Phantom Days

by Angela O'Keeffe

Before Isabel has even cracked the spine of a novel she bought on a whim ahead of an overseas trip, she senses something beginning within her. From Sydney to London and back again, the book is a quiet observer. When it’s left in an airport taxi and Isabel’s new boyfriend takes it home, the book begins to learn about him – about his family and his past. Soon, it begins to understand: Isabel is not safe.

Angela O’Keeffe is the master of voice, and Phantom Days is a marvel: eerie, elegant and unforgettable. With O’Keeffe’s signature emotional depth and narrative quirkiness, this novel explores the unknowability of other people, the mysteries of the body, and the strange ways stories shape, complicate and safeguard our lives.

Genres: Fiction

170 pages, Paperback

Expected publication February 16, 2027

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sydney author Angela O'Keeffe has created an interesting niche in contemporary Australian publishing: she writes short novels with non-human narrators.  In her debut novel Night Blue (2021, see my review), Jackson Pollock’s iconic painting ‘Blue Poles’ tells the story of its own creation, and the novella was shortlisted for the NSW Premier’s Literary Award for New Writing and for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards.  The Sitter (2023, see my review) is narrated by the ghostly presence of Hortense Cezanne, hovering over a writer’s shoulder as she struggles to write the story of Hortense’s relationship with Paul Cezanne.  The Sitter won the 2024 Christina Stead Prize for Fiction in the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards.

And now, Phantom Days.   It's a departure from and a logical extension of this preoccupation with works of art and stymied communication: it's narrated by a book (which is what Georgia the writer in The Sitter was trying to  write while stranded in a Paris under Covid restrictions) — and also by the ashes of a mother from the jar on a mantelpiece (the fate feared by Georgia, that she would die in the pandemic without telling her story).  Like Georgia, this disembodied mother has a crucial story to tell, but like the book these ashes cannot do anything to alter events.

When I'm at Benn's Bookshop, I usually have a chat about the new books they have on display because I've often read them. This week I spotted Phantom Days on the shelf, and cracked jokes about O'Keeffe's non-sentient narrators, wondering what would be next? a tube of toothpaste? a set of keys?  But no.  O'Keeffe's narrators are never from the detritus of everyday life.  They are silent, but they speak to us all the same, and we carry them within, whether in their actual presence or not.  The ruins at Pompeii, the sculptures and artworks I've seen in Europe, the music in my heart and the thousands of books I've read are all a part of me, and the best of them speak to me time and and again.  This is why we need the creative arts...

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/05/08/p...

[Sammy Mylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

my first introduction to angela o’keeffe and i was fully taken in by her beautifully sparse prose!! i love that the whole book takes such a simple adage of ‘a book can save a life’, and explores it with such clarity and sincerity

[Rhys Parry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I carried this book from Avid reader, to the gym and my local cafe.
As I moved between locations as I read, I felt a curious sensation of being witnessed by it.
Phenomenally good and touching story.

[Mars · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting magical realism about the power of books, and the tragedy of family connection

[Cass Moriarty · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an extraordinary, spare, glittering literary gem is PHANTOM DAYS (UQP 2026) by Angela O’Keefe. In her trademark prose style – ethereal, strange, beguiling and with a whimsical sense of wonder, O’Keefe presents a story of two women, mother and daughter, Maggie and Isabel, and their connection through a book. The book narrates most of the novel (very meta!)

Some beautiful quotes I chose at random:

‘A book comes into the world knowing it is a saviour, of sorts.’

‘A book is made without eyes. A book has other ways to see.’

From the book being signed by its author at a book launch, to remaining unopened and unread on a flight across the world and back again, the book witnesses the relationship between mother and daughter, it sees the danger to both, it knows it must save them, but what can it do? It is only a book.

This slim, literary novel is meditative, engaging and compelling. It celebrates the light and hope of art. It shifts between reality and a dreamlike state. It is eerie, haunting, graceful and unforgettable. It explores bodies and relationships and all the ways people know and do not know each other, all the ways people hurt, save and redeem each other. It’s about phantom pregnancies, the hint of violence like the scent of blood in the air, connections, farewells, leavings both planned and unexpected. It is an elegy to the small moments of transformation that we attend to and which make up our lives.

As with her previous novel, THE SITTER, O’Keefe wastes not a word. Moving, tender, warm, heartbreaking, hopeful and almost spiritual, PHANTOM DAYS will resonate and reverberate long after the last page is turned. A truly gorgeous novel crafted with skill and a touch of magic.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not enough!

I loved the premise and the themes but it just didn't go deep enough for me.

I found the chapters too short and blunt, not giving me enough of each character to connect to, and the inconsistent and clichéd use of second person felt like an after thought. It could've been so elegant!

I was left with way too many unanswered questions (despite the "neat" ending) and was confused by a number of references and allusions that I felt I was supposed to get but just couldn't make sense of.

This book also touches on a number of big topics like domestic violence, cancer survival, and pregnancy but it felt like things were glanced over when we could've this wonderful opportunity to delve into each character's experience as witnessed by the book.

I read this as part of a book club and there were a few who liked it exactly for the reasons I didn't, so each to their own with this one! We had some fantastic discussion on the Rothko reference and trying to make sense of things.

If you're intrigued, give it a go - it's short.

[John Purcell · Rating 5 out of 5]

God I loved this little book about a sentient book. Yes, you read that right. And you will love it, too. Imagine Anita Brookner enjoying an unexpected flight of fancy.

[Madeleine Laing · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 - really beautiful, puts you in such a specific trance-like mood, I wish I had carved out an afternoon to read it in one sitting.

[Melanie Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and moving. Read it in one day and was completely immersed.

[Marion Lopez-Hamadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eerie, ethereal, captivating…. Add to this a beautiful prose and a story worth telling!
Angela O’Keefe is a beautiful author

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another awesome novel. Beautifully written lyrical and inspiring. Thank you to the author

[Tess Carrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange little story told from several points of view including a book. The book is endearing.

[Candra Maung · Rating 2 out of 5]

an interesting premise but overall falls short

[cottageannotations · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an incredible read and one that has most certainly changed the way I look at a book, forevermore. My first introduction to Angela O'Keffe's work, and I am mesmerised.

Angela has such a way with words; I was utterly engrossed in Phantom Days. It was rich with detail and incredibly vivid as we followed our unusual narrator, the book. A book is something we pick up and gloss over our eyes when deciding if it is worth our time to crack the spine or not, something we don't give much thought to, but something Angela turned into something magical. I carried this story with me to work, on trains and throughout multiple rooms within my house and somehow formed a bond with this book, telling me its story - how a book can save a life and connect people in a multitude of ways.

It really was something so unique.

[Makayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange little book. I liked it

[Insha]

“There are so many talented people in the world who don’t feel the need to create”.

An Aussie read I got while I’m here! Although, it wasn’t as hard core and Aussie-led as I hoped. The concept of the book’s perspective was pretty cool and I enjoyed the writing (a lot!) but overall, the story itself was quite alright. Gonna give her other stuff a read :)

⭐️ 2.5
📍sydney