Originally told through six days in Ivy’s life, this book takes the reader on a journey of life and loss. Initially the writing style was a little difficult for me to comprehend but as the book carried on it became easier to lose myself in the beauty and lightness of the writing. Ivy’s life takes on many twists on turns, from pre WWII to just before the 2000s. We follow her as she grieved, finds love, loses love and finds herself. I really enjoyed this form of storytelling that put focus on these six days in her life. By the end of the book I felt attached to Ivy, I had been following her life since she was 19 and I almost didn’t want to leave her. This was emotionally charged and full of gorgeous quotes and relationships, a real reflection of life and all of its complications.

4+ ⭐

I was a bit misty eyed by the end of this.
Six days with Ivy, and yet I felt I knew her so well.
Admittedly, six very important days.
We start with a fairly ordinary family Easter, lunch and from there I was hooked.
Pulled on my heart strings a fair few times.

Six days of Ivys young life at the start of the War is intense as much as it's tragic.

Ivy is spending time with her family, who are rather free and easy about life when tragedy strikes and wordls and lives are changed forever.

This book is a great read. it is a slow burn but oh how I loved it.

The author is a good storyteller and I felt all emotions and gasped at times at what happened next.

Not what i expected at all but I like when a book surprises me..

I loved both The End We Start From and The Harpy making me keen to read Megan Hunter’s new novel which tells the story of Ivy, the daughter of a bohemian family, through six pivotal days in her life beginning with Easter Sunday in 1938 which ends in tragedy.
Nineteen-year-old Ivy wakes to what she expects to be a special day. Her beloved brother Joseph has invited the woman with whom he’s in love to stay and Ivy is eager to meet her. At a funeral, two weeks later she finds solace with a man much older than herself which will lead to marriage and children. Towards the end of the war, a friendship ripens into a love that might fulfil her longing for meaning, hopes dashed ten years later on a day in which she experiences an epiphany pointing her to another way of life. On the sixth day, Ivy remembers the many Easters she has lived through and the course her life has taken, understanding that her quest for meaning has been fulfilled.
Ivy’s story is unfolded from her own perspective although not in her own voice which suits this woman cast as an observer on the edges of a colourful family caught up in their own lives, unsure of her own place in the world. Hunter’s writing is luminously beautiful at times and there’s an elegiac quality to the early part of the novel which lends it a gentle melancholy. Throughout it all, Ivy remains haunted by the tragedy of 1938, unsure to the end if she might have played a part in it. Looking at other reviews, I see that some readers found Hunter’s novel unsatisfying, but I loved it, partly its structure suited it well but mostly for its quietly gorgeous writing.

Days of Light by Megan Hunter is a poignant exploration of a life shaped by both love and loss, set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world. The story begins on Easter Sunday, 1938, when Ivy, a nineteen-year-old at the cusp of adulthood, eagerly awaits the arrival of a longed-for guest. Her bohemian family gathers in the idyllic Sussex countryside, and while Britain teeters on the brink of war, the day feels suspended in a timeless moment of possibility.

The day takes a tragic turn, setting the course for Ivy’s future and propelling the reader through six pivotal days spread across six decades. Each day marks a significant moment in Ivy's journey, offering a glimpse into the various stages of her life. Hunter's writing beautifully captures these moments, weaving through Ivy's experiences of love, self-discovery, and the search for answers to life’s deeper questions.

The narrative has a unique structure, beginning in the pre-war era, where Ivy’s family, with its unconventional dynamics, is as much an artistic and intellectual collective as it is a family. With an air of fluid sexuality and artistic expression, Ivy’s mother, Marina, lives in a bubble of work-focused isolation, oblivious to the lives unfolding around her. The family housekeeper, Anne, brings a sense of control and order to the household, yet her presence contrasts the swirling chaos within the family.

The tone of the book is delicate, almost timeless, with Hunter's lyrical prose creating a sense of an “old-fashioned” sensibility. The exploration of love, loss, and family dynamics is both intimate and sweeping. While the narrative may be considered contemporary, there’s an undeniable sense of nostalgia that permeates the book, evoking a world that feels far removed from the present.

Ivy’s journey is both deeply personal and universally relatable as she navigates the complexities of relationships, self-worth, and the inexorable passage of time. Days of Light is a beautifully written, emotionally resonant tale that will stay with you long after the final page, offering a meditation on life’s fleeting moments and the enduring search for meaning in a world on the verge of great change. Highly recommended for those who enjoy reflective, character-driven stories set against the ebb and flow of history.

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Megan Hunter writes so beautifully. Days of Light is the first novel I have read of hers and I was captivated by the quality of the writing. We spend six days in Ivy’s life, over a period of years, and we experience grief, love and a searching for something - grace? Light? Spiritual joy? In the end it feels very much a book about love.

This is a rather strange story; one in which nothing much happens, but everything happens. All reviewed from the perspective of a single day at different times in Ivy’s life. It starts with a very upper class setting; a family gathering at the country estate in 1938. Ivy is 19 and on the cusp of adulthood and looking forward to this Easter weekend gathering, unaware how events will shape her. I felt I started to knowIvy as a person; her character, aspirations etc and warmed to her. The family was an odd bunch, but it’s rich in detail and I was soon involved in her and their interests.

Using a single point of reference on five further occasions in Ivy’s life is an unusual narrative tool and by and large it works, It’s interesting to reflect on those threads that bind us and Megan Hunter has selected an eclectic mix of influences throughout Ivy’s life over some sixty decades. Her writing is effortless. It flows beautifully and it’s a story to devour with ease. That takes a real skill and there wasn’t a moment where I was irritated by clunkiness or contrivance. Absolutely 5* for such exceptional writing. I thought the best part was the Easter 1938 gathering which reminded me of Elizabeth Jane Howard and the Cazalet chronicles. I think Howard is outstanding in this genre, but Megan Hunter’s writing is better. I haven’t read her earlier books and on the basis of this read will be looking these out.

The reader accompanies Ivy on six important days in her life. A extraordinary, ordinary life with its hardships, with its joys. Far from heteronormative stereotypes, a gentle book, a rare and curious gem.