Set in a Lower East Side tenement in the early days of the COVID-19 lockdowns, Fourteen Days is an irresistibly propulsive collaborative novel from the Authors Guild, with an unusual twist: each character in this diverse, eccentric cast of New York neighbors has been secretly written by a different, major literary voice--from Margaret Atwood and Celeste Ng to Tommy Orange and John Grisham.
One week into the COVID-19 shutdown, tenants of a Lower East Side apartment building in Manhattan have begun to gather on the rooftop and tell stories. With each passing night, more and more neighbors gather, bringing chairs and milk crates and overturned pails. Gradually the tenants--some of whom have barely spoken to each other--become real neighbors. In this Decameron-like serial novel, general editors Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston and a star-studded list of contributors create a beautiful ode to the people who couldn't escape when the pandemic hit. A dazzling, heartwarming, and ultimately surprising narrative, Fourteen Days reveals how beneath the horrible loss and suffering, some communities managed to become stronger.
Includes writing from: Charlie Jane Anders, Margaret Atwood, Joseph Cassara, Jennine Capó Crucet, Angie Cruz, Pat Cummings, Sylvia Day, Emma Donoghue, Dave Eggers, Diana Gabaldon, Tess Gerritsen, John Grisham, Maria Hinojosa, Mira Jacob, Erica Jong, CJ Lyons, Celeste Ng, Tommy Orange, Mary Pope Osborne, Douglas Preston, Alice Randall, Ishmael Reed, Roxana Robinson, Nelly Rosario, James Shapiro, Hampton Sides, R.L. Stine, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Monique Truong, Scott Turow, Luis Alberto Urrea, Rachel Vail, Weike Wang, Caroline Randall Williams, De'Shawn Charles Winslow, and Meg Wolitzer!
About the Author :
Margaret Atwood, whose work has been published in more than forty-five countries, is the author of over fifty books, including fiction, poetry, critical essays, and graphic novels. In addition to The Handmaid's Tale, now an award-winning television series, her works include Cat's Eye, short-listed for the 1989 Booker Prize; Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Blind Assassin, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize; The MaddAddam Trilogy; The Heart Goes Last; Hag-Seed; The Testaments, which won the Booker Prize and was long-listed for the Giller Prize; and the poetry collection Dearly. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Franz Kafka International Literary Prize, the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Los Angeles Times Innovator's Award. In 2019 she was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in Great Britain for her services to literature. She lives in Toronto.
Douglas Preston has published 39 books of fiction and nonfiction, of which 32 have been New York Times bestsellers, some reaching the #1 position. Two of his novels, co-written with Lincoln Child, were chosen in a National Public Radio poll of readers as being among the 100 greatest thrillers ever written. His recent nonfiction book, The Lost City of the Monkey God, was named a notable book of the year by the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and National Geographic magazine. In addition to books, Preston writes about archaeology and paleontology for the New Yorker Magazine. He worked as an editor for the American Museum of Natural History in New York and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University. He is the recipient of numerous writing awards in the U.S. and Europe, and he served as president of the Authors Guild from 2019 to 2023.
Review :
"An interesting experiment in collective storytelling." - Literary Hub
A Lit Hub "Most Anticipated Books of 2022" * A Hartford Courant "Highly Anticipated Book" * A Readers Digest "New Books We Can't Wait to Read" * A PBS "Monthly Book Recommendation" * A New York Times "New Book to Read" * An Amazon Editor's Pick * The Messenger's "10 Must Read Books"
"These stories introduce a theme of diversity that's one of the joys of the book. There are ghost stories, a war story, many tales of betrayal and revenge, and a report on Shakespeare's plague experience by scholar James Shapiro. . . . A multicultural tribute to the New York lockdown experience. . . . Moving and . . . funny." - Kirkus Reviews
"...the storytellers are splendidly diverse in race, age, gender, ethnicity, and calling....Putting a bold new twist on the plague novel, this bountiful, unpredictable, witty, and affecting tale-of-tales is made all the more intriguing by the fact that it's a collaboration by 36 exceptional North American writers....This enthralling novel of many voices and moods dramatizes the transformation of isolation into community via stories and explores a grand spectrum of human experiences." - Booklist (starred review)
"Beguiling. . . . Fans of literary puzzles will find this worthwhile." - Publishers Weekly
"An immensely enjoyable product of an immensely unenjoyable time, Fourteen Days is lively, freewheeling and, with its skillfully paced denouement - the super herself's tale - an impressive achievement."
- The Guardian"The stories lead toward an overall point about how people form communities. When the group offers hospitality toward the end, it is apparent that the individual storytellers, for all their differences, have become a community. It's a sign of hope and resilience for humanity." - Daily Kos
"A pleasing quirk of the book is that none of its authors are bylined; only their bios at the very end reveal who wrote each story. Fourteen Days thus achieves a unified voice of sorts despite its disparate authors, as every character narrates their story simply, casually, often allowing themselves digressions and asides.... As a fundraiser, the idea is truly wonderful, and the execution is enjoyable. " - NPR
"The publication of Fourteen Days could not have been more timely...The power of much of the writing here is undeniable, as is the sense of personal testimony." - The Guardian
"A rich melting pot of characters and genres. . . . A valuable reminder that stories can teach, console, provide a place of acceptance and perhaps even change their readers (or listeners)." - Financial Times
"Poignant and emotionally resonant. . . . Should you wait until you're finished to read the end notes that detail who wrote what?. . . I guarantee some of the matches--and the way the stories are thrown together--will surprise you." - San Francisco Chronicle
"Reading Fourteen Days is like sitting by a campfire, with characters taking turns telling tales about their lives."
- The Economist"Highly entertaining." - Berkshire Edge
"Proves that even a global pandemic can't curb creativity . . . that the stories we leave behind are what makes us human." - Associated Press
"Paradise for avid readers." - Los Angeles Times
