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A review by serendipitysbooks
Ten Days by Austin Duffy
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Ten Days is a slower paced and quieter story. Following the death of his estranged wife Miriam, Wolf takes their teenage daughter Ruth to New York to reconnect with her mother’s family and scatter her ashes. A lot of the plot centres on a fractured father-daughter relationship and his attempts to reconnect with her. The story takes place over the important Jewish holidays of Rash Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Miriam’s family was Jewish but Wolf was not, Miriam’s final wishes were not in line with her family’s beliefs which added some tension. ***Spoilers ahead***
Another really important strand to the plot is dementia. I didn’t see it mentioned in any reviews and know it could be triggering for some readers. Duffy introduced it gradually and I initially thought Wolf’s behaviour was due to alcohol and a reluctance to parent to his daughter. As time went on his behaviour became ever more erratic and the underlying cause obvious. To me the author’s depiction felt both accurate and compassionate. By the end of the book it was clear how little Wolf understood and remembered. Very sobering.
Another really important strand to the plot is dementia. I didn’t see it mentioned in any reviews and know it could be triggering for some readers. Duffy introduced it gradually and I initially thought Wolf’s behaviour was due to alcohol and a reluctance to parent to his daughter. As time went on his behaviour became ever more erratic and the underlying cause obvious. To me the author’s depiction felt both accurate and compassionate. By the end of the book it was clear how little Wolf understood and remembered. Very sobering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Minor: Death and Grief