Book Review: One Hundred and Fifty-Two Days by Giles Paley-Phillips

San
Apr 22, 2020
2 min read

Updated: May 14, 2021

"Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!"

Book Details:

Author: Giles Paley-Phillips

Series: Stand-alone

Genres: Poetry, Literary fiction

Page Count: ___

Publisher: Unbound

To be Published: 5 March, 2020

Blurb:

He will be allowed to visit his mother soon. His mother who is terminally ill, his mother who he has been barred from seeing as he recovers from his own bout of pneumonia.

Until then, with the help of his physiotherapist Freya, he must navigate his increasingly empty and isolated existence: his father, who finds solace in the bottom of a glass; his Nana Q, whose betting-slip confetti litters her handbag; his friends, who simply wouldn’t understand.

Time passes with the promise of soon, but one hundred and fifty-two days later the boy will come face to face with his grief, and move beyond to a world full of possibility, hope and love.

My Review:

~~~May contain spoilers~~~

In the words of the author himself, this book can be described in 3 words: Grief, Hope and Love. I give the book 5/5 stars.

(Sorry, this review's a bit short. It's because I feel at a loss of words to describe my feelings regarding this book.)

It took me less than half an hour to finish this book. Since it wasn't listed as poetry on Netgalley, I picked up the book expecting it to be in prose obviously. It's verse format left me delightfully surprised and as I happen to love reading poems, my curiosity was heightened.

It was such a heartbreakingly beautiful read. Giles Paley-Phillips has conveyed the complex emotions of an unwell teenage boy incredibly well. The cleverly constructed verses in the story made reading it more impactful. The prose poems provided a different yet somehow a more poignant look at the pain and grief of the young teen. There were quite a few verses that can be applied in many situations and I'm keeping a couple of them handy, in case, I ever find myself in need of some.

The level of emotions in the story was so powerful. The brevity of the story doesn't decrease the emotional depth it offers. The fact that this semi-autobiographical ends up enriching the emotions I experienced from the story.

What I loved even more about this book was that it ended on a hopeful note. It showed us that there's light at the end of every tunnel.