Nine Days

Starred review from July 15, 2013
Spanning World War II to 9/11, Australian novelist Jordan delivers a witty and wise family saga. The novel begins in 1939 with Kip Westaway, a 15-year-old resident of a working-class Melbourne suburb. His father has recently died (having fallen, drunk, off a trolley car); they've had to take in a boarder; Kip has quit school to do odd jobs for the furniture shop next door. Kip goes about his day: a scolding from his sour mother, Jean, the usual jousting with his twin brother, Francis, a bloody knee thanks to the neighborhood hoodlums, comfort from his beloved older sister Connie, a brief chat with the most beautiful girl in Melbourne, the gift of a shilling from his kindhearted employer, Mr. Hustings--inconsequential events that begin to resonate with each ensuing chapter. Sixty years later, we find Kip's daughter Stanzi in her office, preparing to frame her dad's lucky shilling, until it disappears; perhaps her kleptomaniac client is to blame. This is followed by Jack's story: The only son of Mr. Hustings, Jack has just returned from a rural sheep station and is at a crossroads: He wants to go back to the country but feels the pressure to enlist and fight the Nazis, then he sees Connie from his bedroom window and can think of nothing else. Skipping back and forth in time, from one character to another, Jordan builds a gorgeously layered story examining the innocent choices that shape a life, a family: the failures of favored son Francis, Kip's grandson Alec's fateful discovery, his mother Charlotte's unplanned pregnancy, Jean's heartbreaking maternal advice. Jordan closes the novel with Connie's chapter. By now, everyone's fate is known, but the love story between Connie and Jack--inspired by the novel's cover, a striking archival photo of a woman being hoisted up to a train window to kiss a departing soldier--is so romantically tragic, it feels that the story's really been about them all along. A small treasure, from the author of the wonderful romantic comedy Addition (2009).

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2013

In the winter of 1939, with Australia readying for war, plucky teenager Kip Westaway is coming of age as the youngest son of a working-class family in suburban Melbourne. Too young to enlist, Kip keeps himself busy with odd jobs, outwitting the neighborhood toughs, and daydreaming about the beautiful Annabel Crouch. Each subsequent chapter of this splendid mosaic of a novel chronicles a significant day in the life of the Westaway clan, told from the perspective of a different family member. Best-selling Australian author Jordan (Addition) skillfully guides the reader through these interconnected narratives, giving voice to Kip's siblings, mother, neighbors, and Annabel Crouch herself, as she gradually reveals the truth behind long-held family secrets. VERDICT Jordan uses a clever and appealing plot structure, but not all of her characters' stories are equally engaging, and she occasionally struggles to differentiate among their narrative voices. Despite these minor flaws, Jordan elegantly captures the hopes and despairs of three generations of a troubled family, offering a diverting read that will appeal to fans of sophisticated historical fiction and book club members. [Winner of Australian "Indies" Fiction Book of the Year 2013.--Ed.]--Kelsy Peterson, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib, Overland Park, KS

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.