A bit messy for me this book. It was a great concept, and some fantastic authors were involved, but I found it quite confusing. It had way too many characters, so I couldn't get to know or connect with any of them. The subject matter was relatable - Covid will be dancing at the front of my memory for many years to come - just couldn't get my head around the structure and different writing styles.

I loved the idea of this novel. The residents of an apartment block in New York start meeting up on the roof in the evening during COVID restrictions. There they begin to swap stories, talk about their lives.
I tried to guess which author had written which story, and. I failed miserably!
Some stories I enjoyed more than others, some more meaningful and some the style of writing I did not enjoy.
Overall a great idea and some good stories.

This is an incredible concept 👏🏻

36 authors co-wrote a book about the residents of a New York apartment block who congregate on the rooftop during the Covid lockdown of 2020.

I personally didn’t much care for the characters and realised that I am more of a plot driven reader than I realised, however for those who enjoy short stories, this book is highly recommended.

The ending was totally unexpected and absolutely floored me!

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, The Authors Guild and Random House for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I really liked the concept of this book - New York at the start of the pandemic, where for fourteen days, strangers meet on the roof of their apartment block and tell stories.

I knew going into this book, there were multiple authors and I had assumed each day was a different author. In fact there are multiple authors for each of the fourteen days and what is so impressive is how seamless the transition is between each writer. The narrative flowed really well and I didn’t become disengaged with the plot. The stories are moving and poignant, funny and relatable.

Towards the end, I felt like the pace dropped and it started to drag a little. It finished with an apt and clever ending.

I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a thought provoking read with multiple narratives.

Thank you to the authors, publishers and NetGalley for the chance to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

'Fourteen Days' is a clever concept - a plethora of short stories by a diverse range of some of the most popular and acclaimed authors of the early 21st century - set into a broader 'frame narrative'. The central character is a woman who has become superintendent of a run down apartment building at the beginning of the first Covid lockdown in New York. Stuck inside, surrounded by the sound of sirens and depressing statistics about rising numbers of cases and deaths, the residents begin to gather on the roof at sunset to get some air and socially distanced company. Soon the disparate group of neighbours begin telling stories, and over fourteen days most tell at least one story. These are the stories written by the impressive list of contributors.

The novel is well put together - Douglas Preston who wrote the 'frame' narrative manages to join the stories together seamlessly. Although you can get a sense of different writing styles within each story, the joins between each piece of writing aren't obvious and the overarching story gives a sense of propulsion and enables the reader to invest in the characters in a way that conventional short collections cannot offer. I think the success or failure of a book of this type must lie in the frame narrative, so Preston deserves extra credit for doing a good job of it.

There are some magical realistic touches and strange moments throughout, and some of the stories are about ghosts or the supernatural. I generally prefer my books to sit firmly in either the fantasy or the realistic genre, but that's just down to individual preference. Most of the individual stories are really good, as you'd expect from such a stellar cast of authors. It's a good way to get a taster of writers you might not have considered buying, or from genres you don't read. For example I don't read non-fiction but I really liked the story about Shakespeare's life during the plague years.

If you're looking for something a bit different, with all the benefits of a short story collection and those of a novel, I'd definitely recommend trying 'Fourteen Days'. There's a lot that is impressive about the concept and many great moments throughout it. For me it's still not cohesive and consistent enough to get a five star rating, but I'm not a fan of short stories. I'd certainly read another novel in this format, particularly if the frame narrative was written as well as this one.

Unfortunately didn’t have time to finish this, so I missed the opportunity to read through to the end before it was archived. I wasn’t compelled by the first narrative, though, which wasn’t encouraging, and I’m afraid I can’t stand books set during the pandemic. If I had known this was the premise I wouldn’t have requested a copy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and RandomHouse for the ARC.

Margaret Atwood? Count me in. A collaborative novel, sounded a bit more problematic but the number of well known authors convinced me.

14 days in a NY City apartment during the COVID lockdown.. I am afraid it didn’t work for me. Short stories are not usually my genre but this wasn’t even short stories - more vignettes and musings from the apartment dwellers. Also a lot of characters and it was difficult to keep track of people, Had I been more invested in the book I would have kept notes.

Well written in places but did not work as a package.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

What a wonderfully inventive premise for a book, and a deliciously satisfying reading experience with each chapter written by a cornucopia of fiction writers including Atwood, Ng, Grisham, Eggers and many more. I notice the retailer websites draw comparisons with Decameron, but I also felt the resonance of The Canterbury Tales and a tribute to the power of storytelling with diverse narrative voices. The reading experience is heightened by not checking who wrote which chapter- listed at the back- and I have discovered a few new authors based on the impact of their individual chapters. Also a couple of surprises when you see how some of the authors have approached their stories outside of their normal writing style. Filled with pathos, humour and incredibly different characters, I would definitely recommend this if you fancy reading something fresh and engaging.

I was really looking forward to this but the reality was that I couldn’t get into it at all sadly. I found it a little complicated with all the characters and nicknames and it didn’t flow in a way that was easy to follow. Great in concept but it just wasn’t for me!

A book that brings together residents of an apartment building who sit on the roof terrace telling stories during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of the residents has a tale to tell, and they all sit on the roof terrace with a drink in the evening listening to each other tell those stories, where each is written by a different author which showcases the different approaches the authors have in writing them.

I enjoyed this book and the ending was quite unexpected but a very poignant ending. A five-star read with a five-star lineup of authors.





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This book has an interesting structure-a group of tenants meet on the rooftop of their apartment building at the start of the COVID lockdown to tell each other stories, with each character‘s voice secretly written by a famous author.

Unfortunately this didn‘t quite work for me; a lot of the stories weren‘t written in the way that people speak and there were more duds than diamonds.

I didn‘t see the ending coming though and that did elevate it a bit but it says something that I couldn‘t really be bothered to go back and figure out who had written which character (the ‘secret‘ authors are revealed at the end). Also, don‘t read this if you don‘t like ‘pandemic‘ books - it‘s VERY pandemic-y.

Fourteen Days was an unusual read. It's a collaboration between a large number of authors and it's a novel, although it reads like a collection of short stories.

The characters are collected together on the roof of a New York apartment block each evening, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. They're socially distancing, drinking alcohol and telling stories to pass the time. We hear the stories and meet the characters along with the new superintendent of the building, who is worrying about her father in a nursing home.

Some of the stories worked better for me than others and I generally had a good time with the book, although the ending annoyed me a bit. A recommended read for people who want to try something a bit different.

It is very surprising that so many great authors can get together and produce a book of such quality.
I guess the substance that made this possible was the fact that this book was essentially a collection of short stories.
The reasoning for this collection, and the story thread running through it is facing Covid in New York City.
Within the stories it is inevitable that some stories resonate more with the reader than others.
I guess that the most difficult task was the pulling together of the stories into a believable whole. This has been in my opinion exceptionally well done.
So with a mixture of sadness and happiness, I have finished my journey with the residents of the apartment block in New York City. I have shared some happy times with them, and some sad times.
The book brought back memories of my personal struggle through Covid, as it will, no doubt, for any other reader.
Overall an excellent book, good concept, well put together, and professionally delivered.
All readers will enjoy at least a part of this book, most readers I guess will enjoy most if not all.
My thanks to the author for the hours of enjoyment that the book has brought me, and thanks to the publisher for an advance review copy for free.
I am leaving this review voluntarily, and with pleasure.

I really loved the idea of Fourteen Days. I was looking forward to guessing which author wrote which part. I feel this ‘collaborative novel’ is quite weak overall. Perhaps it’s a case of too many authors spoiling the overall sense of the book. The residents of an apartment building gather on the roof to tell each other stories during COVID lockdown. The book captures the sense of the lockdown, how people felt and the absolute chaos that unfolded in New York at the time. I didn’t have much luck guessing what authors wrote which part which I suppose is a good thing. The real issue is the ‘stories’ they tell each other. They are very uneven. Some of the stories are great, well-written, thoughtful, engaging and entertaining. However, most the stories were middle-of-the-road, and a few were just awful, corny at times. So many things just didn’t work but Fourteen Days was a nice effort.

A very different kind of read - but rather enjoyable!

In an apartment building in New York, one week into lockdown, tenants are beginning to miss going out and soon start to gather on the roof each evening - socially distanced of course. Slowly, people who have never spoken begin to get to know each other and they agree to each tell a story so they can get better acquainted. What's really different about this novel is that each story is written by a different author and, until the very end, we don't know who wrote what.

I really enjoyed some of these tales - others, not so much. Once finished, I checked the list of authors and realised that my favourite was actually written by Margaret Attwood herself. A couple of the stories included anecdotes which I've heard before which I felt was a bit of a cheat. Frankly, I expected better from the Author's Guild of America! The ending was unexpected and surprising and definitely made sense. I suspect this will appeal more to those who enjoy dystopian fiction.. Overall, for me, 3.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I came to read Margaret Atwood, but really I never knew which author I was reading, and I loved it.

This is about a group of New Yorkers during the Covid pandemic of 2020. Each night they meet on the roof top to share stories to pass the time, and begin to really know their neighbours.

This isn't a collection of short stories. There are no chapters as such, just the date of each of the 14 days in the title. Each day those on the roof just begin to share whatever they want to say. Some of them are tales, some are experiences, and they differ in length. Brilliantly written by everyone, I really felt I was there each evening. A few of the voices I loved more than others, but the ones (in the minority) I didn't care for I just scan read. It could have been the subject matter or the character, not everyone was for me.

I thought that was it, nothing more to say. However, unexpectedly at the end there was a twist - which I never saw coming, but it did explain some of my doubts. I read through this like a novel, but you could pick it up as and when you felt like it. There are a lot of characters and sometimes I felt like they had a slightly different voice, but I just went with it. I didn't get too hung up on which author wrote what. At the end of the book there are credits to each of the authors, explaining which of them wrote which tale.

This was a really odd one, as with most short stories collections, there’s a couple of stories that aren’t for me. But the overall story arc, the characters and the concept is brilliant and really interesting.
It is a really interesting mix of authors and, although it’s set in New York, it’s set during the Covid pandemic lockdown which I think all of us will find relatable.

I’d recommend avoiding reading too many reviews as there may be spoilers.

This is a collection of short stories but they are not random or separate. They are written by some of the most significant authors of our time who were all brought together during the COVID-19 pandemic to contribute. The premise of the book is that a number of people living in a run down New York apartment block are experiencing the first few days of the lockdown. They end up gathering on the rooftop every evening to cheer the health workers and eventually end up telling stories - some made up, some true, some in between the two! But each story and each character is interlinked and this is helped by the “main” character of the Super who moved to the role shortly before lockdown and is still trying to get to grips with events in her own past as well as worrying about her father who is in a nursing home and she can’t get hold of him.

Anyway, to say more would be to take away some of the joy and surprises in this book. As with all short stories by a variety of authors, there are some that I enjoyed more than others. But the way they are all woven together is wonderful. And while being taken back to the worst days of the pandemic isn’t easy, it’s a good thing to be reminded of the sacrifices made.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I was looking forward to reading this as the concept really appealed but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it and gave up.

I love the concept of this book—A story that spans fourteen days in a New York City apartment building during the 2020 COVID pandemic. It's selling point is that it's a "collaborative novel". The multiple stories were written by a variety of high-profile authors, but you don't know which writers wrote which stories unless you peek at the credits in the back. All this edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston. I requested it at once and thank you to the publishers for the ARC.

I was disappointed to find that it didn't work for me. First of all, it doesn't really contain stories. Vignettes, scenes, snippets, yes, but there were no real stories. No narratives with a beginning, middle and end and twists and surprises etc. It was just a collection of unrelated incidents without plot. No depth, no mystery, and no narrative connection between them. There was nothing to pull me through the novel. Nothing to keep me emotionally or intellectually invested. Given the level of my original expectations, I persevered, but I did not enjoy the book. I can barely remember any of the incidents I did read as they just slipped out of my mind.

Another problem was that it was, for me at least, impossible to keep track of the characters, who was who, who looked like what, ages, background, etc. They were referred to via code names and apartment numbers and there were too many to keep track of. The lack of visual description really did not help. It would have been very helpful for the publishers to include a chart at the front. And I found the main character, the super, uninteresting and not fully developed. I guessed it was a female character written by a man, and it turned out I was right.

A lot of the vignettes felt hastily dashed off and incomplete. Some were incoherent and in need of more editing. The prose itself was strong, of course, but not memorable enough to win me over. And there was a kind of, not sure how to describe it, but a Twitter-culturey tone to a lot of it that I found off-putting. Some of the stories were openly and loudly bigoted.

As other people have said, there's a twist at the end, but I found it annoying, almost insulting, and not worth the effort to reach it. And it didn't feel believable in a world-building sense. So while I'm grateful I was given a chance to read this book, I didn't ultimately enjoy it.