Scan barcode
A review by silverliningsandpages
One Hundred and Fifty-Two Days by Giles Paley-Phillips
5.0
This is a gorgeous little book about loss, grief, and finding a way to keep going.
.
A semi-autobiographical coming of age story, this is written in free verse as memories. Each of those memories has a title, such as “There are always things,” “Private Island”, “The only one I want to see” and “A memory to visit”, and in beautiful simplicity they convey the deep emotions running through the book.
.
The narrator is a teenage boy who is barred from visitIng his dying mother while he recovers from pneumonia. His father has turned to alcohol for solace, his scatty Nana Q is preoccupied by the bingo and his friends don’t understand. He finds a meaningful connection with sassy, compassionate physiotherapist Freya, who helps him to navigate this bewildering landscape of trauma.
.
I have a policy of not reading books that heavily feature terminal illness, especially cancer, as it’s just too close to real life experience. However, when @unbounders kindly offered to send this for review I made an exception based on the glowing reviews and descriptions of hope and possibilities. It was the right decision! I’m not going to lie to you, I found it painful and raw at times but this is beautiful, stirring writing. I loved the strong sense of hope and optimism in the final part, just perfect.
.
A semi-autobiographical coming of age story, this is written in free verse as memories. Each of those memories has a title, such as “There are always things,” “Private Island”, “The only one I want to see” and “A memory to visit”, and in beautiful simplicity they convey the deep emotions running through the book.
.
The narrator is a teenage boy who is barred from visitIng his dying mother while he recovers from pneumonia. His father has turned to alcohol for solace, his scatty Nana Q is preoccupied by the bingo and his friends don’t understand. He finds a meaningful connection with sassy, compassionate physiotherapist Freya, who helps him to navigate this bewildering landscape of trauma.
.
I have a policy of not reading books that heavily feature terminal illness, especially cancer, as it’s just too close to real life experience. However, when @unbounders kindly offered to send this for review I made an exception based on the glowing reviews and descriptions of hope and possibilities. It was the right decision! I’m not going to lie to you, I found it painful and raw at times but this is beautiful, stirring writing. I loved the strong sense of hope and optimism in the final part, just perfect.