“A tremendous first novel possessing real charm, a kind of freshness and guilelessness that is very potent – and a toughness and reality that I genuinely applaud” – William Boyd
Nobody told me there’d be days like these,
Strange days indeed.
‘Nobody Told Me’, John Lennon
Hilarious, tragic and always brilliant, Days Like These is a sophisticated, witty and tragicomic novel about a cathartic few months in the lives of four expatriate Australians living in London.
It’s 1984, London, and after a horrific breakup with her famous playwright lover, Louisa, an international journalist, has returned to the comforting fold of her closest friends from university – friendships that were forged almost 20 years ago. But instead of finding the calming atmosphere of a steady and stable haven of intimate friends content in their middle age, Lou discovers that chaos, change and catharsis rule supreme, with hilarious – and tragic – consequences.
As Lou picks up the pieces of her so-thought rational and intelligent existence, her best friend Mim is in the traumatic process of coming to terms with her divorce from the charismatic bastard Jack Black, famous arts commentator and interveiwer … and womaniser. And Cynthia, the prickly, long term academic and spinster, is in the middle of her own mid-life crisis about well, everything.
As Lou, Mim, Jack and Cyn struggle along in their own private nightmares, little do they realise that real life, in all its wonder and tragedy, intervenes in the most unexpected ways, and none of them is prepared for what is about to happen.
Virginia Duigan’s sophisticated debut novel is an emotional rollercoaster, traversing the nature of change and long-term friendships with pathos, humour and a finale that will make you laugh – and weep – out loud.
Published by Random House Vintage in 2001 & reprinted 2008
ISBN: 9781740510134