Claire Zorn’s Better Days traces what happens when Grace bumps into someone from 20 years ago as she’s taking her children and an irritating dog to her parents in the Blue Mountains. The interaction causes her to start seeing her life differently. She recalls the glamorous life she once led in London that stemmed from her youthful impetuous decision – a far cry from the life she leads now as a single mother, trying to repair her family. As the novel moves back and forth in time leading up to the 2022 events, Grace reflects on how she got to where she is: the choices, the events and the people that influenced her life thus far.
On the outside, things look perfect for Grace, but her interior world is falling apart. Ed, her husband has left, her kids are acting out, and she’s about to face the judgement of her mother, Dorothy. In this character-driven story, Grace’s reflections on the past highlight the implications of split-second decisions. What if she’d waited for her then boyfriend, Trent? What if she’d stayed in London? The internal nature of this story weaves past and present and its conflicts together with family, love, friendship and work against a backdrop of England and Australia.
At times, Grace’s journey feels a little bit like a dream versus reality narrative where the main character is shown as chaotic and struggling as she reaches for what could have been. However, life is messy, so why shouldn’t she be?
As well as parenthood, Zorn includes career challenges as well for her protagonist. Grace works as a music manager. In some ways, the job is a distraction and yet she is eventually forced to make a choice, a sacrifice between what she loves and other competing responsibilities.
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Better Days is a distinctly modern novel about womanhood that incorporates how illness and working away from home can affect a family. It’s a tight examination of how one person reacts to the ebbs and flows of life, and shows how everyone navigates these ups and downs differently.
Better Days, Claire Zorn
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 9781922928078
Format: Paperback
Pages: 416pp
Publication Date: 4 March 2025
RRP: $34.99
