid reader of short stories, I was excited for this one .

Set during an early Covid lockdown in a New York rundown apartment block, the residents gather each evening on the rooftop to share stories. As the days pass, more and more of the neighbours seeking connection , join in. Some of whom have never spoken before .

As is the way with many short stories collections, some hit hard, some are a joy and there a couple of blips along the way.

I read this over a number of weeks and perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had I read in one go.

I did like the diversity of the voices and stories and the concluding stories felt fitting and right.

A wonderful idea and recognition of the people who couldn’t flee cities when the pandemic struck if a slightly uneven read. Perhaps it’s all still too fresh. In a decades time this may hit differently.

3.5 stars

I was drawn to this book by big names, the concept - each chapter written by a different author - and the subject. Inevitably I enjoyed some stories more than others but I thought it flowed really well and I appreciated the overarching tale and watching the group become true neighbours. It was a heartwarming and moving read with a twist at the end I just didn't expect.

Fourteen Days
by The Author's Guild
Edited by Margaret Atwood

Set during the height of the Covid lockdowns in April 2020 in a NYC tenement, this is so much more than a collection of short stories. As the tenants of the building gather on the roof at dusk in increasing numbers for a socially distant breath of fresh air and a tipple, they take turns recounting stories that reflect on their current anxieties, explain their individual foibles and idiosyncrasies and crack open the hard shells of their exterior dispositions to each other.

I absolutely loved the way this novel was put together, rather like a patchwork quilt whose beauty is so much more than it's individual pieces.

I recognised plenty of the author's through their narrative voices and writing styles which was fun, and I didn't realise that each character would be mapped to their author until the very end.

I read this book like I do with most short story collections, one chapter per day. I didn't expect it to have a complete narrative arc in itself, but in hindsight, the one a day approach worked splendidly for me, the plot revealing itself in a real-time way.

I can't recommend this enough for those readers who feel comfortable stepping straight back into that mid- pandemic "unprecedented times" state of mind where everyone else was a pariah, where medical and care workers were gods and royalty, and where human connection was sustained on a different level.

Publication date: 6th February 2024
Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhouseuk for the eGalley

An interesting idea, but not very well constructed. It very much felt like a book written by a large group of different people, rather than being coherent. Also, no one needs more Covid lockdown books. We all lived it, we know it was terrible.

Fourteen Days, edited by Douglas Preston and Margaret Atwood
Publication date: 6 February 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3 stars
Thank you to Random House UK, Vintage Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One week into lockdown, the tenants of a run-down apartment building in Manhattan have begun to gather on the rooftop each evening and tell stories. 

I love the concept of this book; co-written by 36 different authors, you do not know who's written what until the end of the book. Unfortunately, when I went through the list of authors and which part of the book they'd contributed to, I realised that only a very small minority of the stories had stuck with me in the four days it took me to read this book. True to form for me, I did not vibe with anything remotely poetic whilst the darkest, more twisted, disturbing or surrealist stories stayed with me. As someone who's had such an amazing time with short story collections last year, I went into Fourteen Days with such high expectations, and although I appreciated the talent on display, I was still left disappointed.

Includes writing from: Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret Atwood, Jennine Capo Crucet, Pat Cummings, Joseph Cassara, Angie Cruz, Sylvia Day, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritsen, John Grisham, Maria Hinojosa, Mira Jacob, Erica Jong, CJ Lyons, Celeste Ng, Tommy Orange, Mary Pope Osborne, Doug Preston, Alice Randall, Caroline Randall, Ishmael Reed, Roxana Robinson, Nelly Rosario, James Shapiro, Hampton Sides, R.L. Stine, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Monique Truong, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rachel Vail, Weike Wang, DeShawn Charles Winslow, Meg Wolitzer.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book with no obligation to review.

For me, this was just OK. I didnt enjoy it as much as I thought I would from the blurb, possibly because the stories are very American. The storytellers were of differing ethnicities and I feel that because I am not alert to the nuances of the lived experiences of different ethnic backgrounds in America, I probably did not properly "get" some of the stories. For instance, I am still bemused by La Reina's story about the Lobster Roll Contest.

It seemed to me that there was a bit of repetition - every night we have the same framework in details , we hear about the tenants bringing their chairs etc., up to the roof and settling themselves, clapping for the essential workers and then hearing the church bells and going away. Every night of the 14 nights. Also, I wasn't interested in the Covid stats and at first I kept wondering who this Cuomo was and how he fitted in to the story but that was my ignorance and not the fault of the book.

There are a lot of characters and they all have nicknames and for me, this was a barrier to engaging with them because I got mixed up with who was who.

I found the building superintendent to be the most interesting character by far and her love for her lovely Dad was a high point of the book. I would have liked to have known a bit more about Yessie . Otherwise, many of the stories or character studies did not stick in my mind.

I think the book gets better towards the end although it did seem like quite a long read and I did feel some camaraderie with the tenants as the book went on.

It is a book with a worthy aim and I hope it sells well but I feel that I am not the ideal reader for it. I am afraid I am unfamiliar with most of the authors so I did not have the added fun of trying to work out who had written what.

I thought the ending was unexpected and quite intriguing and might well prompt a person to read at least parts of the book again.