This book feels such a good idea that it's difficult to believe it hasn't been done before, although I can only imagine it was a bit of a logistical nightmare!
As with any collection of short stories, I preferred some to others and most of the "better" ones for me were nearer the beginning. It managed to hold together as a whole relating to COVID, lockdown and people's relationships. Not living in the US or Canada I did miss some of the references, but was interested to read the way other countries coped with the pandemic
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book

Set during the first COVID lockdown in New York city I really enjoyed the clever format of this book. The tenants of a run down city tenement meet each evening for 14 days to clap for care workers on the rooftop of their building. For an hour each night they tell stories. Some personal some historical. All meaning something to the teller. Some of the stories I found easier to understand than others and I think this was because they were very American and being English I didn't understand the references. That said, it didn't take from the enjoyment of the book as a whole. I especially enjoyed the twist at the end. Unexpected and very welcome. A book that is much more than a collection of stories.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

𝗙𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗬𝗦 | 𝟯.𝟮𝟱🌟
—𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀 & 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥,” 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵, 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥. “𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳—𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴.”

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲:
✨Great writing
✨So many author contributions
✨Powerful multilayered stories
✨Emotional thematic explorations

𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀:
In this collaboration, 𝟯𝟲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀 ranging from their thirties to their mid-eighties amalgamate a collection of stories in this literary event. Each story is set during lockdown using the same residents and celebrates the 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 in hard times.

𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀:
I love that each of the stories are unbylined so you go in to each story with no preconceived notions whatsoever, and they are edited to simulate a continuation of the story before and provoke a number of emotions within the reader using deep thematic explorations.

This book briefly explores: belief systems, denial, retribution, rumours, ghosts, poverty, hope, birth, loss, love, pain, honesty, lies, coming of age, trauma, war, pandemics, rejection, loneliness, overcoming adversity, and guilt. I’ve rated each story as so:

* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗲 | 𝟰🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝘄𝗼 | 𝟯🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 | 𝟰🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿 | 𝟰🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 | 𝟯🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗶𝘅 | 𝟯.𝟱🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 | 𝟰.𝟱🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗘𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 | 𝟯.𝟳𝟱🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗡𝗶𝗻𝗲 | 𝟯🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗻 | 𝟯.𝟱🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗘𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 | 𝟮🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲 | 𝟮🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 | 𝟰🌟
* 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 | 𝟮.𝟱🌟

As you can see, this starts off great, and I felt really 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗱, I found it so incredibly 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 and 𝗿𝗮𝘄. However, I began to struggle after the halfway point and begin to lose interest until the Day Thirteen which were surrounding confessions and I was, of course, delightedly rubbing my hands together and felt gripped, until it got to the anticlimactic ending.

I do think it’s worth the read for anyone who enjoys the sound of this 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀.

𝗞𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗵 | 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗵 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆

Oh, I so wanted to love this book as much as I loved the premise!

In the first days of the Covid pandemic, a couple of people living in a New York apartment building start using their building's rooftop as an outdoor space. Before long, other residents have joined them, taking a rare opportunity to be with other people. And, as they gather, they start to tell stories...

Reminiscent of a Covid Canterbury Tales, I found the stories a bit hit and miss in how they kept my attention and interest. The central thread holding the narrative together - which centres the building super, a young woman whose dad is in a care home on Long Island that she is unable to visit - was the main thing spurring me to read on.

I gave this book an overall 3*. The residents of a New York apartment are under lockdown, unable to leave the building and so meet each evening on the roof where they begin to swap tales.Each tale is written by a different author.
Some sections were excellent; 5*, but others felt like someone had been rambling into a voice recorder after a night of heavy drinking.
The ending became pretty obvious with about 120 pages to go.
It must have been quite a feat to organise; many different writers penning unrelated-and occasionally incomprehensible- short stories, but Yassie, the building superintendent is the voice which links each day and progresses the overall tale. I was very much enjoying it till about 2/3 in.
But there were just so many stories and so many different characters, some who only appeared once, that it became very confusing. Yassie does at one point give us a list of all the characters, their nicknames, and cryptic comments about them, but in an e-book it’s not easy to continually flip back to remind myself who’s who.
I also felt that the stories did not read as if they were being spoken; even the weirdest ones read like planned, descriptive WRITTEN monologues, rather than the musings of a bunch of people chatting and socialising (albeit at a suitable distance). And there were a lot of references that I might have understood better if I was American, I think.

Fourteen Days is a collaborative novel with an incredible list of participating authors. Each lends their voice to one character from an eclectic range of apartment building residents in New York at the beginning of the first Covid-19 lockdown. It is not exactly a traditional collection of short stories, but instead a cleverly compiled story with blurry boundaries between one author and the next. The residents of this building gather nightly on the rooftop to find connection amidst the fear and isolation of Covid and all the uncertainty the early days brought. They are sharing stories. Some are sweet heartwarming tales, others are shocking or somber confessions, but all are weaved together skillfully.

At the beginning I was engrossed. Each story was easy to sink into, and I was enjoying this unusual cast of characters finding ways to relate to each other. Later on, however, the stories start to get a little bit weirder, the premise a bit wilder, and some of them started to lose my interest. The first half was a solid 4 stars and a very enjoyable read, but by the end I was speeding through some of the more bizarre passages that just did not interest me. In that way, I guess it was like a classic short story collection as there are always some that don't hit the spot; it's just that these are all parts of a whole.

Whilst this may not have been entirely for me, it is skillfully put together and I am glad to have read it. Fourteen Days isn't for everyone, but I think it will be an absolute smash hit with some people, who love anthologies, fiction with a speculative tint to it, and books that take the reader on a winding, ambling journey.

Cleverly constructed project with the joy of multiple writers working together to weave a thoughtful and memorable narrative. We learn snippet stories from different characters, all collected together in an over-arching story holding them all together. So, it can be read in parts with each inner story like a different short story each time, or in one big go like a novel. It's the kind of book which stays with you long after reading it. I'm so intrigued as to who wrote which bit, but it sort of works within the story, that I will never know. I love the main message of the book - that we all have stories to tell. Every life has a story to tell, and they're important and have their own perspective. Very inspiring!

Where to begin with this intriguing, mesmerising book…

The premise is fairly simple in that a group of residents meet on the roof top of an apartment block and recount stories to one another; in the early days of the Covid outbreak in New York.
Over a period of fourteen days the group meets each evening
The caretaker discreetly records and writes the tales delivered by the eclectic entourage.

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.

The stories are varied - emotional, humorous, ethereal, urgent, unsettling but the key is that they are told with heart. The final denouement was a surprise and added a huge twist

The fact the book was written by over thirty of North America’s leading writers during the Covid period - as a writing project -adds another fascinating dimension to the novel - don’t look at the final pages to find out which author created which story.

In future years this book may well be regarded as a literary milestone / epitaph from the intensity of the extreme period of Covid.

Fourteen Days is set amidst the COVID-19 lockdown where the residents of a Manhattan apartment building have begun to gather on the rooftop every night to tell stories. There are several tales; some are uplifting and heartwarming and others are dark and confessional. Each evening, new neighbours join, more anecdotes are shared and neighbours who had never spoken before, start to find a sense of community in a city fighting the loss and suffering of the pandemic.

This was a unique premise and all the contributions were weaved together well - if I didn’t know it was written by several people, I would never have guessed! As is always the case with short stories, I enjoyed some more than others and my favourites were definitely in the first half.

The parts of the book that focussed on the interactions amongst the characters on the roof were my favourite, as I felt like I was up there with them, sat in the circle and listening intently.

The reason it’s a 3 stars for me is because there was the odd story where I became disinterested and found myself skimming the pages until we rejoined the characters on the roof, and also, the ending was completely lost on me and a tad disappointing.

Overall, I think those who are a lover of short stories will really enjoy this. However, those who prefer intricate plot lines and well-developed characters may be drawn in by the big names, but will ultimately find themselves disappointed. In all honesty, I’m somewhere in the middle; I enjoyed the journey, but won’t be recommending it in years to come.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

When I read the description of "Fourteen Days", I was hooked. This novel felt like such a great writing project, gathering authors from US and Canada, to create the world in which in the midst of COVID-pandemic, tenants of one shabby building come together to share stories from their lives.

Despite efforts of Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston, this novel lacked coherence and proper editing. It is a challenge to follow one's peers with very distinctive writing styles and voices, and many of the contributors probably couldn't execute their parts well.

In terms of world-building, confessions lacked consequences and characters' reactions, even in such a context, just didn't seem probable. Seasoned readers would also quite quickly grasp what the ending it's going to be, so the level of surprise was quite low.

Stories from tenants stuck together in lockdown during the pandemic , intriguing, poignant, unbelievable, inspiring. Couldn’t guess who had written which part but an enjoyable read.

This unique collaborative story brings 14 distinct voices, different characters together each with their own story but slowly each one weaves together to create one tale of neighbours, friends and people living through a crisis.

Some people really don’t like references to the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns in literature, but it is a part of our history now and something that changed so many of us that it can’t be ignored - and this is done with grace and care.

It is a story of survival but so much more, it’s about the intrinsic need we have for connection, for the love we can give to strangers and the strength we can find in others. Although told in a time of great loss and suffering, it finds those beautiful human inclinations that allow us to survive and live through the hardest times. And of course, it is a love letter to the timeless power of storytelling.

The storytelling was dynamic, changing and evolving from each character but with an overarching theme that flowed throughout. It was quiet, focused on the minutiae of life, all set within a single isolated building but instead of a linear, busy plot it offers a subtle and evocative snapshot into a moment in time that all the people found hope and comfort in strangers. We watch relationships grow and change, people learn and evolve, stories being shared, and life moving forwards. Of course the mixed voices give a delicate and multi-dimensional aspect to the storytelling, some chapters reeling me in and some leaving me unsure if I’ve fully connected with the character.

And in the spirit of the story, this book comes from thirty six of the greatest modern writers including Margaret Atwood, Celeste Ng and John Grisham - all of them lending their voices and raising each others, not giving away who created what and bringing a new perspective of life, fresh eyes and different life experiences this is a dazzlingly warm, tender and surprising story of being human.

Fourteen Days has been written by a range of well-known authors and takes place during the early days of the pandemic in New York City. Every evening just before 7pm a group of residents from the Fernsby Arms apartments, who have barely spoken to each other beforehand start to meet on the roof to applaud the medical workers and afterwards tell stories about either themselves or other people to one another.
Whilst some of the residents stories were better than others, on the whole I found it to be an engaging and worthwhile read.

A fascinating premise with a number of fantastic stories (and a couple that were a bit off the scale for me).
Gathering on the roof of their poorly maintained apartment block during Covid lockdown, a disparate group of neighbours gather and gradually begin to tell each other stories and confessions from their lives.
With authors penning one or two days of story the voices are very different in each chapter but are tied together well by the overarching narrator voice.
The ending was such that it made me think back through all the stories looking for clues!
Overall a good read.

This book is about the ramblings of bored tenants during the very first couple of weeks of Lockdown. They gather (socially distanced) on the rooftop of their run-down apartment building in NYC every evening and tell stories about either themselves or other people. Some of these stories held my interest and some of them just dragged needlessly. Some stories were just plain weird (I'm looking at you Spider Girl). I'm still unsure of what to make of the ending.

The stories were extremely detailed; the conversations within them were so thorough and precise that it felt odd and unnatural that all these words were being spoken out aloud.

Fourteen Days was written by a powerhouse of authors. Each 'Day' was written by a different author and it was only at the end where the reader learnt who had written what.

When I read the premise that immerses us into the frightening days of Covid 19 in early lockdown in a dilapidated New York lower East Side tenement, Fernsby Arms, set over a period of 14 days, I was thrilled because the diverse, offbeat voices of people, who were unable to leave, are each written by an incredible cast of big authors, that include the likes of Margaret Atwood, Tommy Orange, Celeste Ng, Louise Erdich, and Meg Wolitzer. It forms the structure of a loose collection of short stories told by the residents, many of whom barely knew each other at all, told on the rooftop with its magnificent views, with everyone suitably socially distanced. This lockdown gathering offers the opportunities and means for a real community and neighbourly relations to develop amidst a background and experience of devastating loss and grief.

The global nature of the pandemic crisis and the isolating lockdowns ensure that there is much that will resonate with the reader, and lets face it, Covid remains with us, with the vulnerable remaining at risk. As might be expected from such a loosely wide selection of stories, some were more interesting, thoughtful and fascinating to me than others, there a sense of the chaotic and it does not always feel cohesive when it comes to the links between the different narratives. I think there are likely to be stories that appeal to a variety of readers, whilst simultaneously there is the possibility of coming across and being exposed to authors you have never previously encountered, so I can definitely recommend this, even if it is not perfect. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Fantastic, like a well practised choir this project for me brings together individual voices in perfect harmony. It touched a nerve with what we all experienced during Covid and actually brought me to tears at the end.

This is possibly my book of 2024, it will take some beating.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Fourteen Days.

Such an interesting concept- I had in the back of my mind the list of contributors and part of the fun was trying to guess who wrote which parts, but also imagining the process behind this coming together as the characters really do leap off the page and the setting of pandemic New York really comes across. An interesting read.

The list of authors involved in this project is very impressive so I was excited to get reading. Some of the stories were fully self contained tales and these worked well. Others just seem to be a ramble and I couldn’t work out where they were going. In some cases a story would be interrupted, another story would start and there was never a return to the original tale in which I was interested.
About two thirds through I realised I was doing other things rather than read, I was frustrated by the jumble sale of stories which was the original attraction of the book. I cut my losses and moved onto another book.

Ideal for fans of storytelling set in the lockdown years and written by a collaboration of well-known authors. Lots of scene setting, character description and social commentary.
With thanks to the authors, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.