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Days are Like Grass
A beautiful New Zealand summer. An ugly past that won’t stay buried. Paediatric surgeon Claire Bowerman has reluctantly returned to Auckland from London. Calm, rational and in control, she loves delicately repairing her small patients’ wounds. Tragically, wounds sometimes made by the children’s own families. Yossi wants to marry Claire. He thinks they’ve come to the safest place on earth, worlds away from the violence he knew growing up. He revels in the glorious summer, the idyllic islands of the gulf. But Roimata, Claire’s fifteen-year-old daughter, is full of questions. Why is Claire so secretive about her past? Why won’t she talk to the man who could solve the mystery that dominated her childhood? When a family refuses medical treatment for their boy, Claire’s story is in the headlines again. All Claire wants to do is run. This is a novel about the wounds a family can make. About a woman caught between the past and the present. And about her need to keep everybody safe. Especially herself.
Debut novel from New Zealand author.
Debut novel from New Zealand author.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2016
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71 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 10, 2018
This was a fascinating read. Before I read it myself I'd heard about it from two different books people I trust and respect - one who thought it was a book with strong crime threads, that could definitely fall under the broader view of 'crime fiction' (ie books about crime or the impact of crime, not just detective fiction or the solving of crime), and another who thought it was a deep character study and family drama that had little to nothing to do with crime at all. Having read it, I can see both sides.
Wherever you fit it on a 'genre' spectrum, there's no doubt about one thing: DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS is a tremendously well-written and emotional book, a pearler of a story that flows beautifully and takes the reader deep into the characters lives and the challenges they face. It's an astonishing debut from a fresh new voice in New Zealand literature that has the page-turning flow of a psychological thriller even as it centres largely on domestic and workplace issues for the characters.
DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS is the kind of book that lingers, that you'll still be thinking about days later. Pondering the choices the characters made, the varying outcomes, and questions of justice.
The book starts years ago with a life-altering choice made by a man who'd picked up a young hitch-hiker. It's a vignette touching on an all-too familiar crime for anyone who's grown up in New Zealand - the disappearance of a young woman on the lonely rural roads of our country. For Kiwi readers there'll be echoes of famous unsolved crimes and disappearances, names etched into our country's consciousness as we grew up, and still. In DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS, the effects of that choice, and all that followed, casts an ongoing shadow over the lives of the main characters decades later.
Claire Bowerman is a respected paediatric surgeon who's returned to her homeland from Europe with her fiance Yossi and fifteen-year-old daughter Roimata. Claire likes to be in control, but the tightly wound precision that helps her in her career can be problematic in other areas of her life. As a doctor she wants to do what's best for her patients - often disadvantaged and abused children - but can smack into opposing wishes of parents and hospital administrators. This comes to a head when the parents of a child with a tumour refuse life-saving treatment, instead opting for alternative measures. The media interest in the case opens up Claire's past, something she has tried to put in a box buried deep.
For Claire's father was that man in the car with the hitch-hiker. A man many think is a rapist and murderer. Claire's lived with the stares, the questions, the shame for most of her life - only escaping from it when she lived abroad. Now back in New Zealand, the past is rekindled when reporters put two and two together. The daughter of an infamous man, trying to force her wishes on a family.
If that wasn't drama enough, the extended family of Claire's daughter Roimata gets in touch, opening up other areas of Claire's life that she'd closed off. And Yossi, her rock, isn't in total agreement with how Claire about a variety of matters. Why did she come back 'home', to have all her fears exposed?
However you categorise it, DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS is full of drama with a capital D. There are medico-legal and ethical questions, family challenges, themes about how we cope with the past and live alongside other people who think differently from us. It's the kind of book that will have you thinking deeply even as you hurtle along, as well as feeling for the wholly believable characters.
At times I found Claire a bit of a difficult 'heroine' or main character. She's sometimes the least likable and a frustrating person if you find yourself siding with other characters in various disputes. But that's part of the beauty of this book. However you feel about Claire (and some readers may be 100% on her 'side'), she's beautifully flawed and very human. We grow to understand her and her choices, even if we disagree with them. We can see how all she's been through in her life has caused her to put up walls, and the battle she faces letting people in, and letting go of control.
DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS starts with a past crime that haunts the entire book, has moments of crime and mystery throughout, but different readers may have different views about how 'crime-y' it is. Personally, I don't really care. It's a great novel, well worth reading. I think fans of crime fiction could love it (as long as they don't expect detective fiction or an investigation-centred novel), as well as fans of 'contemporary fiction'. It has a lovely page-turning quality, deeply drawn characters, and also Younger does a great job evoking the contemporary Auckland setting and landscapes.
Recommended.
Wherever you fit it on a 'genre' spectrum, there's no doubt about one thing: DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS is a tremendously well-written and emotional book, a pearler of a story that flows beautifully and takes the reader deep into the characters lives and the challenges they face. It's an astonishing debut from a fresh new voice in New Zealand literature that has the page-turning flow of a psychological thriller even as it centres largely on domestic and workplace issues for the characters.
DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS is the kind of book that lingers, that you'll still be thinking about days later. Pondering the choices the characters made, the varying outcomes, and questions of justice.
The book starts years ago with a life-altering choice made by a man who'd picked up a young hitch-hiker. It's a vignette touching on an all-too familiar crime for anyone who's grown up in New Zealand - the disappearance of a young woman on the lonely rural roads of our country. For Kiwi readers there'll be echoes of famous unsolved crimes and disappearances, names etched into our country's consciousness as we grew up, and still. In DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS, the effects of that choice, and all that followed, casts an ongoing shadow over the lives of the main characters decades later.
Claire Bowerman is a respected paediatric surgeon who's returned to her homeland from Europe with her fiance Yossi and fifteen-year-old daughter Roimata. Claire likes to be in control, but the tightly wound precision that helps her in her career can be problematic in other areas of her life. As a doctor she wants to do what's best for her patients - often disadvantaged and abused children - but can smack into opposing wishes of parents and hospital administrators. This comes to a head when the parents of a child with a tumour refuse life-saving treatment, instead opting for alternative measures. The media interest in the case opens up Claire's past, something she has tried to put in a box buried deep.
For Claire's father was that man in the car with the hitch-hiker. A man many think is a rapist and murderer. Claire's lived with the stares, the questions, the shame for most of her life - only escaping from it when she lived abroad. Now back in New Zealand, the past is rekindled when reporters put two and two together. The daughter of an infamous man, trying to force her wishes on a family.
If that wasn't drama enough, the extended family of Claire's daughter Roimata gets in touch, opening up other areas of Claire's life that she'd closed off. And Yossi, her rock, isn't in total agreement with how Claire about a variety of matters. Why did she come back 'home', to have all her fears exposed?
However you categorise it, DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS is full of drama with a capital D. There are medico-legal and ethical questions, family challenges, themes about how we cope with the past and live alongside other people who think differently from us. It's the kind of book that will have you thinking deeply even as you hurtle along, as well as feeling for the wholly believable characters.
At times I found Claire a bit of a difficult 'heroine' or main character. She's sometimes the least likable and a frustrating person if you find yourself siding with other characters in various disputes. But that's part of the beauty of this book. However you feel about Claire (and some readers may be 100% on her 'side'), she's beautifully flawed and very human. We grow to understand her and her choices, even if we disagree with them. We can see how all she's been through in her life has caused her to put up walls, and the battle she faces letting people in, and letting go of control.
DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS starts with a past crime that haunts the entire book, has moments of crime and mystery throughout, but different readers may have different views about how 'crime-y' it is. Personally, I don't really care. It's a great novel, well worth reading. I think fans of crime fiction could love it (as long as they don't expect detective fiction or an investigation-centred novel), as well as fans of 'contemporary fiction'. It has a lovely page-turning quality, deeply drawn characters, and also Younger does a great job evoking the contemporary Auckland setting and landscapes.
Recommended.
November 13, 2017
A family drama / saga styled novel, with crime overtones, DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS is beautifully written. Moving, descriptive, populated by fully realised characters there is much in this novel that is thought-provoking, and profoundly affecting.
Avoiding any sense of voyeurism or manipulation, Sue Younger has constructed a multi-layered story about consequences, and past and present actions. Paediatric surgeon, mother, lover, Claire is a woman with a past. She's driven to want the best for her patients - often times victims of abuse and disadvantage - her controlled nature creates difficulties in her professional and personal lives.
Many years before a young female hitch-hiker disappeared in New Zealand, after accepting a lift from a man she didn't know. Claire, on the other hand, knows the man and lives with the consequences of his actions every day. The man was her father, someone many people think is a rapist and murderer. Claire has lived with the whispers and the looks ever since. Why she's returned to New Zealand with her fifteen-year-old daughter Roimata and her fiance Yossi makes sense on one level, and seems unfathomable on another - especially when a local reporter notices the connection when reporting on the tussle over the fate of a young patient.
In the middle of the friction between her own past and present, between the parents of her young patient and Claire's own insistence on the correct pathways for treatment, there's extra pressure when Roimata's father's family reach out as well. Somehow in the middle of all of this, the calm, loving, patient Yossi even starts to feel like a problem as he agitates to get married, for them to be a traditional family, even as he seems increasingly content with his life.
Needless to say a lot of drama, a lot of pressure, and a lot of potential for things to get badly out of control. All of which feels perfectly realistic as Claire is such a fragile, tightly wound character, not destined to cope well with the piling on of problems. As a central character for such a story, she's an interesting undertaking. Frequently unlikable, nearly constantly frustrating, the default setting for most readers will be to turn to the opposing forces. It's tempting to call something like that a "brave" move on the part of the author, but it actually makes enormous sense in terms of the narrative. This is the story of a difficult life, impacted upon by pressures that couldn't be avoided, blighted always by the spectre of her father. Claire's flawed, human, and whilst you might not agree with everything she ever does, says or believes in, you can't help but empathise with a woman who is struggling to let go of control, struggling with the difficulties of easing up on barriers she's spent a lifetime constructing.
Whilst this reader might have some issues with the definition of DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS as a crime novel, in that the consequences of crime are more indirect than usually expected, I'm more than happy to be accused of quibbling over minutiae. It is most definitely an exceptional reading experience.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
Avoiding any sense of voyeurism or manipulation, Sue Younger has constructed a multi-layered story about consequences, and past and present actions. Paediatric surgeon, mother, lover, Claire is a woman with a past. She's driven to want the best for her patients - often times victims of abuse and disadvantage - her controlled nature creates difficulties in her professional and personal lives.
Many years before a young female hitch-hiker disappeared in New Zealand, after accepting a lift from a man she didn't know. Claire, on the other hand, knows the man and lives with the consequences of his actions every day. The man was her father, someone many people think is a rapist and murderer. Claire has lived with the whispers and the looks ever since. Why she's returned to New Zealand with her fifteen-year-old daughter Roimata and her fiance Yossi makes sense on one level, and seems unfathomable on another - especially when a local reporter notices the connection when reporting on the tussle over the fate of a young patient.
In the middle of the friction between her own past and present, between the parents of her young patient and Claire's own insistence on the correct pathways for treatment, there's extra pressure when Roimata's father's family reach out as well. Somehow in the middle of all of this, the calm, loving, patient Yossi even starts to feel like a problem as he agitates to get married, for them to be a traditional family, even as he seems increasingly content with his life.
Needless to say a lot of drama, a lot of pressure, and a lot of potential for things to get badly out of control. All of which feels perfectly realistic as Claire is such a fragile, tightly wound character, not destined to cope well with the piling on of problems. As a central character for such a story, she's an interesting undertaking. Frequently unlikable, nearly constantly frustrating, the default setting for most readers will be to turn to the opposing forces. It's tempting to call something like that a "brave" move on the part of the author, but it actually makes enormous sense in terms of the narrative. This is the story of a difficult life, impacted upon by pressures that couldn't be avoided, blighted always by the spectre of her father. Claire's flawed, human, and whilst you might not agree with everything she ever does, says or believes in, you can't help but empathise with a woman who is struggling to let go of control, struggling with the difficulties of easing up on barriers she's spent a lifetime constructing.
Whilst this reader might have some issues with the definition of DAYS ARE LIKE GRASS as a crime novel, in that the consequences of crime are more indirect than usually expected, I'm more than happy to be accused of quibbling over minutiae. It is most definitely an exceptional reading experience.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/revi...
August 9, 2023
An emotional read especially at Starship and on Marae
Very good, wanted to keep reading
Real New Zealand
Loved the references to NZ native birds and flowers
Very good, wanted to keep reading
Real New Zealand
Loved the references to NZ native birds and flowers
August 26, 2023
I enjoy this book, was nice to read something that was based in nz and written by an nz author.
August 23, 2016
Started reading this one and couldn't stop. This author is exploring what happens when someone is accused of a serious crime like murder and even though their guilt is unproven, many lives are destroyed beyond the original victim. This book shows how the vibrations can persist for generations.
The protagonist is a paediatric surgeon, and a razor-sharp rational woman, compassionate and loving and yet her character is flawed by the emotional aftermath of the accusations that destroyed her parents lives. Her happiness and that of her own immediate family hangs by a thread because of consequences of the old shadows. She drives herself into her work and that alone fills the story with compelling tension as she deals with domestic and cultural issues that affect her work with children who need her to give so much and risk so much to save their lives.
The characters are deliciously real and fresh, "a motley lot" as the protagonist herself describes them, a Jew, the Caucasians, the Maori and the part-Maori girl with the English accent, all mucking in and getting on with it, sharing cultures and enriching one anothers' lives.
The Auckland/Waiheke setting is so recognisable. I loved the bach on Waiheke where the author let me hear, see and smell the sea and the island, and enjoy the the views up the harbour to the city.
This book feels more like the work of an old hand who's been writing novels for years. Perfectly edited and professional in a way that is rare today even among books released by the most well-known of the big-name publishers. This is an author to watch and likewise this publishing company is a new kid on the block, doing a brilliant job of showing the old hands how it ought to be done. This is the third of their books that I've read and loved and each one, in its own way, has been something so fresh I'd never read anything remotely like it before.
Make sure you have plenty of time on your hands before you start reading because you won't want to stop once you start.
The protagonist is a paediatric surgeon, and a razor-sharp rational woman, compassionate and loving and yet her character is flawed by the emotional aftermath of the accusations that destroyed her parents lives. Her happiness and that of her own immediate family hangs by a thread because of consequences of the old shadows. She drives herself into her work and that alone fills the story with compelling tension as she deals with domestic and cultural issues that affect her work with children who need her to give so much and risk so much to save their lives.
The characters are deliciously real and fresh, "a motley lot" as the protagonist herself describes them, a Jew, the Caucasians, the Maori and the part-Maori girl with the English accent, all mucking in and getting on with it, sharing cultures and enriching one anothers' lives.
The Auckland/Waiheke setting is so recognisable. I loved the bach on Waiheke where the author let me hear, see and smell the sea and the island, and enjoy the the views up the harbour to the city.
This book feels more like the work of an old hand who's been writing novels for years. Perfectly edited and professional in a way that is rare today even among books released by the most well-known of the big-name publishers. This is an author to watch and likewise this publishing company is a new kid on the block, doing a brilliant job of showing the old hands how it ought to be done. This is the third of their books that I've read and loved and each one, in its own way, has been something so fresh I'd never read anything remotely like it before.
Make sure you have plenty of time on your hands before you start reading because you won't want to stop once you start.
August 16, 2016
This is a wonderful debut novel by an author who not only writes beautifully, but who can tell a great story too. Claire Bowerman is a woman who has always kept her past firmly locked away and she protects her small family in the only way she knows how - by staying removed from most of the outside world. But when Claire returns to Auckland with her fifteen year old daughter, Roimata, and her fiance, Yossi, the past comes calling and Claire is forced to confront what she has tried so hard to keep hidden. It's a great read that is impossible to put down until you reach the last page. Highly recommended.
December 19, 2016
Claire, the central character, is a paediatric surgeon at Starship Hospital and just just returned from England with her Israeli fiance and 15 year old daughter. Younger combines many aspects of NZ life and weaves them into a wonderful story that is hard to put down.
November 29, 2016
Very moving, an engrossing read.
October 12, 2020
Great idea for a plot, but in the end I was slightly underwhelmed by this novel. It was beautifully written and easy to read, kept me reading and trying to guess what would happen next. I enjoyed the Auckland locations and other authentic Kiwiness about it.
SPOILER ALERTS COMING... Claire Bowerman returns to NZ from the UK with her teenage daughter and her partner, and with obvious skeletons in the closet that she doesn't want to deal with. Her mother died (how?) and she's estranged from her father, who was imprisoned - and then acquitted (I think?) - for murder. Did he do it or not?
The novel is about how Claire deals (or rather doesn't deal) with this stuff, and is paralleled by her own daughter's rather more positive discoveries about her own biological dad and whānau. Of course this triggers stuff for Claire and she goes into over-protective mode.
Claire is great at being a pediatric surgeon (and has a few challenges and stresses there), but absolutely cuts dead any attempts by others to find out about her past family life, or help her deal with the stuff that's coming up about it.
I felt at arm's length from Claire and wanted more insight into her denials and touchy personality, rather than seeing it from the outside. Almost right to the end she remains unwilling to deal with her past family stuff, and then all of a sudden the book ends and I don't get much sense of her having really dealt with anything or been transformed particularly by the experience. I also wanted more depth in Claire's relationship with her partner Yossi.
Also, I have no idea what the title refers to.
SPOILER ALERTS COMING... Claire Bowerman returns to NZ from the UK with her teenage daughter and her partner, and with obvious skeletons in the closet that she doesn't want to deal with. Her mother died (how?) and she's estranged from her father, who was imprisoned - and then acquitted (I think?) - for murder. Did he do it or not?
The novel is about how Claire deals (or rather doesn't deal) with this stuff, and is paralleled by her own daughter's rather more positive discoveries about her own biological dad and whānau. Of course this triggers stuff for Claire and she goes into over-protective mode.
Claire is great at being a pediatric surgeon (and has a few challenges and stresses there), but absolutely cuts dead any attempts by others to find out about her past family life, or help her deal with the stuff that's coming up about it.
I felt at arm's length from Claire and wanted more insight into her denials and touchy personality, rather than seeing it from the outside. Almost right to the end she remains unwilling to deal with her past family stuff, and then all of a sudden the book ends and I don't get much sense of her having really dealt with anything or been transformed particularly by the experience. I also wanted more depth in Claire's relationship with her partner Yossi.
Also, I have no idea what the title refers to.
June 10, 2017
I discovered this book through an author reading at the Auckland Writers & Readers fest this year, bless it, and I was instantly intrigued. I wasn't disappointed. It was a joy to read a book set in my hometown! I found it suspenseful and had many moments when I caught myself staring into space halfway through a page, pondering the difficult ethical and personal decisions the characters- particularly Claire, the main character, face.
January 12, 2019
I loved this book, it keep me engaged start to finish, Sue is a fantastic writer. I loved reading a book set in Auckland and seeing inside the life of a doctor at our countries biggest hospital. Sue is truthful yet sympathetic to relationships, parenting, the fine line between life and death and the reality of gang life and poverty. The main character Claire and her past unravelling before the reader has elements we can all identify with in some way. Highly recommend this awesome NZ writer.
January 8, 2018
The writing was wonderful, the characters, not so. This novel reads like detective story meets ChickLit fantasy people, and lands on the set of a Lifetime Daytime movie. Not good. The character(s) don't gel or ever become believable. I really wanted to like the characters. I would have rated this a 2 stars but the location was also excellent.
October 31, 2020
Enjoyed the New Zealand content and feel but didn't warm to the main character Claire, a surgeon with a difficult past due. The character of Claire never really developed or grew. Other characters were interesting but almost caricatures, the wise Maori aunt. The supportive, understanding boyfriend, the rebellious daughter. Still a good read.
April 1, 2023
Beautifully written with gorgeous characters. The story moves reasonably quickly and keeps you turning pages. The themes of dealing with past traumas and finding healing in the present as well as the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship add so much depth to this book. Kiwi readers will love the New Zealand character of this book.
February 25, 2022
Great writing and a story with many themes, all involving decision making for one character or another. Apart from the fact that I found the characters sometimes following a stereotype, the book was a great read and had a genuine "kiwi" feel to it.
July 4, 2023
I was drawn to the title unaware of what was coming and once I started I couldn’t stop reading. The mystery intertwined with the story of paediatric surgeon, daughter, lover and mother Claire Bowerman was compelling.
There were some skilfully woven intersections that landed nicely between Māori and Judaism. There were times also where it felt a tad predictable and a bit pat, or maybe cheesy. Overall though an excellent first novel that had I not been a health care professional who has worked in places mentioned in the story and recalls the probable missing person presumed dead case in real life mixed with a police tampering situation around the same time I would have given this four stars.
Terrific pace and so good to read about familiar places and issues. Just what I needed right now.
There were some skilfully woven intersections that landed nicely between Māori and Judaism. There were times also where it felt a tad predictable and a bit pat, or maybe cheesy. Overall though an excellent first novel that had I not been a health care professional who has worked in places mentioned in the story and recalls the probable missing person presumed dead case in real life mixed with a police tampering situation around the same time I would have given this four stars.
Terrific pace and so good to read about familiar places and issues. Just what I needed right now.
July 10, 2017
Usually I enjoy books set in Auckland but this did not flow well. There were references to actual occurrences but they were rather muddled.
July 9, 2023
Book club read. I loved this book... easy to read, interesting issues, characters well-described, good dialogues.
May 15, 2022
Absolutely loved this book! And it just so happens to be me on the front cover haha.
5/5!
5/5!
July 18, 2016
Days are like grass is the first local, as in New Zealand, novel I have read in awhile. On the basis of this stunning debut by Sue Younger, that's a big mea culpa from me. The release date is not until August 8 so this is a preview rather than a review. It's also the first book in some time that I have devoured in one sitting. The story is based in NZ's largest city, Auckland, where pediatric surgeon Claire Bowerman is struggling to adapt since returning to her hometown after years away. Together with her partner, Yossi, an Israeli refugee, and her daughter fifteen year old Roimata. Claire loves her job at the Starship Children's Hospital, but she's haunted by her past,a troubled childhood, and yearns for a return to London. Out of the blue her alcoholic father appears in her life, and almost coincidentally so does Roimata's father. Its a heady mix of emotions and everyone but Claire seems to be taking it in their stride, especially Yossi and Roimata. To add to Claire's concerns her job takes a huge emotional toll as she deals with the demands of often lifesaving surgery on tiny patients. Congratulations go to Sue Younger for a mesmerising first novel.
November 17, 2016
Why do I read these incredibly sad books about New Zealand's horrible social problems! Because they are compelling and close to home I guess. A good book, apart from disliking the main character, that I found myself reading in an evening and thinking about well after I should have been asleep.
January 23, 2017
Enjoyable read, a few coincidences to help the story along, a familiar NZ setting. Would be interested to read more from this author.
April 21, 2017
Wow. I was completely engrossed in this book which is not only a story about the awful childhood of the protagonist but a comment on New Zealand's social issues. A brave author to tackle our appalling high rates of child abuse, liberal leaning social workers, middle class new agers....I am looking forward already to Sue Younger's next novel.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews