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Fourteen Days
Set in a Lower East Side tenement in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Fourteen Days is a surprising and irresistibly propulsive novel with an unusual twist: each character in this diverse, eccentric cast of New York neighbours has been secretly written by a different, major literary voice-from Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston to Tommy Orange and Celeste Ng.
One week into the COVID-19 shutdown, tenants of a Lower East Side apartment building in Manhattan have begun to gather on the rooftop and tell stories. With each passing night, more and more neighbours gather, bringing chairs and milk crates and overturned pails. Gradually the tenants - some of whom have barely spoken to each other - become real neighbours. In this Decameron-like serial novel, general editor Margaret Atwood, Authors Guild president Douglas Preston, and a star-studded list of contributors create a beautiful ode to the people who couldn't get away from the city when the pandemic hit. A dazzling, heartwarming and ultimately surprising narrative, Fourteen Days reveals how beneath the horrible loss and suffering, some communities managed to become stronger.
Includes writing from:
Margaret Atwood, Douglas Preston, Celeste Ng, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, John Grisham, Diana Gabaldon, Ishmael Reed, Meg Wolitzer, Luis Alberto Urrea, James Shapiro, Sylvia Day, Mary Pope Osborne, Monique Truong, Hampton Sides, R. L. Stine, Scott Turow, Tommy Orange, and more!
One week into the COVID-19 shutdown, tenants of a Lower East Side apartment building in Manhattan have begun to gather on the rooftop and tell stories. With each passing night, more and more neighbours gather, bringing chairs and milk crates and overturned pails. Gradually the tenants - some of whom have barely spoken to each other - become real neighbours. In this Decameron-like serial novel, general editor Margaret Atwood, Authors Guild president Douglas Preston, and a star-studded list of contributors create a beautiful ode to the people who couldn't get away from the city when the pandemic hit. A dazzling, heartwarming and ultimately surprising narrative, Fourteen Days reveals how beneath the horrible loss and suffering, some communities managed to become stronger.
Includes writing from:
Margaret Atwood, Douglas Preston, Celeste Ng, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, John Grisham, Diana Gabaldon, Ishmael Reed, Meg Wolitzer, Luis Alberto Urrea, James Shapiro, Sylvia Day, Mary Pope Osborne, Monique Truong, Hampton Sides, R. L. Stine, Scott Turow, Tommy Orange, and more!
363 pages, Hardcover
First published February 6, 2024
About the author
Margaret Atwood
600 books82.1k followersMargaret Atwood was born in 1939 in Ottawa and grew up in northern Ontario, Quebec, and Toronto. She received her undergraduate degree from Victoria College at the University of Toronto and her master's degree from Radcliffe College.
Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.
Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.
Throughout her writing career, Margaret Atwood has received numerous awards and honourary degrees. She is the author of more than thirty-five volumes of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include The Edible Woman (1970), The Handmaid's Tale (1983), The Robber Bride (1994), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin, which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, Oryx and Crake, was published in 2003. The Tent (mini-fictions) and Moral Disorder (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, The Door, was published in 2007. Her non-fiction book, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth in the Massey series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, The Year of the Flood, in the autumn of 2009. Ms. Atwood's work has been published in more than forty languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian. In 2004 she co-invented the Long Pen TM.
Margaret Atwood currently lives in Toronto with writer Graeme Gibson.
Associations: Margaret Atwood was President of the Writers' Union of Canada from May 1981 to May 1982, and was President of International P.E.N., Canadian Centre (English Speaking) from 1984-1986. She and Graeme Gibson are the Joint Honourary Presidents of the Rare Bird Society within BirdLife International. Ms. Atwood is also a current Vice-President of PEN International.
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January 11, 2024
This was more or less exactly what I expected.
Fourteen Days is essentially a short story collection with a twist-- all the stories are fed to us via characters in a New York apartment building, and each one is written by a different author. Set during the COVID lockdown, the cast of characters gather on the roof of their building to exchange stories.
Like virtually every single short story collection I have read, this book has its stronger stories and weaker stories. Some kept my eyes glued to the page, while others I have already forgotten. The stories are all spoken aloud to a group and while some authors adapted well to this, other stories contained too much detail or were so overly weird that they did not feel realistically like spoken word.
Ironically, some of the big names that most attracted me to the book did not write the best characters. I guess this project may have been pretty low priority for them. Atwood's short contribution, for example, showcases one of my favourite authors at her weirdest (and not in a good way). They tried to give her an odd character to accommodate her eccentricities but, even so, it felt totally bizarre and unbelievable to me.
Also, I found the chitchat and set-up between the stories quite tedious. Because they chose this specific framing, it made it necessary for the narrator to introduce each day, scene and character before launching into the next story. It was mostly filler.
An ambitious experiment that didn't quite work, in my opinion. So many stories, characters and voices led to a book that was uneven and incohesive. And I didn't like the ending.
Fourteen Days is essentially a short story collection with a twist-- all the stories are fed to us via characters in a New York apartment building, and each one is written by a different author. Set during the COVID lockdown, the cast of characters gather on the roof of their building to exchange stories.
Like virtually every single short story collection I have read, this book has its stronger stories and weaker stories. Some kept my eyes glued to the page, while others I have already forgotten. The stories are all spoken aloud to a group and while some authors adapted well to this, other stories contained too much detail or were so overly weird that they did not feel realistically like spoken word.
Ironically, some of the big names that most attracted me to the book did not write the best characters. I guess this project may have been pretty low priority for them. Atwood's short contribution, for example, showcases one of my favourite authors at her weirdest (and not in a good way). They tried to give her an odd character to accommodate her eccentricities but, even so, it felt totally bizarre and unbelievable to me.
Also, I found the chitchat and set-up between the stories quite tedious. Because they chose this specific framing, it made it necessary for the narrator to introduce each day, scene and character before launching into the next story. It was mostly filler.
An ambitious experiment that didn't quite work, in my opinion. So many stories, characters and voices led to a book that was uneven and incohesive. And I didn't like the ending.
Want to read
February 22, 2023Wait, I'm sorry, WHAT? Atwood, R.L. Stine, Nora Roberts, Celeste Ng, Neil Gaiman, David Byrne from the Talking Heads, the Magic Treehouse lady and the author of Sex in the City (with many many more that you would never expect together) all writing different characters in one novel!? Pre-ordered this SO hard. What was this group-chat like?
Also why are there so many one-star ratings of a book that ARCs doen't even exist of yet?
Also why are there so many one-star ratings of a book that ARCs doen't even exist of yet?
April 3, 2024
An incredible collaborative novel with 36 authors that is an extraordinary literary event. The authors range in age from 30s to 80s and are from a variety of cultural, political, social and religious backgrounds; they also write in a wide range of genres. The result is a literary masterpiece.
Proceeds from book sales go toward The Authors Guild Foundation which was established on the belief that a rich, diverse, body of free literary expression is essential to our democracy. Amen to that! Portions of the books' advance went toward fighting book bans and library closures. Margaret Atwood led the project.
The book is focused on tenants in a rundown apartment in New York City that gather on the rooftop to share stories during a fourteen day period when the pandemic forced a shut down of the city. The stories are incredibly varied and poignant.
Memorable passages include:
* As humans, we have faced our gravest challenges with stories
* Stories tell us where we've been and where we're going
* Stories skewer the powerful, expose the fraudulent, and give voice to the disenfranchised
* Storytelling invokes magical powers to heal and transform
]
*Storytelling is hardwired in us. It makes us human.
* Death is like the distant sound of thunder at a picnic
* Sex is the sworn enemy of common sense
* War is where brutality meets farce
* Lies are the lubricant of life
* Feel the exhilarating call to adventure
* Jerry Garcia: You ain't gonna learn what you don't want to know
* From a musician: I play or I die.
I highly recommend Fourteen Days!
Proceeds from book sales go toward The Authors Guild Foundation which was established on the belief that a rich, diverse, body of free literary expression is essential to our democracy. Amen to that! Portions of the books' advance went toward fighting book bans and library closures. Margaret Atwood led the project.
The book is focused on tenants in a rundown apartment in New York City that gather on the rooftop to share stories during a fourteen day period when the pandemic forced a shut down of the city. The stories are incredibly varied and poignant.
Memorable passages include:
* As humans, we have faced our gravest challenges with stories
* Stories tell us where we've been and where we're going
* Stories skewer the powerful, expose the fraudulent, and give voice to the disenfranchised
* Storytelling invokes magical powers to heal and transform
]
*Storytelling is hardwired in us. It makes us human.
* Death is like the distant sound of thunder at a picnic
* Sex is the sworn enemy of common sense
* War is where brutality meets farce
* Lies are the lubricant of life
* Feel the exhilarating call to adventure
* Jerry Garcia: You ain't gonna learn what you don't want to know
* From a musician: I play or I die.
I highly recommend Fourteen Days!
November 21, 2023
3.5 rounded up
Thirty six American/Canadian authors from a variety of literary backgrounds, collaborate to tell the stories of a group of New Yorkers who are unable to escape the city during the Covid pandemic, unlike affluent city dwellers. It’s March 31, Day One, the first day of lockdown and the story is told over the next 14 days. The characters are tenants of the grandly named Fernsby Arms, a misleading name indeed, for a rundown block, which has thus far avoided gentrification. The new super of the less than salubrious building holds the whole thing together, I love her ironic tone, as life has dealt her many lemons, and yet she is still an upstanding, tough, strong woman. In amongst the detritus left by the previous super, she finds “The Fernsby Bible”, a handmade book of observations of tenants, who glory in appropriate nicknames, such as Vinegar, Eurovision, Florida, and Hello Kitty. She’s also left a little bit of “magic“ “, a key to the rooftop terrace, which affords spectacular views way beyond the price of the rent. One by one, the tenants drift up here, find a place to sit, socially distanced naturally, the price of admission is to tell a story, and so they do.
Yes, I’m sure some of you will be thinking not another pandemic novel, but whether we like it or not it is a cataclysmic and pivotal event that will go down in the history books as hugely important and significant. Many of us are still living with the aftermath, and let’s face it, the wretched thing is still here. Some of us are still trying to make process and make sense of it and this is where books like this come in. In many ways this is very unlike any other pandemic novels I’ve read. You do get references such as the gloomy statistics and tolling symbolically in the background are the bells of Saint Patrick. However, the main focus here is the stories that each of them tell. You get their backgrounds or things they’ve done (which are not necessarily true!) stories of the people in their lives, their reflections, the state of the country or the world, the injustice and it does become quite philosophical at times. It leads to them forming a daily rhythm and a release from the isolation of Covid rules. They make connections and become neighbourly, they recall the loss of loved ones and get reminders of their own mortality.
Although many of the stories are genuinely interesting, it does get a bit overwhelming by about 60%, the pace has slowed down and I find my attention has drifted. However, that brilliant, unpredictable ending nails the book for for me. I so don’t expect that, but it feels perfect and so raises it to a justifiable four stars.
It is exceptionally well written, it’s lively, it flows and it’s so well edited you actually wouldn’t know it’s a collaboration. I’m glad I don’t know who wrote what until the end as it may have swayed me in some ways. A big shout out to for the very clever use of literary references, especially Shakespeare and Boccaccio’s Decameron. How appropriate. It’s very different, it’s thoughtful, intelligent, and very acutely and well observed.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House, Vintage for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
Thirty six American/Canadian authors from a variety of literary backgrounds, collaborate to tell the stories of a group of New Yorkers who are unable to escape the city during the Covid pandemic, unlike affluent city dwellers. It’s March 31, Day One, the first day of lockdown and the story is told over the next 14 days. The characters are tenants of the grandly named Fernsby Arms, a misleading name indeed, for a rundown block, which has thus far avoided gentrification. The new super of the less than salubrious building holds the whole thing together, I love her ironic tone, as life has dealt her many lemons, and yet she is still an upstanding, tough, strong woman. In amongst the detritus left by the previous super, she finds “The Fernsby Bible”, a handmade book of observations of tenants, who glory in appropriate nicknames, such as Vinegar, Eurovision, Florida, and Hello Kitty. She’s also left a little bit of “magic“ “, a key to the rooftop terrace, which affords spectacular views way beyond the price of the rent. One by one, the tenants drift up here, find a place to sit, socially distanced naturally, the price of admission is to tell a story, and so they do.
Yes, I’m sure some of you will be thinking not another pandemic novel, but whether we like it or not it is a cataclysmic and pivotal event that will go down in the history books as hugely important and significant. Many of us are still living with the aftermath, and let’s face it, the wretched thing is still here. Some of us are still trying to make process and make sense of it and this is where books like this come in. In many ways this is very unlike any other pandemic novels I’ve read. You do get references such as the gloomy statistics and tolling symbolically in the background are the bells of Saint Patrick. However, the main focus here is the stories that each of them tell. You get their backgrounds or things they’ve done (which are not necessarily true!) stories of the people in their lives, their reflections, the state of the country or the world, the injustice and it does become quite philosophical at times. It leads to them forming a daily rhythm and a release from the isolation of Covid rules. They make connections and become neighbourly, they recall the loss of loved ones and get reminders of their own mortality.
Although many of the stories are genuinely interesting, it does get a bit overwhelming by about 60%, the pace has slowed down and I find my attention has drifted. However, that brilliant, unpredictable ending nails the book for for me. I so don’t expect that, but it feels perfect and so raises it to a justifiable four stars.
It is exceptionally well written, it’s lively, it flows and it’s so well edited you actually wouldn’t know it’s a collaboration. I’m glad I don’t know who wrote what until the end as it may have swayed me in some ways. A big shout out to for the very clever use of literary references, especially Shakespeare and Boccaccio’s Decameron. How appropriate. It’s very different, it’s thoughtful, intelligent, and very acutely and well observed.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Random House, Vintage for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
January 12, 2024
I love the idea of this and was excited by all the authors. involved. However, I didn't enjoy if nearly as much as I was hoping to.
It started to pick up at the end with the last 15% being a lot more engaging than the first 85%. The stories being told were supposed to be have been spoken aloud to the group on a rooftop of an apartment building however, some of them didn't have the feel of spoken word or verbal storytelling and didn't feel natural.
It started to pick up at the end with the last 15% being a lot more engaging than the first 85%. The stories being told were supposed to be have been spoken aloud to the group on a rooftop of an apartment building however, some of them didn't have the feel of spoken word or verbal storytelling and didn't feel natural.
Want to read
April 23, 2023This looks completely bananas...
January 15, 2024
This was a Goodreads Giveaway win!
And this is why you should never be deterred by low ratings on here. If you want to read something then just READ IT. I have a feeling that people who gave it low ratings didn’t understand the format of this. I love sitting around and listening to people share stories so this was right up my alley. Now some stories for me were stronger then others but man oh man did I have a tough time putting this down. I loved being able to look at the back of the book so see who wrote which parts. And the cast of characters who met on the roof every night to share these stories were so fantastic that I felt like I was excited to get back up on that roof with them to hear more stories.
Oh my gosh that ending though.
Favorite short story? The Angel in the Mexican town square.
And this is why you should never be deterred by low ratings on here. If you want to read something then just READ IT. I have a feeling that people who gave it low ratings didn’t understand the format of this. I love sitting around and listening to people share stories so this was right up my alley. Now some stories for me were stronger then others but man oh man did I have a tough time putting this down. I loved being able to look at the back of the book so see who wrote which parts. And the cast of characters who met on the roof every night to share these stories were so fantastic that I felt like I was excited to get back up on that roof with them to hear more stories.
Oh my gosh that ending though.
Favorite short story? The Angel in the Mexican town square.
Want to read
April 26, 2023Do I need more pandemic novels? Not necessarily.
Do I need more Margaret Atwood and lot’s of other great writers? Yes.
Sign me up! 📖
Do I need more Margaret Atwood and lot’s of other great writers? Yes.
Sign me up! 📖
March 18, 2024
an ambitious endeavour that didn't quite live up to its potential. some stories were more interesting than others, but a lot of them were too short to truly connect with them. 2.5 stars
March 30, 2024
Further support for my heartfelt contention that nothing worth a damn ever came out of a committee, certainly nothing in a creative, artistic or meaningful mode...
It's hard for me to crap on this book with a one-star rating, especially since it was a birthday gift, features Margaret Atwood's name on the cover, falls under the category of pandemic lit (a genre I have a fondness for myself having engaged in a small pandemic lit reading group during that shittiest of years), and is inspired by Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Boccaccio's Decameron, two of the greatest works of literature ever written. So I was looking forward to it, when I discovered what Fourteen Days was all about and how it was written. But while Chaucer labored on his own for decades to develop his fascinating collection of "sundry folk" and craft their collection of mostly brilliant tales using the frame device of a story-telling contest on the road to Canterbury, the only remarkable thing about this rushed mess of half-baked, mostly dull stories told by a collection of crabby New Yorkers on the rooftop of their crappy apartment building over the course of two weeks at the beginning of the lockdown is the way Atwood and Doug Preston convinced 34 of their fellow writers to join them on this project, each author contributing a story without attribution with Preston apparently (according to the "note" which kicks off the book) weaving them together in the pandemic frame device.
So...kudos to Atwood and Preston for assembling this collection of sundry writers to join them on this potentially significant project. Sadly, however, as with most committee work, it fails to move beyond the initial idea into something meaningful and remains a group of unrelated stories, most of which feel phoned in by the authors, both great and small.
Here's what Fourteen Days promises in the opening note: "Above all, Fourteen Days is a celebration of the power of stories. since long before the invention of writing, we human beings have faced our gravest challenges by telling stories. When we are confronted with war, violence, terror--or a pandemic--we tell stories to sort things out and push back against a frightening and incomprehensible world. Stories tell us where we've been and where we're going. They make sense of the senseless and bring order to disorder. They transmit our values across generations and affirm our ideas. They skewer the powerful, expose the fraudulent, and give voice to the disenfranchised .... stories are what make us human."
And that's so true for The Canterbury Tales (and for most of what we call great literature). But it has almost nothing to do with the contents of Fourteen Days, most of which fails to shed any light on the human condition at all, and adds no sense to the senseless and pretty much collapses into disorder by the fourteenth day, despite Preston's best efforts to craft his frame device which, like Chaucer's, showcases the squabbling story tellers, and sadly outshines most of the stories they tell. If only the different authors had been up to the challenge of providing better tales for their tellers, this might have become an excellent reflection of life during the pandemic. But as it is, this collection of stories feels more like just another victim of the pandemic instead of something that will transcend time and endure to show future generations of readers what life was like during this time in history.
As a great fan of Chaucer, here's what I did: I began the book with great anticipation and pen in hand. I scribbled a hasty matrix in the back of my book with apartment numbers and story tellers: 1A) The Super, 2B) Vinegar, 2D) The Lady with the Rings, 3D) Darrow, 4D) Whitney, 5E) Amnesia, et al, sketching out the 24 or so tenants by apartment number and "pilgrim" name, along with the story tellers who join them along the way on their journey, a la Chaucer's Canon's Yeoman. Then I attempted to provide a short descriptor for each story, hoping to trace the thematic elements and establish correspondences between the tales and their tellers, along with some pertinent details about each "pilgrim": their job, gender, ethnicity, status, etc., which like with Chaucer's tellers, generally reflects on their tales.
Ha. What a waste of time, attempting to establish my own order on the disorder of this mishmash of stories. By the halfway point I realized my efforts were going to be in vain, but I kept at it and as the days continued the lack of structure and unity became more and more apparent because unlike Chaucer who has labored to create thematic and structural arcs throughout his collection of stories, shedding light on his contemporary societal hierarchies and providing sharp commentary on the power structures of his time, our authors in Fourteen Days each seem to be writing in a vacuum without any idea of the order of their tales, who their teller is, who is responding to whom, or what themes and concerns they might be responding to. Our 36 authors fail to provide much in the way of correspondences among the stories or even provide much real insight into the inequities and fragilities of life during the pandemic or the terrible challenges we were facing then.
That's not to say that it's all a disaster in Fourteen Days. There is a small handful of gems here to be found among the approximately 40 stories, beyond the interactions of our feuding tale tellers in Preston's frame device. For me, I did not want to ruin the fun by flipping to the "About the Contributors" at the end of the book to find out who wrote what. But when I finally did, I quickly discovered my two favorite pieces were written by the two most regarded authors in the project (fancy that), Atwood herself and Ishmael Reed. And then I learned that one of my other favorites was written by none other than Erica Jong, whom I had assumed was long dead. Mirabile dictu. There's life in the old lady yet.
Reed's piece might be the best of all, and possibly the most pertinent. In it, his "pilgrim," the Poet (a Black professor of poetry with connections in the New York publishing world who has been recently asked to write a life-coaching book instructing white people on techniques about how to get along with Black people), relates a story from just before the lockdown when he is invited by a pair of his former students to join a pandemic reading circle at an art gallery that will be exploring "classical readings about the plague," beginning with the Decameron. The reading collapses in hilarious chaos by the second session as the academics and artists attending the discussion become bogged down in their various contemporary concerns finding Boccacio to be privileged, Eurocentric, homophobic, antisemitic, misogynistic, classist, and able-ist, among the long litany of horrified objections voiced by the participants. Reed must have greatly enjoyed himself here, skewering both the contemporary concerns along with the dusty classics, and also poking some fun at a number of his fellow writers on the project. I would love to know what Reed really thought about joining this group of mostly much younger writers.
+++++++++++++++++
Well-intentioned birthday gift from my brother. Sorry!
It's hard for me to crap on this book with a one-star rating, especially since it was a birthday gift, features Margaret Atwood's name on the cover, falls under the category of pandemic lit (a genre I have a fondness for myself having engaged in a small pandemic lit reading group during that shittiest of years), and is inspired by Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Boccaccio's Decameron, two of the greatest works of literature ever written. So I was looking forward to it, when I discovered what Fourteen Days was all about and how it was written. But while Chaucer labored on his own for decades to develop his fascinating collection of "sundry folk" and craft their collection of mostly brilliant tales using the frame device of a story-telling contest on the road to Canterbury, the only remarkable thing about this rushed mess of half-baked, mostly dull stories told by a collection of crabby New Yorkers on the rooftop of their crappy apartment building over the course of two weeks at the beginning of the lockdown is the way Atwood and Doug Preston convinced 34 of their fellow writers to join them on this project, each author contributing a story without attribution with Preston apparently (according to the "note" which kicks off the book) weaving them together in the pandemic frame device.
So...kudos to Atwood and Preston for assembling this collection of sundry writers to join them on this potentially significant project. Sadly, however, as with most committee work, it fails to move beyond the initial idea into something meaningful and remains a group of unrelated stories, most of which feel phoned in by the authors, both great and small.
Here's what Fourteen Days promises in the opening note: "Above all, Fourteen Days is a celebration of the power of stories. since long before the invention of writing, we human beings have faced our gravest challenges by telling stories. When we are confronted with war, violence, terror--or a pandemic--we tell stories to sort things out and push back against a frightening and incomprehensible world. Stories tell us where we've been and where we're going. They make sense of the senseless and bring order to disorder. They transmit our values across generations and affirm our ideas. They skewer the powerful, expose the fraudulent, and give voice to the disenfranchised .... stories are what make us human."
And that's so true for The Canterbury Tales (and for most of what we call great literature). But it has almost nothing to do with the contents of Fourteen Days, most of which fails to shed any light on the human condition at all, and adds no sense to the senseless and pretty much collapses into disorder by the fourteenth day, despite Preston's best efforts to craft his frame device which, like Chaucer's, showcases the squabbling story tellers, and sadly outshines most of the stories they tell. If only the different authors had been up to the challenge of providing better tales for their tellers, this might have become an excellent reflection of life during the pandemic. But as it is, this collection of stories feels more like just another victim of the pandemic instead of something that will transcend time and endure to show future generations of readers what life was like during this time in history.
As a great fan of Chaucer, here's what I did: I began the book with great anticipation and pen in hand. I scribbled a hasty matrix in the back of my book with apartment numbers and story tellers: 1A) The Super, 2B) Vinegar, 2D) The Lady with the Rings, 3D) Darrow, 4D) Whitney, 5E) Amnesia, et al, sketching out the 24 or so tenants by apartment number and "pilgrim" name, along with the story tellers who join them along the way on their journey, a la Chaucer's Canon's Yeoman. Then I attempted to provide a short descriptor for each story, hoping to trace the thematic elements and establish correspondences between the tales and their tellers, along with some pertinent details about each "pilgrim": their job, gender, ethnicity, status, etc., which like with Chaucer's tellers, generally reflects on their tales.
Ha. What a waste of time, attempting to establish my own order on the disorder of this mishmash of stories. By the halfway point I realized my efforts were going to be in vain, but I kept at it and as the days continued the lack of structure and unity became more and more apparent because unlike Chaucer who has labored to create thematic and structural arcs throughout his collection of stories, shedding light on his contemporary societal hierarchies and providing sharp commentary on the power structures of his time, our authors in Fourteen Days each seem to be writing in a vacuum without any idea of the order of their tales, who their teller is, who is responding to whom, or what themes and concerns they might be responding to. Our 36 authors fail to provide much in the way of correspondences among the stories or even provide much real insight into the inequities and fragilities of life during the pandemic or the terrible challenges we were facing then.
That's not to say that it's all a disaster in Fourteen Days. There is a small handful of gems here to be found among the approximately 40 stories, beyond the interactions of our feuding tale tellers in Preston's frame device. For me, I did not want to ruin the fun by flipping to the "About the Contributors" at the end of the book to find out who wrote what. But when I finally did, I quickly discovered my two favorite pieces were written by the two most regarded authors in the project (fancy that), Atwood herself and Ishmael Reed. And then I learned that one of my other favorites was written by none other than Erica Jong, whom I had assumed was long dead. Mirabile dictu. There's life in the old lady yet.
Reed's piece might be the best of all, and possibly the most pertinent. In it, his "pilgrim," the Poet (a Black professor of poetry with connections in the New York publishing world who has been recently asked to write a life-coaching book instructing white people on techniques about how to get along with Black people), relates a story from just before the lockdown when he is invited by a pair of his former students to join a pandemic reading circle at an art gallery that will be exploring "classical readings about the plague," beginning with the Decameron. The reading collapses in hilarious chaos by the second session as the academics and artists attending the discussion become bogged down in their various contemporary concerns finding Boccacio to be privileged, Eurocentric, homophobic, antisemitic, misogynistic, classist, and able-ist, among the long litany of horrified objections voiced by the participants. Reed must have greatly enjoyed himself here, skewering both the contemporary concerns along with the dusty classics, and also poking some fun at a number of his fellow writers on the project. I would love to know what Reed really thought about joining this group of mostly much younger writers.
+++++++++++++++++
Well-intentioned birthday gift from my brother. Sorry!
April 13, 2024
This book’s concept and list of authors sold me from the first. Fourteen days quarantined in New York City during the early days of the pandemic. Telling stories nightly on the rooftop. Written by a diverse group of excellent authors. What’s not to love.
Some of the characters and stories were less believable than others but I was intrigued. At times the stories and days felt overlong and draggy which was consistent with how those long days, weeks, of quarantining felt.
Although there are a number of negative reviews I stand by my five star rating. Oh, there is a bit of a twist at the end. Don’t read ahead.
Some of the characters and stories were less believable than others but I was intrigued. At times the stories and days felt overlong and draggy which was consistent with how those long days, weeks, of quarantining felt.
Although there are a number of negative reviews I stand by my five star rating. Oh, there is a bit of a twist at the end. Don’t read ahead.
December 14, 2023
What a book! Anything with Margaret Atwood’s name on it has my vote, but I usually avoid collaborative texts, feeling ‘less is more’. But this one blew my socks off.
36 Canadian and American writers assume the identity of a persona resident in an apartment block in New York during lockdown.
The new ‘Super’ of the building finds the key to the roof door and the roof becomes her ‘place’.
From this vantage point, she has stupendous views over the city and we get a vivid sense of the impact of lockdown.
Gradually the residents join her (socially distanced, of course), and the stories they want and need to share are told over 14 days.
And so, we are transported from this rooftop into these captivating experiences; funny, wise, brutal, beautiful worlds. Stories are hosted by the self-appointed emcee, Eurovision. And the numbers keep growing. So many voices, so many lives.
And the tragedy of Covid is eventually revealed in for me, a completely unexpected ending.
Who contributed what?
You have to wait, to find out.
Astonishing and brilliant.
Thank you @netgalley and @vintage books for my ARC. What a gift!
36 Canadian and American writers assume the identity of a persona resident in an apartment block in New York during lockdown.
The new ‘Super’ of the building finds the key to the roof door and the roof becomes her ‘place’.
From this vantage point, she has stupendous views over the city and we get a vivid sense of the impact of lockdown.
Gradually the residents join her (socially distanced, of course), and the stories they want and need to share are told over 14 days.
And so, we are transported from this rooftop into these captivating experiences; funny, wise, brutal, beautiful worlds. Stories are hosted by the self-appointed emcee, Eurovision. And the numbers keep growing. So many voices, so many lives.
And the tragedy of Covid is eventually revealed in for me, a completely unexpected ending.
Who contributed what?
You have to wait, to find out.
Astonishing and brilliant.
Thank you @netgalley and @vintage books for my ARC. What a gift!
February 29, 2024
This Authors Guild Foundation collaborative project is a Covid-era Decameron update in which the residents of an increasingly derelict New York City apartment complex meet on the rooftop every evening for two early lockdown weeks to clap for healthcare workers, indulge in adult beverages, and swap random stories. The tenants all go by nicknames like “Hello Kitty,” “Florida” and “Vinegar.” The frame narrative has the building superintendent (Yessie, a lesbian of Romanian heritage) worrying over her father’s wellbeing in a care home and surreptitiously recording the oral stories on her phone to later transcribe into the “bible” kept by the previous super. We’re told up front that the manuscript ends up in police custody.
I had a misconception that each chapter would be written by a different author. I think that would actually have been the more interesting approach. Instead, each character is voiced by a different author, and sometimes by multiple authors across the 14 chapters (one per day) – a total of 36 authors took part. I soon wearied of the guess-who game. I most enjoyed the frame story, which was the work of Douglas Preston, a thriller author I don’t otherwise know.
There was a promising idea here, but problems with the execution. One is that, for the most part, the stories are pointless. The characters get hung up on whether they’re ‘true’ or not, but for readers it’s all made up and, while one or two individual tales might be amusing, they do nothing to build a plot and so I found myself mostly skipping over them to get back to the interactions on the roof and the super’s commentary. Another is that, to stand out from an ensemble cast, a voice needs to be really distinctive, and only “Eurovision” (flamboyantly gay) was that for me – based on my love for his rabbit story in particular, I should be reading Joseph Cassara. And finally, the book culminates with an annoying twist that made me cross.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
I had a misconception that each chapter would be written by a different author. I think that would actually have been the more interesting approach. Instead, each character is voiced by a different author, and sometimes by multiple authors across the 14 chapters (one per day) – a total of 36 authors took part. I soon wearied of the guess-who game. I most enjoyed the frame story, which was the work of Douglas Preston, a thriller author I don’t otherwise know.
There was a promising idea here, but problems with the execution. One is that, for the most part, the stories are pointless. The characters get hung up on whether they’re ‘true’ or not, but for readers it’s all made up and, while one or two individual tales might be amusing, they do nothing to build a plot and so I found myself mostly skipping over them to get back to the interactions on the roof and the super’s commentary. Another is that, to stand out from an ensemble cast, a voice needs to be really distinctive, and only “Eurovision” (flamboyantly gay) was that for me – based on my love for his rabbit story in particular, I should be reading Joseph Cassara. And finally, the book culminates with an annoying twist that made me cross.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
April 17, 2024
this collection of short stories didnt totally do it for me enjoyed some of them
February 18, 2024
Durch den Lockdown während der Corona-Pandemie 2020 finden sich die Hausmeisterin und die Bewohner eines heruntergekommenen fünfstöckigen Mietshauses in Brooklyn ans Haus gefesselt. Der Ausstieg auf das Dach (mit Handyempfang!) scheint ihr einziger Bezug zur Außenwelt zu sein. Die Sirenen der Krankenwagen vergegenwärtigen in jeder Minute hier oben, dass im weltweiten Vergleich New York eine der höchsten Todesraten hat.
Jeder Mieter bringt am Abend seine Sitzgelegenheit, Lampe und Getränk mit nach oben. Die Abstandsregel gilt auch hier oben; ein diffuses Misstrauen gegenüber einer möglichen Ansteckung durch die Nachbarn wird spürbar. Alle scheinen einzige Bewohner ihre jeweiligen Apartments zu sein und noch ist unklar, ob alle Wohnschachteln bewohnt sind. Die Hausmeisterin, die lange namenlos bleibt, hat den Job gerade neu übernommen und sieht sich der Verantwortung für das Gebäude gegenüber, für das die Vermieter sich nicht zu interessieren scheinen. Der einzige Lichtblick für die junge, kräftige Frau ist „die Bibel“ ihres Vorgängers, ein Ringbuch, in dem er jedem Mieter einen Spitznamen verpasste und zur Person einige Stichwörter notierte. Nicht alle Seiten im Buch sind beschrieben. Spitznamen und die Apartment-Nummern definieren die Personen, die sich geschützt durch die Dunkelheit während einer Spanne von 14 Tagen Geschichten erzählen. Es gibt erlebte, weitererzählte, zitierte und gelogene Geschichten, sowie Sinnieren über das Erzählen an sich. Einige Personen schreiben selbst. Durch Spitzname, Person und die Figur, von der erzählt wird, wirkt das Ganze vielschichtig. Die Geschichten sind eng verflochten und wirken keinesfalls wie Kurzgeschichten. Themen sind z. B. der Tod, Krankheit, Familie, Aberglaube, Adoption, Rache und Musik.
In New York als Einwanderer-Stadt spielt fast in jeder Story Herkunft, Identität und Hautfarbe eine Rolle. Herkunft scheint ein unerschöpflicher Fundus für das Erzählen zu sein. Mich zwang die Herkunft der Figuren zum Differenzieren; es genügte nicht mehr, jemanden z. B. nur Mittelamerika oder dem amerikanischen Süden zuzuordnen. Hochinteressant fand ich die Dynamik in der Gruppe, wer sich wann zu Wort meldet oder wer sich zum Sprechen ermutigen lässt.
Mit einer pfiffig gewählten Rahmenhandlung handelt es sich hier tatsächlich um einen Roman, keine Anthologie, der die Handschrift von 36 zum großen Teil weltbekannten Autoren trägt und mit vielfältigen wie überraschenden Wendungen überzeugt.
Jeder Mieter bringt am Abend seine Sitzgelegenheit, Lampe und Getränk mit nach oben. Die Abstandsregel gilt auch hier oben; ein diffuses Misstrauen gegenüber einer möglichen Ansteckung durch die Nachbarn wird spürbar. Alle scheinen einzige Bewohner ihre jeweiligen Apartments zu sein und noch ist unklar, ob alle Wohnschachteln bewohnt sind. Die Hausmeisterin, die lange namenlos bleibt, hat den Job gerade neu übernommen und sieht sich der Verantwortung für das Gebäude gegenüber, für das die Vermieter sich nicht zu interessieren scheinen. Der einzige Lichtblick für die junge, kräftige Frau ist „die Bibel“ ihres Vorgängers, ein Ringbuch, in dem er jedem Mieter einen Spitznamen verpasste und zur Person einige Stichwörter notierte. Nicht alle Seiten im Buch sind beschrieben. Spitznamen und die Apartment-Nummern definieren die Personen, die sich geschützt durch die Dunkelheit während einer Spanne von 14 Tagen Geschichten erzählen. Es gibt erlebte, weitererzählte, zitierte und gelogene Geschichten, sowie Sinnieren über das Erzählen an sich. Einige Personen schreiben selbst. Durch Spitzname, Person und die Figur, von der erzählt wird, wirkt das Ganze vielschichtig. Die Geschichten sind eng verflochten und wirken keinesfalls wie Kurzgeschichten. Themen sind z. B. der Tod, Krankheit, Familie, Aberglaube, Adoption, Rache und Musik.
In New York als Einwanderer-Stadt spielt fast in jeder Story Herkunft, Identität und Hautfarbe eine Rolle. Herkunft scheint ein unerschöpflicher Fundus für das Erzählen zu sein. Mich zwang die Herkunft der Figuren zum Differenzieren; es genügte nicht mehr, jemanden z. B. nur Mittelamerika oder dem amerikanischen Süden zuzuordnen. Hochinteressant fand ich die Dynamik in der Gruppe, wer sich wann zu Wort meldet oder wer sich zum Sprechen ermutigen lässt.
Mit einer pfiffig gewählten Rahmenhandlung handelt es sich hier tatsächlich um einen Roman, keine Anthologie, der die Handschrift von 36 zum großen Teil weltbekannten Autoren trägt und mit vielfältigen wie überraschenden Wendungen überzeugt.
February 29, 2024
Why?!? Such a good premise drew me in to slog through this book of stories about the pandemic... New York as a setting... a collaborative effort that includes many famous authors... for a while the stories themselves kept my interest but the ending is the reason for this one star review
April 13, 2024
Aufarbeitung der Coronazeit, in Geschichten, die über 14 Tage auf dem Dach eines Hauses erzählt werden. Mit einer Rahmenhandlung drum herum.
Ganz unterschiedliche Geschichten in Stil und Inhalt.
Fand ich richtig gut.
Eine Gemeinschaftsarbeit von mehr als 30 Autoren, was für eine erstaunliche Idee.
Ganz unterschiedliche Geschichten in Stil und Inhalt.
Fand ich richtig gut.
Eine Gemeinschaftsarbeit von mehr als 30 Autoren, was für eine erstaunliche Idee.
February 20, 2024
Durch den Lockdown während der Corona-Pandemie 2020 finden sich die Hausmeisterin und die Bewohner eines heruntergekommenen fünfstöckigen Mietshauses in Brooklyn ans Haus gefesselt. Der Ausstieg auf das Dach (mit Handyempfang!) scheint ihr einziger Bezug zur Außenwelt zu sein. Die Sirenen der Krankenwagen vergegenwärtigen in jeder Minute hier oben, dass im weltweiten Vergleich New York eine der höchsten Todesraten hat.
Jeder Mieter bringt am Abend seine Sitzgelegenheit, Lampe und Getränk mit nach oben. Die Abstandsregel gilt auch hier; ein diffuses Misstrauen gegenüber einer möglichen Ansteckung durch die Nachbarn wird spürbar. Alle scheinen einzige Bewohner ihre jeweiligen Apartments zu sein und noch ist unklar, ob alle Wohnschachteln bewohnt sind. Die Hausmeisterin, die lange namenlos bleibt, hat den Job gerade neu übernommen und sieht sich der Verantwortung für das Gebäude gegenüber, für das die Vermieter sich nicht zu interessieren scheinen. Der einzige Lichtblick für die junge, kräftige Frau ist „die Bibel“ ihres Vorgängers, ein Ringbuch, in dem er jedem Mieter einen Spitznamen verpasste und zur Person einige Stichwörter notierte. Nicht alle Seiten im Buch sind beschrieben. Spitznamen und die Apartment-Nummern definieren die Personen, die sich geschützt durch die Dunkelheit während einer Spanne von 14 Tagen Geschichten erzählen. Es gibt erlebte, weitererzählte, zitierte und gelogene Geschichten, sowie Sinnieren über das Erzählen an sich. Einige Personen schreiben selbst. Durch Spitzname, Person und die Figur, von der erzählt wird, wirkt das Ganze vielschichtig. Die Geschichten sind eng verflochten und wirken keinesfalls wie Kurzgeschichten. Themen sind z. B. der Tod, Krankheit, Familie, Aberglaube, Adoption, Rache und Musik.
In New York als Einwanderer-Stadt spielt fast in jeder Story Herkunft, Identität und Hautfarbe eine Rolle. Herkunft scheint ein unerschöpflicher Fundus für das Erzählen zu sein. Mich zwang die Herkunft der Figuren zum Differenzieren; es genügte nicht mehr, jemanden z. B. nur Mittelamerika oder dem amerikanischen Süden zuzuordnen. Hochinteressant fand ich die Dynamik in der Gruppe, wer sich wann zu Wort meldet oder wer sich zum Sprechen ermutigen lässt.
Mit einer pfiffig gewählten Rahmenhandlung handelt es sich hier tatsächlich um einen Roman, keine Anthologie, der die Handschrift von 36 zum großen Teil weltbekannten Autoren trägt und mit vielfältigen wie überraschenden Wendungen überzeugt.
Jeder Mieter bringt am Abend seine Sitzgelegenheit, Lampe und Getränk mit nach oben. Die Abstandsregel gilt auch hier; ein diffuses Misstrauen gegenüber einer möglichen Ansteckung durch die Nachbarn wird spürbar. Alle scheinen einzige Bewohner ihre jeweiligen Apartments zu sein und noch ist unklar, ob alle Wohnschachteln bewohnt sind. Die Hausmeisterin, die lange namenlos bleibt, hat den Job gerade neu übernommen und sieht sich der Verantwortung für das Gebäude gegenüber, für das die Vermieter sich nicht zu interessieren scheinen. Der einzige Lichtblick für die junge, kräftige Frau ist „die Bibel“ ihres Vorgängers, ein Ringbuch, in dem er jedem Mieter einen Spitznamen verpasste und zur Person einige Stichwörter notierte. Nicht alle Seiten im Buch sind beschrieben. Spitznamen und die Apartment-Nummern definieren die Personen, die sich geschützt durch die Dunkelheit während einer Spanne von 14 Tagen Geschichten erzählen. Es gibt erlebte, weitererzählte, zitierte und gelogene Geschichten, sowie Sinnieren über das Erzählen an sich. Einige Personen schreiben selbst. Durch Spitzname, Person und die Figur, von der erzählt wird, wirkt das Ganze vielschichtig. Die Geschichten sind eng verflochten und wirken keinesfalls wie Kurzgeschichten. Themen sind z. B. der Tod, Krankheit, Familie, Aberglaube, Adoption, Rache und Musik.
In New York als Einwanderer-Stadt spielt fast in jeder Story Herkunft, Identität und Hautfarbe eine Rolle. Herkunft scheint ein unerschöpflicher Fundus für das Erzählen zu sein. Mich zwang die Herkunft der Figuren zum Differenzieren; es genügte nicht mehr, jemanden z. B. nur Mittelamerika oder dem amerikanischen Süden zuzuordnen. Hochinteressant fand ich die Dynamik in der Gruppe, wer sich wann zu Wort meldet oder wer sich zum Sprechen ermutigen lässt.
Mit einer pfiffig gewählten Rahmenhandlung handelt es sich hier tatsächlich um einen Roman, keine Anthologie, der die Handschrift von 36 zum großen Teil weltbekannten Autoren trägt und mit vielfältigen wie überraschenden Wendungen überzeugt.
February 19, 2024
Absolute garbage! One if the worst books I’ve ever read. I had such high hopes for this with an array of great authors collaborating but it was beyond disappointing. I only continued to the end because it was expensive and I desperately hoped for improvement. It never came! The stories are disjointed, bizarre, dull, pointless in the main. And trigger warning - one story contains rape and another suicide. Just awful all round and a huge waste of time
March 24, 2024
Sagt euch das "Decamerone" etwas? Dabei handelt es sich um einen italienischen Klassiker von Boccaccio. Die Geschichte spielt zur Zeit der Pest: Eine Gruppe Adeliger flieht während der Pest auf einen Landsitz in der Toskana, isoliert sich dort brav selbst und erzählt sich den lieben langen Tag Geschichten. So entstand eine sehr spannende Kurzgeschichtensammlung voll mit Geschichten, von denen ich viele überraschenderweise aus meiner Kindheit kannte. Ihr könnt euch vorstellen, wie überrascht Klein-Mira war, als sie diese Geschichten dank einem Unikurs wiederentdeckte.
So ähnlich funktioniert auch dieses Buch: Während dem ersten Covid-Lockdown treffen sich die Bewohner:innen eines Hauses jeden Abend auf dem Dach. Dort erzählen sie sich Geschichten. Die Grundhandlung folgt einer jungen Hausmeisterin, nach und nach kommen aber alle Figuren zu Wort. Jede dieser Geschichten stammt aus der Feder einer anderen Autorin oder eines anderen Autors - wie immer bei solchen Anthologien war es auch hier so, dass sich daher auch die Qualität der Geschichten voneinander unterschied. Von "Absolut gigantisch und will ich gleich nochmal hören!" über "Ja, ganz nett..." bis hin zu "Hätte ich nicht gebraucht", war auch hier alles dabei. Von welcher Autorin oder welchem Autor die Geschichte jeweils genau stammt, wird dabei nicht weiter markiert. Halte ich persönlich für eine gute Entscheidung, denn so entstanden keine Brüche im Text und die Handlung blieb ein großes Ganzes. Gleichzeitig wäre es aber für mich spannend gewesen, zumindest am Ende des Hörbuches eine Auflösung zu bekommen, wer denn nun für welchen Textteil verantwortlich war.
[SPOILER!]
Gerade zu Beginn dachte ich mir immer wieder, dass ich dieses Buch gerne im März 2020 gehört hätte. Denn hier wird die Stimmung, die ich damals ebenfalls wahrgenommen habe, gut einfangen und gleichzeitig, gibt es aber trotzdem noch Hoffnung und Trost für alle Beteiligten. Zumindest über weite Teile. Desto weiter hinten im Buch, desto unglaubwürdiger wurde die Geschichte dann leider. Mit dem Ende war ich persönlich leider richtig unzufrieden. Alle Figuren realisieren hier, dass sie gleich zu Beginn der Pandemie verstorben sind und sich tatsächlich in der Welt nach dem Tod befinden. Puh. Ihr seht, warum ich dieses Ende schrecklich finde? In diesem Ende bleibt meiner Meinung nach keinerlei Platz für Hoffnung und für ein gutes Ende der Pandemie. Außerdem finde ich ein solches Ende immer ein bisschen faul - vor allem, wenn es wie hier in nur wenigen Minuten abgehandelt wurde. Das wirkte auf mich leider so, als wären hier die Ideen ausgegangen und als hätten die Autor:innen einfach irgendeinen Weg gebraucht, um das Buch möglichst schnell abzuschließen und dabei alle noch offenen Fragen zu klären. Das wirkte auf mich leider einfach lieblos.
Mein Fazit? Wie bei vielen Anthologien variiert die Qualität der Geschichten. Über weite Teile mochte ich dieses Hörbuch - mit dem Ende war ich aber sehr unzufrieden. Insgesamt also leider nur mittelmäßig.
So ähnlich funktioniert auch dieses Buch: Während dem ersten Covid-Lockdown treffen sich die Bewohner:innen eines Hauses jeden Abend auf dem Dach. Dort erzählen sie sich Geschichten. Die Grundhandlung folgt einer jungen Hausmeisterin, nach und nach kommen aber alle Figuren zu Wort. Jede dieser Geschichten stammt aus der Feder einer anderen Autorin oder eines anderen Autors - wie immer bei solchen Anthologien war es auch hier so, dass sich daher auch die Qualität der Geschichten voneinander unterschied. Von "Absolut gigantisch und will ich gleich nochmal hören!" über "Ja, ganz nett..." bis hin zu "Hätte ich nicht gebraucht", war auch hier alles dabei. Von welcher Autorin oder welchem Autor die Geschichte jeweils genau stammt, wird dabei nicht weiter markiert. Halte ich persönlich für eine gute Entscheidung, denn so entstanden keine Brüche im Text und die Handlung blieb ein großes Ganzes. Gleichzeitig wäre es aber für mich spannend gewesen, zumindest am Ende des Hörbuches eine Auflösung zu bekommen, wer denn nun für welchen Textteil verantwortlich war.
[SPOILER!]
Gerade zu Beginn dachte ich mir immer wieder, dass ich dieses Buch gerne im März 2020 gehört hätte. Denn hier wird die Stimmung, die ich damals ebenfalls wahrgenommen habe, gut einfangen und gleichzeitig, gibt es aber trotzdem noch Hoffnung und Trost für alle Beteiligten. Zumindest über weite Teile. Desto weiter hinten im Buch, desto unglaubwürdiger wurde die Geschichte dann leider. Mit dem Ende war ich persönlich leider richtig unzufrieden. Alle Figuren realisieren hier, dass sie gleich zu Beginn der Pandemie verstorben sind und sich tatsächlich in der Welt nach dem Tod befinden. Puh. Ihr seht, warum ich dieses Ende schrecklich finde? In diesem Ende bleibt meiner Meinung nach keinerlei Platz für Hoffnung und für ein gutes Ende der Pandemie. Außerdem finde ich ein solches Ende immer ein bisschen faul - vor allem, wenn es wie hier in nur wenigen Minuten abgehandelt wurde. Das wirkte auf mich leider so, als wären hier die Ideen ausgegangen und als hätten die Autor:innen einfach irgendeinen Weg gebraucht, um das Buch möglichst schnell abzuschließen und dabei alle noch offenen Fragen zu klären. Das wirkte auf mich leider einfach lieblos.
Mein Fazit? Wie bei vielen Anthologien variiert die Qualität der Geschichten. Über weite Teile mochte ich dieses Hörbuch - mit dem Ende war ich aber sehr unzufrieden. Insgesamt also leider nur mittelmäßig.
April 26, 2024
Abandoned at 30%. The stories are too unconnected to really call this a novel. Most of them were kind of bland and just did not interest me. I did skip to the end, and didn't like the final "reveal". This book just isn't for me, I guess.
April 7, 2024
I think I would have liked this book more if I knew the ending, but it has made me rethink many of the stories and be more confused. This is definitely not the type of book I would get lost in rather read story by story. Also Eurovision pissed me off, not important to the rating but my honest truth.
February 29, 2024
This book was a big WT* for me to put it nicely. I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't. I started to guess what happened at the end of it because I honestly felt like it needed a big wraparound plot to make up for the hodgepodge of stories wrapped in here. If you want to understand this book, don't try to memorize all the characters within the stories that the characters tell. I gave up. Basically, everyone is on this rooftop telling a random mix of stories during the pandemic. These stories... some are meaningful and others are just big random interruptions that really make no sense when you're reading them. I remember the comedian story at the time making zero sense to me when I read it, but once I got to the end of the book I kind of understood what happened to him. My biggest question is if some of these people weren't even tenants, how the heck are they relevant to the building and the story. The family that was kicked out of their home? Why the fernsby arms building? How did they meet the same fate as the others if they hadn't even met the Super yet to get a place to stay? Or were they the squatters in that creepy apartment building? I don't know. i really did not like that last story with the our "family name" and "teller" dialogue. if it weren't for my obsessive need to always finish a book before i count it as a goodreads finish, i would have skipped that entire crockpot of a story. it had waaaay too much going on to actually figure out what the actual h*** was going on. looking back on the story now, some of the other stories are just now starting to make sense to me because of the ending. Overall, I understand what the authors were trying to do with their stories and have them come to a conclusive finish. However, I think too much was trying to be accomplished with the stories within stories element and still have it make sense that it completely comes off chaotic and disorganized. I did enjoy some of the characters' narratives, yet this could
have been a bit more organized than what it was
have been a bit more organized than what it was
March 24, 2024
1.5 stars
Fourteen Days is a collaborative novel set over the course of two weeks in April 2020 in New York. It tells the story of a group of tenants in a run-down apartment block in New York who congregate ever night to celebrate the essential works and tell stories as the pandemic rages around them. Every chapter is written by a different author. It's funded by the American Society of Authors and features some big names - Margaret Atwood, Celeste Ng among them.
And it reads like a bad writing school project. It's self-indulgent and inconsistent. Some chapters are tight and interesting and engaging and others don't work for me because the authors are too disparate in their styles. It could have been so good but because each author wants to write in THEIR style, it feels cheap and, yes, I'll say it again, self-indulgent. I enjoyed the parts written by Douglas Preston as he set up and closed the story and I thought the ending was clever but the rest of it was bad. And Margaret Atwood's chapter? As much as it pains me to say it, it was one of the worst.
Maybe it's too soon for me to read Covid narratives. Maybe the collaborative novel isn't for me. Or maybe someone should have gently told these authors and the American Society of Authors that this was a nice idea but best left in the classroom or on a blog.
Fourteen Days is a collaborative novel set over the course of two weeks in April 2020 in New York. It tells the story of a group of tenants in a run-down apartment block in New York who congregate ever night to celebrate the essential works and tell stories as the pandemic rages around them. Every chapter is written by a different author. It's funded by the American Society of Authors and features some big names - Margaret Atwood, Celeste Ng among them.
And it reads like a bad writing school project. It's self-indulgent and inconsistent. Some chapters are tight and interesting and engaging and others don't work for me because the authors are too disparate in their styles. It could have been so good but because each author wants to write in THEIR style, it feels cheap and, yes, I'll say it again, self-indulgent. I enjoyed the parts written by Douglas Preston as he set up and closed the story and I thought the ending was clever but the rest of it was bad. And Margaret Atwood's chapter? As much as it pains me to say it, it was one of the worst.
Maybe it's too soon for me to read Covid narratives. Maybe the collaborative novel isn't for me. Or maybe someone should have gently told these authors and the American Society of Authors that this was a nice idea but best left in the classroom or on a blog.
November 29, 2023
The lineup of contributors to this book are outrageously impressive; I’ve been waiting to read this for over a year solely on that point. The whole just doesn’t add up to the sum of its parts, alas.
The basic structure is roughly that of short stories loosely tied together by a pretty barebones narrative. The characters are telling stories—standing in for their creators, who, after all, are professional storytellers. The stories themselves seem like they might be more interesting to fellow storytellers; following along from outside of the circle isn’t as interesting. The phrasing of many, too, feels unnatural—it’s easier to see a monologue delivered live instead of reading one.
All in all, this might be best for enthusiastic short story readers and folks looking to relive the early pandemic anxiety.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.
The basic structure is roughly that of short stories loosely tied together by a pretty barebones narrative. The characters are telling stories—standing in for their creators, who, after all, are professional storytellers. The stories themselves seem like they might be more interesting to fellow storytellers; following along from outside of the circle isn’t as interesting. The phrasing of many, too, feels unnatural—it’s easier to see a monologue delivered live instead of reading one.
All in all, this might be best for enthusiastic short story readers and folks looking to relive the early pandemic anxiety.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.
Read
March 27, 2024This originally appeared on Snotty Literati at onelitchick.com.
-------
Fourteen Days: And That Was Just The Beginning . . .
Fourteen Days: A Collaborative Novel, edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston, may eventually be dubbed “historical fiction.” But, first, it truly is collaborative. The book is a story collection, unified by Covid-19. As New York City (and the world) goes into quarantine at the onslaught of Covid in the spring of 2020, a Lower East Side Manhattan tenement sees its hodgepodge of residents gather nightly on the roof to tell stories. The kicker? The Authors’ Guild is actually gathering. Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret Atwood, Joseph Cassara, Jennine Capó Crucet, Angie Cruz, Pat Cummings, Sylvia Day, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritsen, John Grisham, Maria Hinojosa, Mira Jacob, Erica Jong, CJ Lyons, Celeste Ng, Tommy Orange, Mary Pope Osborne, Douglas Preston, Alice Randall, Ishmael Reed, Roxana Robinson, Nelly Rosario, James Shapiro, Hampton Sides, R.L. Stine, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Monique Truong, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rachel Vail, Weike Wang, Caroline Randall Williams, De’Shawn Charles Winslow, and Meg Wolitzer are the rooftop collaborators portraying a group of New Yorkers who likely wouldn’t hang out together, but the situation is such that this group’s only chance of human interaction is each other. .
Jennifer: Who wants to criticize a book written by topnotch writers with the proceeds raised going to charities?
I feel as if the quote below is important to know. It’s straight off The Authors’ Guild website, but the bolded parts are parts I chose to emphasize:
The novel’s unique format, omitting bylines until the end of the novel, emphasizes the collective over the individual, challenging the traditional concept of authorship.
“It’s a statement of inclusion,” says Preston. “Accepting all genres, all types of writers without plugging everyone into a hierarchy.”
Preston conceived of the project as a fundraising vehicle to support the Authors Guild Foundation’s advocacy and educational work. A survey of Authors Guild members showed that a staggering 71.4 percent of its writers experienced an income decline of as much as 49 percent during the pandemic due to delayed publishing dates, canceled book tours, readings and lectures, lost writing assignments, and other work. The Guild succeeded in pushing forth legislation that revised the COVID relief package to include freelance writers. Proceeds from sales of the book will continue to fund the Guild’s educational programming and advocacy work in Washington, D.C., and beyond.
Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild says, “Fourteen Days is not only an imaginative literary experiment but also an act of catharsis. It probes the abiding questions of our pandemic psyche in ways history and straight reportage may not fully capture, exploring what we lost and gained, how we coped, and how delving into the creation of stories, during a time of many unknowns, sustained us.”
Lara: I don’t know if I have ever told you my movie theory. I have this theory that a movie with a lot of characters, and all of them are BIG NAME celebrities, is not good. Of course there are exceptions. But when it’s known name after known name after known name… I am convinced the budget was spent on the acting talent, so something has to suffer. It’s often the story. I feel a little like that’s what happened here.
The idea of a collaborative novel, in theory, is great. In execution, I think it didn’t live up to what it could have. That said, because of my movie theory, I went in with super low expectations. I ended up liking it more than I expected; but, I didn’t love it.
Jennifer: I never heard your theory, but it sounds right! I guess I’d have to say that I thought the book was meh. And I think it’s mostly a philosophical issue. Issues. First, I think I still believe in the so-called “myth” of the Artist (uppercase “A” – my Scarlet A). I believe that Art is often a singular vision, an amazing revelation created mysteriously by uniquely gifted INDIVIDUALS. (I know, I know: this is archaic. I like to think of writers and artists wearing all black, having tilted berets on top of their heads, and seeing deep into our souls with great sensitivity.) While I think the Western Canon is absurdly white and male, I do think that there’s something individualistic about great Art.
So I felt as if there were too many cooks in the kitchen? Diluting the cuisine?
Lara: Wait a minute. What about the ART of dance, music, a community-produced mural, etc.? Those are possible and even better when you look at the collection rather than an individual’s contribution.
Jennifer: You have a point. Though, my guess is that there is STILL a singular creator. Dance involves many. There is an Alvin Ailey behind every troupe. A Martha Graham. . . Music? Mozart? Is Bono greater than Edge? No. So, yeah, you got me there.
I don’t know. Writing might be unique. Co-written books I loved? I liked Amber Ruffin’s book with her sister, Lacey. Amber’s kinda the lead there, right?
Lara: So, I know you are a superfan of the American version of The Office, going so far as to say it’s Art. That’s a show with a writing team. Yes, you have lead writers who are responsible for the theme and majority of an episode or story arc, but at the end of the day, there can be successful creative collaborations and some are clearly more successful than others.
Jennifer: Dear Lord, I LOVE The Office. Maybe you got me. Maybe.
Lara: Dear readers, I clearly got her.
Jennifer: Let me bring up my other philosophical point. Besides my idolatry of the Artist, I found the book to be politically didactic.
I’m not against bringing politics into my fiction (I tend to be a woman of strong opinion). I guess I’d say that Art is best when its politics are somehow “organic.” I reference this book below, but I just read Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic–I think I learned quite a bit about Japanese women leaving Japan for America before WWII and then experiencing the Internment of Japanese-Americans. But I didn’t just learn . . . I was overwhelmed by the truths surrounding their plight. And fiction can do that. It can sway opinion without didacticism. Injustices are shown, organically. Not sure I’m saying this right.
Lara: I would agree that there wasn’t a lot of swaying of opinion in this book. Or an ability to create real connection with any character. I did like that the book promoted the value of story–telling them, listening to them, engaging with them–
Jennifer: I would agree that storytelling is essential for humanity and absolutely important–
Lara: And there were a few characters who told stories as they lived through lockdown that I liked: The ER doctor who knew a Franciscan nun and nurse that could smell when death was imminent (written by Tess Gerritsen); the resident known as Eurovision who shared a heartbreaking and then happy story about two gay friends navigating New York’s adoption process (written by Emma Donoghue); and the building super’s story of a woman she heard at an open mic night that may have involved a justified crime (written by Dave Eggers, who I don’t typically love).
Jennifer: You made a funny reference to Dave Eggers when I mentioned him (see my comment below). You said he was like the Wes Anderson of Literature. He’s cool to say you like.
Let it be known that I’m not a Wes Anderson fan, but I am an Eggers fan!
I think I was more excited for certain authors than for others: Atwood, Eggers, Mira Jacob, Tommy Orange . . . I don’t know if stories stood out to me! Maybe Eggers’ story?
I always love a good New York story, though. . .
My favorite representations of New York City are actually community-based, I think? Spike Lee’s Bed-Stuy in Do The Right Thing, James Baldwin’s Harlem in Go Tell It On The Mountain, the absurd New York of TV’s Succession. Even Sesame Street, “organically” diverse.
So was this “authentic” or utopian? A facade?
Lara: It did feel authentic, in that the writers brought to life a diverse cast of characters I would expect to see in a New York tenement building. It felt like real New York. Some of the stories the residents shared had a level of detail that didn’t seem realistic for people to remember, but maybe my own poor memory is creating a bias there. Did any part of the book work for you?
Jennifer: I don’t know. I have another thing that bugged me! I kinda wanted to know who wrote what, like, the whole time. And I was under the impression that it wasn’t revealed. No individual credit. Though I was perturbed, I also thought it was a bit noble. Admirable. A real show of collaboration!
But then they take individual credit in the contributor’s notes.
Oh well.
Okay, I liked the twist at the end. There’s a surprise!
What was your favorite part?
Lara: The twist at the end IS good and one of the best parts of the book. Is it fair to say that I love that this project, of which all proceeds are going to literary causes such as fighting book-banning, is truly my favorite part of this collaborative experiment? That’s probably not fair.
Here are a few passages that stood out to me. Don’t make me tell you what stories/writers they came from!
“CBS News announced that there were more 911 calls received today than on September, 11, 2011. I think about that for a moment. All of those ambulances. A city full of 9/11s.”
And
“In the silence intruded a faraway siren, of course, as always, with its whisper of a distant pain.”
And
“Because the most flawed people are the most reckless and generous with their love.”
I mean, there’s some good writing here.
Jennifer: What else have you been reading?
I feel as if I’ve had a ton on the table. I’m reading Dave Eggers’ Heroes of the Frontier–maybe an Alaskan road trip novel, except it’s with a mom and her two kids. With every Eggers book, I realize I love his stuff. I just finished Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic, and now I’m reading the book that came before it: When the Emperor Was Divine. Both are rather stellar novellas on the plight of Japanese-Americans before and during World War Two. I finished Ari Herstand’s mega-text, How to Make It in the New Music Business, as research for my own novel-in-progress. And I’ll stop there because I’ve got more.
Lara: It has been a bit of a mixed bag for me. I read a VERY dark novel, Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent. It was billed as being something like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and let’s just say it was not. It’s not for anyone who considers themselves a highly sensitive reader and if you benefit from knowing trigger warnings before going in, I would recommend it. That said, I thought it was good. I was pleasantly surprised by Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures, I read Tommy Orange’s sophomore effort Wandering Stars which is important. Underwhelming reads for me were Marie-Helene Bertino’s Beautyland.
Next Up!
Join us next time for a moving memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith (the poet, not the Dame).
-------
Fourteen Days: And That Was Just The Beginning . . .
Fourteen Days: A Collaborative Novel, edited by Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston, may eventually be dubbed “historical fiction.” But, first, it truly is collaborative. The book is a story collection, unified by Covid-19. As New York City (and the world) goes into quarantine at the onslaught of Covid in the spring of 2020, a Lower East Side Manhattan tenement sees its hodgepodge of residents gather nightly on the roof to tell stories. The kicker? The Authors’ Guild is actually gathering. Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret Atwood, Joseph Cassara, Jennine Capó Crucet, Angie Cruz, Pat Cummings, Sylvia Day, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritsen, John Grisham, Maria Hinojosa, Mira Jacob, Erica Jong, CJ Lyons, Celeste Ng, Tommy Orange, Mary Pope Osborne, Douglas Preston, Alice Randall, Ishmael Reed, Roxana Robinson, Nelly Rosario, James Shapiro, Hampton Sides, R.L. Stine, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Monique Truong, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rachel Vail, Weike Wang, Caroline Randall Williams, De’Shawn Charles Winslow, and Meg Wolitzer are the rooftop collaborators portraying a group of New Yorkers who likely wouldn’t hang out together, but the situation is such that this group’s only chance of human interaction is each other. .
Jennifer: Who wants to criticize a book written by topnotch writers with the proceeds raised going to charities?
I feel as if the quote below is important to know. It’s straight off The Authors’ Guild website, but the bolded parts are parts I chose to emphasize:
The novel’s unique format, omitting bylines until the end of the novel, emphasizes the collective over the individual, challenging the traditional concept of authorship.
“It’s a statement of inclusion,” says Preston. “Accepting all genres, all types of writers without plugging everyone into a hierarchy.”
Preston conceived of the project as a fundraising vehicle to support the Authors Guild Foundation’s advocacy and educational work. A survey of Authors Guild members showed that a staggering 71.4 percent of its writers experienced an income decline of as much as 49 percent during the pandemic due to delayed publishing dates, canceled book tours, readings and lectures, lost writing assignments, and other work. The Guild succeeded in pushing forth legislation that revised the COVID relief package to include freelance writers. Proceeds from sales of the book will continue to fund the Guild’s educational programming and advocacy work in Washington, D.C., and beyond.
Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild says, “Fourteen Days is not only an imaginative literary experiment but also an act of catharsis. It probes the abiding questions of our pandemic psyche in ways history and straight reportage may not fully capture, exploring what we lost and gained, how we coped, and how delving into the creation of stories, during a time of many unknowns, sustained us.”
Lara: I don’t know if I have ever told you my movie theory. I have this theory that a movie with a lot of characters, and all of them are BIG NAME celebrities, is not good. Of course there are exceptions. But when it’s known name after known name after known name… I am convinced the budget was spent on the acting talent, so something has to suffer. It’s often the story. I feel a little like that’s what happened here.
The idea of a collaborative novel, in theory, is great. In execution, I think it didn’t live up to what it could have. That said, because of my movie theory, I went in with super low expectations. I ended up liking it more than I expected; but, I didn’t love it.
Jennifer: I never heard your theory, but it sounds right! I guess I’d have to say that I thought the book was meh. And I think it’s mostly a philosophical issue. Issues. First, I think I still believe in the so-called “myth” of the Artist (uppercase “A” – my Scarlet A). I believe that Art is often a singular vision, an amazing revelation created mysteriously by uniquely gifted INDIVIDUALS. (I know, I know: this is archaic. I like to think of writers and artists wearing all black, having tilted berets on top of their heads, and seeing deep into our souls with great sensitivity.) While I think the Western Canon is absurdly white and male, I do think that there’s something individualistic about great Art.
So I felt as if there were too many cooks in the kitchen? Diluting the cuisine?
Lara: Wait a minute. What about the ART of dance, music, a community-produced mural, etc.? Those are possible and even better when you look at the collection rather than an individual’s contribution.
Jennifer: You have a point. Though, my guess is that there is STILL a singular creator. Dance involves many. There is an Alvin Ailey behind every troupe. A Martha Graham. . . Music? Mozart? Is Bono greater than Edge? No. So, yeah, you got me there.
I don’t know. Writing might be unique. Co-written books I loved? I liked Amber Ruffin’s book with her sister, Lacey. Amber’s kinda the lead there, right?
Lara: So, I know you are a superfan of the American version of The Office, going so far as to say it’s Art. That’s a show with a writing team. Yes, you have lead writers who are responsible for the theme and majority of an episode or story arc, but at the end of the day, there can be successful creative collaborations and some are clearly more successful than others.
Jennifer: Dear Lord, I LOVE The Office. Maybe you got me. Maybe.
Lara: Dear readers, I clearly got her.
Jennifer: Let me bring up my other philosophical point. Besides my idolatry of the Artist, I found the book to be politically didactic.
I’m not against bringing politics into my fiction (I tend to be a woman of strong opinion). I guess I’d say that Art is best when its politics are somehow “organic.” I reference this book below, but I just read Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic–I think I learned quite a bit about Japanese women leaving Japan for America before WWII and then experiencing the Internment of Japanese-Americans. But I didn’t just learn . . . I was overwhelmed by the truths surrounding their plight. And fiction can do that. It can sway opinion without didacticism. Injustices are shown, organically. Not sure I’m saying this right.
Lara: I would agree that there wasn’t a lot of swaying of opinion in this book. Or an ability to create real connection with any character. I did like that the book promoted the value of story–telling them, listening to them, engaging with them–
Jennifer: I would agree that storytelling is essential for humanity and absolutely important–
Lara: And there were a few characters who told stories as they lived through lockdown that I liked: The ER doctor who knew a Franciscan nun and nurse that could smell when death was imminent (written by Tess Gerritsen); the resident known as Eurovision who shared a heartbreaking and then happy story about two gay friends navigating New York’s adoption process (written by Emma Donoghue); and the building super’s story of a woman she heard at an open mic night that may have involved a justified crime (written by Dave Eggers, who I don’t typically love).
Jennifer: You made a funny reference to Dave Eggers when I mentioned him (see my comment below). You said he was like the Wes Anderson of Literature. He’s cool to say you like.
Let it be known that I’m not a Wes Anderson fan, but I am an Eggers fan!
I think I was more excited for certain authors than for others: Atwood, Eggers, Mira Jacob, Tommy Orange . . . I don’t know if stories stood out to me! Maybe Eggers’ story?
I always love a good New York story, though. . .
My favorite representations of New York City are actually community-based, I think? Spike Lee’s Bed-Stuy in Do The Right Thing, James Baldwin’s Harlem in Go Tell It On The Mountain, the absurd New York of TV’s Succession. Even Sesame Street, “organically” diverse.
So was this “authentic” or utopian? A facade?
Lara: It did feel authentic, in that the writers brought to life a diverse cast of characters I would expect to see in a New York tenement building. It felt like real New York. Some of the stories the residents shared had a level of detail that didn’t seem realistic for people to remember, but maybe my own poor memory is creating a bias there. Did any part of the book work for you?
Jennifer: I don’t know. I have another thing that bugged me! I kinda wanted to know who wrote what, like, the whole time. And I was under the impression that it wasn’t revealed. No individual credit. Though I was perturbed, I also thought it was a bit noble. Admirable. A real show of collaboration!
But then they take individual credit in the contributor’s notes.
Oh well.
Okay, I liked the twist at the end. There’s a surprise!
What was your favorite part?
Lara: The twist at the end IS good and one of the best parts of the book. Is it fair to say that I love that this project, of which all proceeds are going to literary causes such as fighting book-banning, is truly my favorite part of this collaborative experiment? That’s probably not fair.
Here are a few passages that stood out to me. Don’t make me tell you what stories/writers they came from!
“CBS News announced that there were more 911 calls received today than on September, 11, 2011. I think about that for a moment. All of those ambulances. A city full of 9/11s.”
And
“In the silence intruded a faraway siren, of course, as always, with its whisper of a distant pain.”
And
“Because the most flawed people are the most reckless and generous with their love.”
I mean, there’s some good writing here.
Jennifer: What else have you been reading?
I feel as if I’ve had a ton on the table. I’m reading Dave Eggers’ Heroes of the Frontier–maybe an Alaskan road trip novel, except it’s with a mom and her two kids. With every Eggers book, I realize I love his stuff. I just finished Julie Otsuka’s The Buddha in the Attic, and now I’m reading the book that came before it: When the Emperor Was Divine. Both are rather stellar novellas on the plight of Japanese-Americans before and during World War Two. I finished Ari Herstand’s mega-text, How to Make It in the New Music Business, as research for my own novel-in-progress. And I’ll stop there because I’ve got more.
Lara: It has been a bit of a mixed bag for me. I read a VERY dark novel, Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent. It was billed as being something like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and let’s just say it was not. It’s not for anyone who considers themselves a highly sensitive reader and if you benefit from knowing trigger warnings before going in, I would recommend it. That said, I thought it was good. I was pleasantly surprised by Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures, I read Tommy Orange’s sophomore effort Wandering Stars which is important. Underwhelming reads for me were Marie-Helene Bertino’s Beautyland.
Next Up!
Join us next time for a moving memoir, You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith (the poet, not the Dame).
February 19, 2024
I liked the premise of this book, & looked forward to reading it.
What a disappointment.
Some stories were memorable or interesting enough, but the book as a whole lacked momentum, & I found the ending very unsatisfying.
2.5 stars
What a disappointment.
Some stories were memorable or interesting enough, but the book as a whole lacked momentum, & I found the ending very unsatisfying.
2.5 stars
February 10, 2024
I guarantee that FOURTEEN DAYS is unlike anything you have ever read before. It is a 'collaborative novel' set in NYC amidst the recent COVID-19 Pandemic. The novel is told through stories from a myriad of different characters and is incredibly powerful.
The concept for FOURTEEN DAYS is a brilliant one as created by Editors Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston and on behalf of the Authors Guild Foundation. This is not a serial novel nor does it follow the rules of classic frame narrative as seen in such works as the Decameron or The Canterbury Tales. Rather, the fourteen days depicted in this story contain a series of novellas strung together by the various authors to portray different stories being shared by the residents of an apartment building in the Lower East Side where the residents meet nightly at 7PM on the rooftop to cheer medical personnel and swap stories. It is a novel about the very essence of story-telling and celebrates the written word in an incredibly unique way.
If there is a narrator to this story, it would be the Romanian female super of the building, who keeps a record of the various stories told over the two-week period. Allegedly, the narrative of FOURTEEN DAYS came from an unclaimed manuscript found in a storage facility in Brooklyn which was retrieved and published on February 6, 2024. Our Super learned how to do this job by watching her father who had the same role when she was a child at a building in Queens. She now laments how the Pandemic has kept her from her father who she has been unable to reach to check up on.
The previous Super kept a book referred to as the Fernsby Bible, named for the building and containing information on each tenant along with the nicknames he gave them. It is here where she quickly identifies the first six people who begin to gather on the rooftop at night. We have Vinegar, Eurovision, the Lady with the Rings, the Therapist, Florida, and Hello Kitty. They get somewhat acquainted with each other and begin to share different stories. Soon, their group will grow considerably as more and more tenants learn about the nightly rooftop ritual.
Eurovision supplies the music and they entertain each other with various tales that are all interesting. No need to look for a message, as some are just simply good stories, but they all work wonders in connecting people who were otherwise disconnected and only brought together due to this unfortunate global health crisis. Many of the stories were incredibly moving or ironic based on what was going on in their world. Several tales involved the dead or dying. Whitney, the Museum Librarian, for instance, provided a chilling tale about encountering a ghost while visiting the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.
One day, they find someone has put some unpleasant bit of graffitti by the mural that sits atop their building. Slowly, different artistic and creative residents reclaim this piece by adding statements or literary sayings to return the true art that was originally intended. Each evening, the residents make it a routine to break up the story-telling group when the bells of St. Patrick's Cathedral ring at 7P.M.
Not everyone appreciates each story that is told, some are true stories while others are pure fiction. It is here where Eurovision nicely reminds them of the purpose of their sessions by quoting the great Oscar Wilde to all: "Lying is telling of beautiful untrue things --- the proper aim of Art." The stories include classical references like when local professor Prospero shares how William Shakespeare kept his writing alive during the time of the Black Death. The stories and characters become surreal, like when the mysterious stand-up comic Morty Gund appears to share a story from his own life and then seemingly vanishes like he had leapt from the very rooftop.
It will be purely up to the reader to try and determine which author contributed what piece of the story, as no names are attached to the Fourteen Days. All in all, thirty-six top flight writers lend their talents to this brilliant exercise and the end results are truly something special. This is the best fictional piece I have read yet in regards to the Pandemic and it is extremely touching and memorable. I only hope that it is never made into a film, because that would ruin it. FOURTEEN DAYS belongs exclusively to the readers.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
The concept for FOURTEEN DAYS is a brilliant one as created by Editors Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston and on behalf of the Authors Guild Foundation. This is not a serial novel nor does it follow the rules of classic frame narrative as seen in such works as the Decameron or The Canterbury Tales. Rather, the fourteen days depicted in this story contain a series of novellas strung together by the various authors to portray different stories being shared by the residents of an apartment building in the Lower East Side where the residents meet nightly at 7PM on the rooftop to cheer medical personnel and swap stories. It is a novel about the very essence of story-telling and celebrates the written word in an incredibly unique way.
If there is a narrator to this story, it would be the Romanian female super of the building, who keeps a record of the various stories told over the two-week period. Allegedly, the narrative of FOURTEEN DAYS came from an unclaimed manuscript found in a storage facility in Brooklyn which was retrieved and published on February 6, 2024. Our Super learned how to do this job by watching her father who had the same role when she was a child at a building in Queens. She now laments how the Pandemic has kept her from her father who she has been unable to reach to check up on.
The previous Super kept a book referred to as the Fernsby Bible, named for the building and containing information on each tenant along with the nicknames he gave them. It is here where she quickly identifies the first six people who begin to gather on the rooftop at night. We have Vinegar, Eurovision, the Lady with the Rings, the Therapist, Florida, and Hello Kitty. They get somewhat acquainted with each other and begin to share different stories. Soon, their group will grow considerably as more and more tenants learn about the nightly rooftop ritual.
Eurovision supplies the music and they entertain each other with various tales that are all interesting. No need to look for a message, as some are just simply good stories, but they all work wonders in connecting people who were otherwise disconnected and only brought together due to this unfortunate global health crisis. Many of the stories were incredibly moving or ironic based on what was going on in their world. Several tales involved the dead or dying. Whitney, the Museum Librarian, for instance, provided a chilling tale about encountering a ghost while visiting the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.
One day, they find someone has put some unpleasant bit of graffitti by the mural that sits atop their building. Slowly, different artistic and creative residents reclaim this piece by adding statements or literary sayings to return the true art that was originally intended. Each evening, the residents make it a routine to break up the story-telling group when the bells of St. Patrick's Cathedral ring at 7P.M.
Not everyone appreciates each story that is told, some are true stories while others are pure fiction. It is here where Eurovision nicely reminds them of the purpose of their sessions by quoting the great Oscar Wilde to all: "Lying is telling of beautiful untrue things --- the proper aim of Art." The stories include classical references like when local professor Prospero shares how William Shakespeare kept his writing alive during the time of the Black Death. The stories and characters become surreal, like when the mysterious stand-up comic Morty Gund appears to share a story from his own life and then seemingly vanishes like he had leapt from the very rooftop.
It will be purely up to the reader to try and determine which author contributed what piece of the story, as no names are attached to the Fourteen Days. All in all, thirty-six top flight writers lend their talents to this brilliant exercise and the end results are truly something special. This is the best fictional piece I have read yet in regards to the Pandemic and it is extremely touching and memorable. I only hope that it is never made into a film, because that would ruin it. FOURTEEN DAYS belongs exclusively to the readers.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
April 20, 2024
I absolutely loved the idea of this book, but the stories themselves were very mediocre.
Having 30 authors writing stories for a 350 page book is a bit of an overkill.
Having 30 authors writing stories for a 350 page book is a bit of an overkill.
April 6, 2024
I’m afraid my hopes were dashed.
Two very well established authors working together on this book? Oh yes please (I thought)
The blurb sounded better than the book!
I was expecting different tenants to join bit by bit conversations and get to know each other, some fun, some gossip. Nice little stories.
No, it was very disjointed and didn’t marry up well.
It was more like anecdotes which weren’t even seamlessly put together.
I know I’m harsh with my one star but I expected more from these two strong authors.
Two very well established authors working together on this book? Oh yes please (I thought)
The blurb sounded better than the book!
I was expecting different tenants to join bit by bit conversations and get to know each other, some fun, some gossip. Nice little stories.
No, it was very disjointed and didn’t marry up well.
It was more like anecdotes which weren’t even seamlessly put together.
I know I’m harsh with my one star but I expected more from these two strong authors.
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