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Six Days
Daniel, an expatriate Australian who has lived in Paris for more than forty years, has made a mess of his life and is trying to atone, to become the ‘good man’ his friend Marcelline believes him to be. But the quotidian world has been tipped out of balance and Daniel makes an error of judgment that places at risk everything he values.
Set in the Latin Quarter of Paris over six days in the winter of 2012, Daniel’s story is woven through with interconnecting vignettes that reach back to war and occupation, the revolutionary sixties, riots in a Catalan town in the south of France, a grassroots movement to make visible the invisible homeless. The personal stitched into, and inseparable from, the political.
Set in the Latin Quarter of Paris over six days in the winter of 2012, Daniel’s story is woven through with interconnecting vignettes that reach back to war and occupation, the revolutionary sixties, riots in a Catalan town in the south of France, a grassroots movement to make visible the invisible homeless. The personal stitched into, and inseparable from, the political.
285 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 3, 2026
About the author
Amanda Curtin
8 books78 followersAmanda Curtin is the author of Six Days (novel, 2026), Kathleen O’Connor of Paris (narrative non-fiction, 2018), Elemental (novel, Australia/NZ 2013, UK 2016), The Sinkings (novel, 2008) and Inherited (short fiction collection, 2011). She lives in suburban Perth, Western Australia—traditional lands of the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation—and works in a backyard studio among magpies, doves and old trees.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Did Not Finish
September 2, 2026DNF @ 48% on 2 Sept 2026—It started out okay but it soon became bleak and then quite grim. The more I read, the sicker I felt.🥴 And as the darkness progressed I knew I'd reached my limit.
“Of–all–the–strategies,–knowing–when–to–quit–may–be–the–best”
“Of–all–the–strategies,–knowing–when–to–quit–may–be–the–best”
September 12, 2026
I have been waiting, not-so-patiently, for a new novel from one of my favourite Australian authors, Amanda Curtin and here it is at last. Six Days is a poignant novel about a homeless man in Paris, but it's a story that made me think about homelessness in my own city.
When did we get so used to homelessness? I know it bothers people, though I see from the sanctimonious comments in my local Facebook group, that not everyone is bothered because they care. It's because they don't like any disturbance in the quiet ambience of our suburb, or any threat to property values. Just today they're complaining about some squatters moving into a neglected property that is obviously being land-banked (i.e. owned by speculators.) I say, why not let it put a roof over someone's head if the owner won't lease it? The squatters will probably tidy it up and mow the grass.
Anyway...
As you know from the Sensational Snippet I posted recently, the novel begins with a disconcerting prologue which alerts the reader to the setting: this is a side of Paris that most of us never see. The novel then transitions to Daniel, managing his life as best he can with Marcelline's guidance, following the plan that keeps him from sliding back into degradation: routine, distraction, remember, think ahead.
But now long-term resident Marcelline has disappeared without notice, and without her support, his fragile security is at risk, and it is here in this chapter that we begin also to hear Parisian voices that most of us never hear.
(If you know French, you can hear the cadences of the language: 'to install on the street door' with the object of the sentence not where it would be in English.)
I don't often rate books five stars, but this one is exceptional.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/09/12/s...
When did we get so used to homelessness? I know it bothers people, though I see from the sanctimonious comments in my local Facebook group, that not everyone is bothered because they care. It's because they don't like any disturbance in the quiet ambience of our suburb, or any threat to property values. Just today they're complaining about some squatters moving into a neglected property that is obviously being land-banked (i.e. owned by speculators.) I say, why not let it put a roof over someone's head if the owner won't lease it? The squatters will probably tidy it up and mow the grass.
Anyway...
As you know from the Sensational Snippet I posted recently, the novel begins with a disconcerting prologue which alerts the reader to the setting: this is a side of Paris that most of us never see. The novel then transitions to Daniel, managing his life as best he can with Marcelline's guidance, following the plan that keeps him from sliding back into degradation: routine, distraction, remember, think ahead.
But now long-term resident Marcelline has disappeared without notice, and without her support, his fragile security is at risk, and it is here in this chapter that we begin also to hear Parisian voices that most of us never hear.
There are no set hours to the day of a gardien, but with his tenure having become so uncertain he has been at pains lately to make himself more agreeable, more available, than is his habit or his temperament. The newer residents, the younger ones, want to be rid of him. More efficient, more modern, to use maintenance contractors, a security firm, to install on the street door a more sophisticated intercom. Dispense with keys entirely in favour of a keypad and a code you must punch in to gain access. (p.16)
(If you know French, you can hear the cadences of the language: 'to install on the street door' with the object of the sentence not where it would be in English.)
The prospect of losing his position, of losing the little loge, of losing his grip along with it — these things fill him with dread. (p.18)
I don't often rate books five stars, but this one is exceptional.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2026/09/12/s...
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I was invited to read an ARC of this heart-wrenching story that gripped me from first page to last. The writing is spare and evocative, while Paris, as a place of hardship, is both raw and strangely intimate. To walk these streets with the protagonist Daniel (and his beloved dog) is to be in the skin of a man stripped of all but compassion, each surrendering to kindness poised to bring him down. I loved Six Days. Exquisite. Aching. Real.
October 17, 2026
This is exceptional. An absolute pleasure to sit with these 259 pages this weekend.
“How slender it is, the rope between right and not. How breakable, how shearable.”
It’s 2012 and Daniel, half Australian, half French, who has lived in Paris since 1968 is now Le Guardien for an apartment building in the 5th Arr.
He was once a successful businessman, with a wife, child, swanky address.
Over six days we join him as he walks his dog through the streets and the story unfolds how he got into his current precarious position and we meet extraordinary characters and learns how they are interconnected.
In this simple premise we cross decades to understand the gritty nature of the Parisian underclass staring right at us, if only we took the time to look down. And the remember how precarious each of our own lives are.
“Ha, is beautiful here, yes? More beautiful place to starve!”
And yet this is a novel of hope that questions who around us is truly good and how do we know?
What separates this from other novels is the sheer elegance of the prose. How so much can be said with so few words.
I deeply admire those who master the art of short stories and short fiction and then apply that discipline to novel length endeavours. It’s been a long time since this award winning author has published a book, it’s been worth the wait.
PS it has the bestest dog. When in doubt trust the instincts of a dog I say.
“How slender it is, the rope between right and not. How breakable, how shearable.”
It’s 2012 and Daniel, half Australian, half French, who has lived in Paris since 1968 is now Le Guardien for an apartment building in the 5th Arr.
He was once a successful businessman, with a wife, child, swanky address.
Over six days we join him as he walks his dog through the streets and the story unfolds how he got into his current precarious position and we meet extraordinary characters and learns how they are interconnected.
In this simple premise we cross decades to understand the gritty nature of the Parisian underclass staring right at us, if only we took the time to look down. And the remember how precarious each of our own lives are.
“Ha, is beautiful here, yes? More beautiful place to starve!”
And yet this is a novel of hope that questions who around us is truly good and how do we know?
What separates this from other novels is the sheer elegance of the prose. How so much can be said with so few words.
I deeply admire those who master the art of short stories and short fiction and then apply that discipline to novel length endeavours. It’s been a long time since this award winning author has published a book, it’s been worth the wait.
PS it has the bestest dog. When in doubt trust the instincts of a dog I say.
September 27, 2026
Quite well written. Very clever with the interweaving characters but must admit I had to keep checking dates and people at various points as it was confusing.
Clever idea but it is fairly beak despite the poetic imagery in parts.
2/3rds of the way I found it was quite slow; needed something redeeming in parts.
Glad I finished it.
Clever idea but it is fairly beak despite the poetic imagery in parts.
2/3rds of the way I found it was quite slow; needed something redeeming in parts.
Glad I finished it.
September 17, 2026
Just beautiful.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews