Megan Hunter’s Days of Light is a book to savour—lyrical, immersive, and profoundly moving. Written in a “One day” style, the novel unfolds over Easter, following a tradegy, through six decades, and carries the weight of an entire lifetime’s emotions, choices, and consequences. Hunter’s prose is spare yet luminous, drawing readers into the quiet intensity of her characters’ inner lives.

Each moment is rich with meaning, inviting the reader to slow down and absorb the beauty in the mundane. It is a story about grief and love and how fleeting yet profound moments shape our lives.

If you enjoy introspective, beautifully crafted fiction, this is a novel not to be missed. Thank you, Pan Macmillan and NetGallery, for the pre-publication read.

Many thanks to the author, Megan Hunter, @netgalley, and the publisher, Pan Macmillan, for a
digital ARC of this book, which is published in the UK on 17 April. It’s the story of 19-year-old Ivy,
who we first meet on Easter Sunday, a day that changes her life. The story then follows Ivy through
another five key days in her life, when she experiences changes and/or has an epiphany.

I liked the premise of this book very much, but I found the execution uneven. The first two sections
felt very slow to me, and I wasn’t really engaged in the book, although I did become more engrossed
as the story progressed. There’s a fundamental problem, too, with basing a novel around the key
moments in a person’s life, in that each day has the same narrative arc. The author sets the scene of
what’s happening to Ivy in that period of her life and catching the reader up on events, before
building to the epiphany or key event of that day, and so the structure feels repetitive.
In addition, there’s the time pressure of cramming all the pivotal events into just six days, which
makes some of what happens feel unrealistic. (For instance, on one day, Ivy is rejected by the love of
her life, turns to church, and has a religious awakening – it just felt too convenient for the second
event to take place immediately after the first.)

I also found that the writing style didn’t resonate with me. It reminded me a little of Alan
Hollinghurst’s style – detached, lush, perhaps too mannered. However, while with Hollinghurst, you
have the sense that he’s found the precise word to encapsulate the situation or express a thought
you’ve had but inchoately, with this book, it feels more like the writing was striving towards that
precision, and missing.

Days of Light isn’t a bad book at all, and I enjoyed the later sections, but I feel that it needed more
work overall.

Days of Light by Megan Hunter

Six days in Ivy's life from being a 19 year old in 1938 to her final moments in 1999. We follow Ivy and her family through WW2 into the changing 1950s/60s and beyond.

Wow, this novel really packs a punch! At first I was thinking A God in Ruins/Cazalet Chronicles but I was surprised again and again - for all its brevity it really encompasses so much in the way of capturing changes in Ivy and her family, along with societal changes over Ivy's life. I could have lived without the religion aspect but that's a personal preference and more than made up for by the rest of the novel. Very highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

I am sure this book will be very well regarded in literary circles and I did request to read the book based on the author's previous work. Despite really trying to understand and enjoy "Days of Light" by Megan Hunter, I found my mind wandering and couldn't keep focus. Not for me.

Every so often I dip into literary fiction and I am so glad I chose this book. The writing is beautiful, dreamlike, almost sensual at times, and so clever that it changes and grows with the phases of the narrator, Ivy’s life.
The book begins on Easter Sunday 1938 when Ivy is leaving her teenage years and charts six important days, scattered through the decades until 199. The first shapes everything; a tragedy shatters her family and she meets the love of her life.
The six days could feel like a device, but it doesn’t. It makes perfect sense and each day is put into context by memories of what has gone before. At times I was begging Ivy to take one path or another, I cared so much. And at times my choices would have been wrong. It’s a rare book to be so immersive.

I really enjoyed The End We Start From so I was looking forward to reading this, although it's a very different book. The story of a sister, told over six days of her life, one of them the scene of a terrible tragedy, and how this impacts her life. The book opens just before the Second World War, when the characters know conflict is looming but the war doesn't interfere with the plot, merely functioning as a setting. I didn't have any idea what was going to happen throughout, but what an interesting turn in life, and yet the book also shines a light on how poorly the middle classes prepared their daughters for life. I thought this was an excellent novel, really interesting turns and a sensitive portrayal of a delicate relationship.

As I started reading this book I was immediatley back in one of my favourites - Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift. I hadn't spotted that part of the blurb on NetGalley's front page. The first of the six parts dealing with Ivy's life was so poignant. The similarity to Mothering Sunday didn't last beyond that first part for me but it is a lovely book, beautifully written and so very well paced and delivered. Ivy is a complex character and one that many people will no doubt relate to with her quest to find out what life is all about. The ending was perfect for the balance of the story. With thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an e-ARC to read and review. Five solid stars.

The writing is very poetic and is a character driven novel which I always enjoyed. I think this is a very beautiful book and I thought Ivy’s character development was done well, I did not foresee any of the twists in Ivy’s life which came her way.

Despite excellent reviews I just couldn’t get into this new novel by Megan Hunter. I did read to the end but found I was skipping bits just to do so. Sorry but just not for me.

I had enjoyed this author’s previous novel The End We Start from and particularly remember her poetic writing style. When this book became available on NetGalley UK, I quickly requested it.

The book tells the story of Ivy who we first meet in 1938 when during an Easter holiday family party her older brother drowns. At the same time Ivy experiences and unexplainable light surrounding her and the river.
We then meet Ivy six years later married with two children throughout the novel we meet her at different ages across six decades up to the end of the 20th century. her loss continues to define her.
There is a subtle magical element to the story with the bright lights surrounding the drowning of her brother, which personally I didn’t think hit the perfect balance of magic and reality and didn’t add anything additional to the story
The author has a beautiful occasionally poetic writing style I really loved this sentence which run very true for me Open “Ivy recognised the bewildered unfocused look in her eyes the disarray of childbirth still present that moment of opening as though a hole had been made in the fabric of existence slow to close if it ever closed at all”
One thing that I did notice that I personally found rather irritating was that there was some American spellings for example recognized was spelt with a z American spelling, this book is firmly set in England so the spelling choice seemed strange
I was I saw a novel compared to David Nichols. One day and I can see where this is coming from. I’d recommend the novel to those who enjoy a novel with a good character development if you enjoy watching a character grow throughout the novel this book.
I read an early copy of the novel on NetGalley UK in return for a unbiased review. The book is published in the UK on the 17th of April 2025 by Pam McMillan
This review would appear on NetGalley UK, StoryGraph, Goodreads, and my book blog bionicSarahS books.wordpress.com. After publication will also appear on Amazon UK.

Days of Light is a deeply moving story of a woman finding her way in the world. Set in the 20th Century, it follows Ivy, from gauche young woman grieving the death of her beloved older brother, through motherhood and the Second World War, and on. Family relations, widowhood, mothers and daughters, siblings and children, Megan Hunter writes human emotions in such a heartbreakingly beautiful way, every scene is beautifully rendered in sparkling prose. A very moving novel, and one that will stay with me for a long time.

Beautifully written story woven gently woven around light. I was hooked from beginning to the very end. I'll be watching for this writer's next offerings. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy.

Days of Light

What an exquisite book this was! The storytelling was haunting and atmospheric and the prose was simply emotional, sentimental and poetic …

This is story of Ivy and six pivotal days across six decades of her life… the common theme across all days is the tragedy that unfolds on that fateful Easter Sunday of 1938. This single event defines Ivy’s life and the decisions that she takes and the relationships that she forms throughout her life.

This is a book that explores life and times, emotion, even touches on art and religion and Ivy’s strength and resilience to adapt to situations that she cannot control… this is a book that ponders the distinct eras with visceral cultural and societal snapshots of the time..

This is the first book that I have read from Megan Hunter and I would love to go back and read some of her earlier works just to try and re-capture some of that lyrical prose as it was a joy to behold!

Many thanks to Picador and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC

It’s Easter 1938 and 19 year old Ivy is excited to meet her brother Joseph’s girlfriend for the first time.
Along with the rest of her family they are gathered at Cressingdon, awaiting the arrival of Frances.
But what happens on this fateful day will change everyone’s lives forever.
We then catch up with Ivy on 5 more Easter days throughout her life as Megan Hunter takes us on a beautiful journey exploring her relationships with others and with God. Through the highs and the lows, through the darkness into the light.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

‘Days of Light’ by Megan Hunter is a poetic exploration of key moments in a woman’s life. Ivy is nineteen in 1938 and muddling long in her talented parents’ wake – bohemian artists with devoted partners who worship creativity and look down on the ordinary life. Ivy’s brother, Joseph, down from Oxford, has invited his girlfriend, Frances, for Easter. Ivy is excited for him and swept up by the romance of it all.

Easter 1938 will become the time ‘before’ for all those gathered for the celebration. The time ‘after’ is irredeemably altered by one catastrophic event.

Megan Hunter takes six days over the next six decades to focus on how Ivy responds to the tragedy. This exploration of how a single event can influence and affect one’s decisions, opinions, tastes and beliefs is beautifully written and often very moving. Over the course of her life, we see Ivy as a daughter, a wife, a mother, a lover, experiencing various iterations of a Christian life, as well as one where faith makes no sense at all. Yet nearing the end of her life, ‘…Ivy can feel God so close; just at her elbow. How much she is forgiven she knows: how much they are all forgiven in the end.’ Light is a recurring motif but, whilst Ivy thinks frequently of God, a pantheistic vision of the universe is also present throughout the novel.

This is a quiet, reflective read which ruminates on the depths of despair, the pinnacles of joy and everything else in-between. Thoroughly absorbing.

My thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

This was a beautiful book that reminded me a little of Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift in places. I enjoyed the writing itself and found myself captivated by Ivy's story over the years. Well worth a read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is an undeniably beautiful book. Evocative, atmospheric and with sumptuous descriptions of nature and wildlife, it's a coming of age story which charts six specific days in the lifetime of Ivy, a young girl born in 1918 from an artistic and unconventional family.

Ivy is just 19 years old when we first meet her in 1938 and the book follows her emotional, spiritual and sexual awakening over the course of a lifetime. A relatively short book, there's real clarity to Megan Hunter's story-telling with a lot of emotion and feeling packed into concise, insightful prose.

The storyline itself is heavy on religious symbolism and imagery though, which is not particularly to my personal taste, and I found it difficult to relate to Ivy. Her internal monologue and reasoning often felt self-indulgent, particularly given the hardship and loss that so many would have suffered during this period in history. Ivy's life is largely untouched by the war she lives through. Although it's hinted that she becomes politically active in later life, there's no indication that she feels any particular conviction of belief or compassion for those around her, ironic given the overall theme of the book.

A beautifully written book with exceptionally descriptive writing, it'll undoubtedly resonate more with some readers than with other.s

This was such a pleasure to read! I've long been a fan of Megan Hunter's writing, and although this was written so differently from her other novels – almost in the style of a mid-century classic – I enjoyed it just as much. It tells the story of Ivy, a nineteen-year-old with a bohemian family in 1938, and what happens to change her life. I wouldn't say I loved this because there were moments of abstractness that I didn't always get, but I really appreciated it as a whole: there were moments of beautiful interiority, such vivid and immersive descriptions of the world around Ivy, and the whole book felt very of its era. A big recommend from me and one I would like to reread just to take it all in again!

Days of Light is a real departure from The Harpy and The End We Start From thematically, but so distinctly written in Hunter’s stunningly lyrical prose. A beautiful novel about loss and grief, about love and desire, about hope and faith. A book about finding purpose in an ever-changing, complicated world. About family, motherhood and belonging, and how we relate to those we love at different stages of life, especially at times when we ourselves feel untethered. An outstanding novel that I think readers of Sarah Winman’s Still Life will love. Already cannot wait for Megan Hunter’s next book (will devour anything she writes!)

A big thank you to the lovely Picador team for the opportunity to read this one ahead of publication!

Days of Light evokes inter-war years England beautifully, with some nostalgia, but also dread of the looming Second World War. Happy, carefree country life is overshadowed by that impending doom, deflecting the reader from the more domestic disaster that befalls the family. The novel is full of hiatus, waiting, unknowing and of things unsaid. It is a book of manners and the damage done by the unspoken and that which might have been done, but which was not. But it’s not a book of regret as such. It’s a novel about discovery and striving to do the right thing, come what may. Mistakes are made, understood and characters strive to make amends, not always successfully.
But mistakes, we learn, can be rectified. Change is in the air and Ivy, the main character, finds her salvation ultimately not in the old world she grew up in, but in a world she could hardly have dreamed of.
A riveting read,