Fourteen Days
Ratings5
Average rating3.1
15
Ratings5
Average rating3.1
"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 neighbors 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 neighbors gather, bringing chairs and milk crates and overturned pails. Gradually the tenants-some of whom have barely spoken to each other-become real neighbors. 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 collection, 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, R. O. Kwon, David Byrne, Louise Erdrich, Neil Gaiman, Rachel Kushner, Candace Bushnell, Nora Roberts, Scott Turow, Tommy Orange, and more!"--
Reviews with the most likes.
Very strangely edited. I thought each day would have a different collaborator, but the same characters had multiple collaborators. One story just goes right into the next with some disjointed group talks in between. The majority of the stories went on way too long and the stories I liked the best were the quickest. Out of everything the only ones I enjoyed were The one about the Nun and Elijah Maine's stories, “Iron Lung” and the one about the curses with the ice cubes. I found the spider one very intriguing. You don't find out who rode what until the end which was also interesting. I think at the end of the day I would have preferred a connected short story format instead of this disjointed novel format. Also the ending how they all died was SO stupid. I hate stories like this. Especially in using COVID as a plot device. With some of these stories sappy and some hopeful themes (like the cheering of healthcare workers everyday) you would think there would be a more positive ending. Maybe even a flash forward 1 year later to see where everyone ended up.
