Day

Alfie Day, RAF airman and former World War II POW, never expected to survive the war. Now, five years later and more alone than ever, Alfie finds himself drawn to unearth those strange, passionate days by working as an extra on a POW film. What he will discover on the set about himself, his loves and the world around him will make the war itself look simple. Funny and moving, wise and sad, Day is a truly original look at the intensity and courage to be found in the closeness of death, from one of Britain's most iconoclastic and highly acclaimed young writers. ** In 1939, Alfred Day Had Wanted War. And When He Got It, He Found Purpose In Its Turmoil: He Found His Proper Role As Tail-gunner In A Lancaster Bomber; He Found The Wild, Dark Fellowship Of His Crew; And -- Most Extraordinary Of All -- He Found Joyce, A Woman To Love. But Now, That's All Gone: The War Took It Away. And Maybe The War Has Taken Him Away, Too. Before Hitler And The Bombs, Alfred Was A Boy In Staffordshire, Helpless To Defend His Mother And Resist His Abusive Father. The Raf Gave Him Order, Skills, Another Family, A Way To Be A Man. It Taught Him How To Burn Through Lifetimes On Night Ops And Brief, Sweet Leaves, Surviving. But It Didn't Prepare Him For Capture, For Prison Camp And Chaos As The War Wound Down. And It Certainly Didn't Prepare Him For An Empty Peace. So, In 1949, Alfred Winds Back Time To See Where He Lost Himself As An Extra In A Pow Film -- And Begins To Do What He's Never Dared -- To Remember. In Day, A. L. Kennedy Has Crafted A Superb Novel About The Brutal Simplicities Of War And The Complexities Of Human Emotion. Above All, Day Is Wonderful Storytelling: The Freight Of History And Humanity Carried Effortlessly By The Beauty Of The Writing. Alfie Day, RAF airman and former World War II POW, never expected to survive the war. He may not have even wanted to-choosing to be a tail gunner-exposed, alone and watchful for his skipper and his crew through night after night of bombing missions. Now, five years after the end of the war and more alone than ever, Alfie finds himself drawn to unearth those intense, strangely passionate days by working as an extra on a POW film Before Hitler and the bombs, Alfred Day was a boy in Staffordshire, helpless to defend his mother, to resist his abusive father. The RAF gave him order, skills, another family and a way to be a man. In 1949, Alfred winds back time to see where he lost himself. He picks his way through the cliches that become all that's left of his war.