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Our Endless Numbered Days

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Our Endless Numbered Days

By: Claire Fuller
Narrated by: Eilidh L. Beaton
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About this listen

Winner of the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize

1976: Peggy Hillcoat is eight. She spends her summer camping with her father, playing her beloved record of The Railway Children, and listening to her mother's grand piano, but her pretty life is about to change.

Her survivalist father, who has been stockpiling provisions for the end, which is surely coming soon, takes her from London to a cabin in a remote European forest. There he tells Peggy the rest of the world has disappeared.

Her life is reduced to a piano that makes music but no sound and a forest where all that grows is a means of survival. And a tiny wooden hut that is everything.

©2015 Claire Fuller (P)2015 Audible, Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Heartfelt Scary Survival

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Critic reviews

"Like all good fairy tales, this is a book filled with suspense and revelation, light and shadow and the overwhelming feeling that nothing is quite as it seems in the Hillcoats’ lives. It’s spellbinding, scary stuff." ( The Daily Express)
"Fuller handles the tension masterfully in this grown-up thriller of a fairytale, full of clues, questions and intrigue." ( The Times)
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was rather left wanting at the end not sure how I felt about the Finnish

good read

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This was a fascinating end of world/survivalist story. Really well written with such interesting turns of phrase. Absolutely loved it, hooked and loved the way it was told and the ending.

Excellent, interesting read, great use of words

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The storyline was strange and too long winded and I actually jumped some of it and the ending was insubstantial. But the narration was superb so overall I quite enjoyed it.

Unusual story

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Any additional comments?

I chose this book because it has won prizes and has been praised by many critics and book bloggers I respect. It is not the kind of novel that I would normally pick up in a library or bookshop but I'm very glad that I gave it a go.

The story concerns Peggy who is taken from her home in London, under mysterious circumstances, to live in a cabin the woods ( in Germany? ) by her Survivalist father. She is eight years old at the time of her 'abduction'. One night, while her concert pianist mother is away on a concert tour, she overhears snatches of a quarrel between her father and his long-term friend and fellow survivalist Oliver. Their departure from the family home follows almost immediately after this. When Peggy escapes from the cabin and her father and is reunited with her mother, she is seventeen and discovers that she has an eight-year-old brother whom she has never known.

The bulk of the tale tells of the endless numbered days in the cabin with her father, surviving in the natural world with no modern conveniences and believing a story , told by her father, of a natural catastrophe which has left only the two of them alive. The relationship between the two of them undergoes many stresses and changes and when Peggy discovers the possibility of another person living nearby she begins to challenge the version of life her father has constructed for her. Puberty begins to rear its head too and Peggy is further confused. A descent into mental illness (for one or both of them)seems inevitable and a crisis arises between father and daughter, leading to tragedy and a dramatic final denouement.The story starts quite slowly but builds to a very dramatic end, with a twist which left me open-mouthed. I had thought I had worked out where the story was going but there was a sting in the tale that I did not see coming.

The narrative reads like a modern fairy tale in some respects and the narrator did well to keep me hooked to a storyline which for some periods was a bit light on plot. But overall, I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good yarn and an unexpected ending.

Intriguing, thought-provoking, with a good twist.

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I enjoyed this book, but have not given it 5 stars for the following reasons

The narrator was ok and gave intonation and accents well, however she had a tinkly voice which grated immensely but that’s purely personal.

The book jumps around a lot and sometime you are confused as to where you are. I had to rewind a few times to pick up the thread which did distract from the whole.

Saying that I would recommend it as it’s a good story for discussions, especially for bookclubs etc.

Twisted family dynamics

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Unusual and intriguing. Made me feel very uneasy in a captivating way.

So descriptive. I was transported to Peggy’s world or should I say worlds...

Captivating

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Although this was an emotive, touching story, the aspect that I enjoyed the most was the author’s way with words. When I read books I tend to gloss over the descriptive paragraphs, but the fact that this was narrated to me meant I had no option other than to take it all in. I would never have appreciated the book fully if I’d read it rather than listened to it.

Beautiful book

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A subtle sense of foreboding runs beneath the narration, so you know that various terrible things are going to happen. Beautiful descriptions of inconsequential moments, interesting period setting, and a great listen. Just wish the final third had been as languorous as the rest as lacked the same insightful detailing.

A terrible joy to listen to

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Any additional comments?

When a father removes his eight-year-old daughter from society, hides her in the wilderness and tells her the rest of the world has disappeared the girl had no option but to follow him. Peggy’s life goes from a simple childhood with school, best friends, and the fun of an eccentric father to a tough, grueling existence where every day is a struggle to survive.
This is a moving story of love and trust just as much as it is about the survival of a child in a near solitary existence. Peggy’s inner turmoil is as heart-wrenching as her physical struggle and the tainted coming of age theme is both beautiful and disturbing. Fuller’s nostalgic description of life through a child’s eyes is emotive and the narration flows smoothly through time, even when the events are tragic. Peggy’s character remains true even towards the end when the real darkness is revealed in its entirety.

Disturbing and beautiful

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Fascinating idea. Hauntingly possible.
Beautifully narrated. Recommended to the romantic in us. Seen through the eyes of a sweet natured young girl innocently believing in the reality of her fathers vision.

Original

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