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Days Without End

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Days Without End

By: Sebastian Barry
Narrated by: Aidan Kelly
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£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £12.78

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Winner of the 2016 Costa Book of the Year
Winner of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2017
Winner of the Independent Bookshop Week Book Award 2017
Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017

After signing up for the US army in the 1850s, aged barely seventeen, Thomas McNulty and his brother-in-arms, John Cole, fight in the Indian Wars and the Civil War. Having both fled terrible hardships, their days are now vivid and filled with wonder, despite the horrors they both see and are complicit in. Then when a young Indian girl crosses their path, the possibility of lasting happiness seems within reach, if only they can survive.

'Pitch perfect, the outstanding novel of the Year.' Observer
‘Absolutely captivating.’ Val McDermid
‘A masterpiece.’ Ali Smith©2016 Sebastian Barry (P)2016 W.F. Howes Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction War & Military War Heartfelt Thought-Provoking
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Sebastian Barry has long been a literary hero of mine, ever since the Secret Scripture. In Days Without End he has taken the sack of native America (much of it at the behest of Irish soldiers, who were themselves oppressed by Cromwell; the irony is not left unsaid) and laid upon it the most incredible love stories. Those that transcend blood and 'nature' and are accepted without prejudice by most who witness it. It is lyrical and brutal and majestic in scale and I loved it.

Beautiful

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This is such an unusual story and a joy to listen to. It's set in the second half of 19th century America and features the Indian Wars and the Civil War but, most importantly, the deep friendship between two Irish immigrant soldiers.

Their adventures and tribulations are a feat of imagination and this novel sees Sebastian Barry back on top form.
A must read for everyone who enjoyed The Secret Scripture.

Lyrical prose perfectly narrated

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I first saw Sebastian Barry when he won the Costa book prize for this wonderful book.

The story and the characters lean into me and fill me with warmth. Sebastian seems to me a man who I would enjoy talking to one winters night at a pub in Cork, or maybe Galway?
Aidan Kelly is the perfect choice of reader. He conveys the narrative from the page, to the mind of the listener as only a true fire-cracking, spell weaving Gaelic storyteller can.
Simply wonderful. Sebastian, or Aidan, happy to buy you a pint if ever the opportunity arises.
Dennis M McNamara

Days Without End - quick review

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Real gem of a book. Beautiful prose, gripping story and first class narration. Highly recommended.

dog walker sussex

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While I feel a lot of the descriptions about the genocide of Native Americans was grotesque, Barry's other descriptions was rich and beautiful especially describing the relationship between John and Thomas. It is a love story within the context of war. It is uncommon because it describes a homosexual relationship in a very natural way and also talks about the protagonist's desire to be a woman in terms of the historic backdrop. The narrator's accent is wonderful to listen to.

Unusual, descriptive, horrors of war

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