Five Days: Book summary and reviews of Five Days by Douglas Kennedy

Five Days Summary

From the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Moment comes a remarkable new novel that explores how and why we fall in love.

Laura works in a small hospital on the Maine coast, scanning and x-raying many a scared patient. In a job where finding nothing is always the best result, she is well versed in the random unfairness of life, a truism that has started to affect her personally. Her husband Dan has become a stranger since losing his job. With a son in college and a daughter set to leave home, she wonders how the upcoming empty nest will affect the disconnected state of her marriage.

Still, Laura jumps at the opportunity to attend a conference in Boston where she meets a man as grey and uninspired as her drab hotel. His name is Richard. He's a fifty-something salesman, also from Maine, also in Boston for the weekend. When a chance meeting brings them together again, Laura begins to discover a far more complex and thoughtful man behind the flat façade. Like herself, Richard ponders his own life and wonders if the time has come to choose desire over obligation.

Five Days is a moving love story that will have readers reflecting about the choices made that so shape all our destinies. Featuring Kennedy's trademark evocative prose and his brilliant ability to delineate life the way it is truly lived today, it is a novel that speaks directly to the many contradictions of the human heart.

Ask Douglas Kennedy a question about 'Five Days' (8 responses)
I don't have a question for you, but I wanted to tell you how many memories you stirred up with the setting that you used. My husband was stationed at Brunswick Naval Air Station after graduating from dental school so I had snapshots in my mind... - marymargaretf

Ben and Billy seem to relate best to one parent. Is this always the case in family life? (16 responses)
My husband and I have three daughters who are now in their thirties. They are each very different individuals. As they were growing up, they would each relate to us in different ways at different times. Just as they were each unique, my husband... - lynna

How do Laura's, Dan's, and Richard's relationships with their parents affect their lives, their marriages and how they parent their children? (7 responses)
I was thinking that one main theme of the author was the affect parents have on their children. In this case, it was a particular generation of parents. Since I am near the same age of the characters, I saw my own mom in these characters. But I... - Navy Mom

How does financial pressure change Laura and Dan's relationship. Would it have survived if Dan hadn't been laid off? (15 responses)
I don't think Dan was abusive nor do I think their sex life was awful. I think Dan was emotionally distant which can make connecting with someone even someone you love, difficult. And I agree with Navy Mom. After the children leave home you look... - rebajane

How does Laura's job - dealing with the potential for cancer diagnoses all day - affect how she views life? (2 responses)
That life is a fragile gift and one never knows what the next day will bring. In her work she also witnessed the many ways people deal with "good news or bad news". Observing this situation over and over built within her the strength to be honest... - carolyna

How does the theme of first relationships play a part in Five Days? (3 responses)
in addition to what Shirleyl posted, Ben's first relationship ended badly and so did Sally's. But that is pretty realistic, very few people end up with the person in their first relationship. And because Laura's ended the way it did, with Eric's... - Navy Mom

How would this novel be different if the divorce were more contentious? Do you think this is an accurate portrayal? (8 responses)
Shelbyl....interesting observation....It is said that the opposite of love is actually apathy and not hate....When you don't even care enough to fight, you appear weak and submissive.....Was Dan just weak or apathetic? I think you usually know in... - barbluvstennis

Is adultery really a betrayal of trust - or, in the case of Laura, a necessary way for her to begin to confront the empty sadness of her marriage? (19 responses)
I believe adultery is always wrong. But in the case of Laura, her marriage was already dead and she didn't realize what she was getting into when she first met Richard. There was one moment that she could have asserted herself and backed out of... - CoventryReader

Laura and Lucy "both read to find windows into our own dilemmas". Do you choose books for the same reason? What book has recently spoken to you the most? (12 responses)
I read to learn about new places, people and situations. That's why I love historical fiction so much. It is such an easy way to learn about a certain time in history. This book was good because it really got me involved, I felt I was in the main... - kathleenb

Laura and Lucy share a lot but "stop short of saying what we really feel about the other’s stuff". Do you think this is a good rule for friends? What would you have said if to Laura if you were Lucy? (8 responses)
I'm feeling conflicted here. If two people are close friends I don't see why you wouldn't trust each other enough to share really intimate problems, to bounce things off another person and get her opinion. Presumably, if you're very good friends... - lisag

Laura and Richard both dwell on what direction their lives might have taken. What is your "possible" life story? (5 responses)
Oh boy, I am one of those people who spend a bit too much time in the past. I dream of going back to when I was 5yrs old knowing some basic things that I have learned,lol. But choices - I got pregnant at 16, my choice would have been not to let my... - kathleenb

Richard and Laura come from small town Maine, but could they have come from any small town, spending a weekend in any big city? (11 responses)
They could have come from any place. They just needed to get into another space, another place, and find their "other voice". To be in another city for a specific reason was important..they did not have to feel that they were just running away... - carolyna

Were you surprised by the outcome of Laura and Richard’s affair? (24 responses)
Not entirely. Just from my previous reading, I knew that something 'bad' was going to happen and that their affair was not going to blossom into a committed love. It was too big of a jump to go from an unhappy marriage into a perfect, loving... - CoventryReader

Why do you think Douglas Kennedy wrote Laura's story as it happens in just five days? (15 responses)
I agree with shelbyl. These two characters "clicked" because they had the same needs and desperation. In my day their affair would have been called "a fling". No one in their families was hurt and they both walk away just a bit wiser about... - carolyna

Why wouldn't Five Days be the same story if it were told from Richard's point of view? (11 responses)
Let's be honest here. If Laura's name were actually Richard and Richard's name Laura, wouldn't it be the same story? Meaning that Richard would have the life of Laura and the story would have the same outcome. - Suzanne

Would Laura have had the strength to leave her marriage if she hadn’t met Richard? (24 responses)
While Laura had a fair amount of self confidence as a mother and in her work, in her dealings with men, she was much more insecure and indecisive. She had compromised by marrying Dan in the first place, and had gone along with her unhappy marriage... - lynna

Five Days Reviews

"With Five Days, Douglas Kennedy has crafted a brilliant meditation on regret, fidelity, family, and second chances that will have you breathlessly turning pages to find out what happened in the past and what will happen next. At once heartbreaking and hopeful, it is a bracing new work of fiction by an internationally acclaimed writer at the height of his powers." - Will Schwalbe, author of The End of Your Life Book Club

"The prolific Kennedy explores his favored themes of mortality, love, and loss in this fluidly written tale. Deftly depicting how certain choices can unexpectedly narrow a life, instead of expanding it, he has much to say about the nature of happiness, the difficulty of change, and the great divide between obligation and desire." - Booklist

"Depicting the human spirit's courage in its quest for connection, this novel may appeal to women of a certain age who find themselves disappointed in love and in need of change." - Library Journal

"Despite some character underdevelopment, a fine tale of lives re-examined." - Kirkus

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Five Days Reader Reviews

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Rated of 5 by Carolyn
Reflections
From the opening of this story author Douglas Kennedy introduces the reader to three people who are in the throes of questioning their family relationships. What is so brilliantly captivating is the dialogue in this story. Laura's conversations, aloud and privately with herself, could be any woman,s conversations..about obligations, disappointment, disconnecting, and finding the love of oneself.

For me, this was not a casual read. I was caught up quickly into the story and stayed with the turbulence of commitment and desire for Laura, her husband Dan, Richard, and the children. This is a story that most families experience at different stages in a marriage, if we are to be honest. Just the scenario might be different.

The story has a tone of honesty and sincerity, for everyone. After closing the book the reader must take a moment to question where they are within their own circle of the universe.

Sharing this book, FIVE DAYS, on many levels, with a glass of wine and small group of friends, would be lovely way to engage in a conversational adventure!

Rated of 5 by Christina
Interesting Concept, but Heroine Hard to Like
Five Days is the story about one woman's life and how everything can change in the blink of an eye.

We're introduced to the character in her "every day" life. Her job, her family, her husband, and just day-to-day routine. The next three days entail a work trip to nearby Boston and how events are set in motion to change her life forever. The last day is a year later, checking in on the storyline and seeing where the dust settled after those events.

The beginning and end of the book are well written. Pretty captivating, hook you in to the story, develop characters, and hold your attention.

The middle of the book is incredibly long winded and slow. I actually had to set the book down and didn't pick it up again for about a week because this part was so boring to me.

The heroine is very hard to like. In the beginning of the book we see snippets of her being short tempered, jumping down a stranger's throat, undermining her husband's parenting, and the like. By the center of the book she is a complete pompous snob. Exactly like Diane Chambers from Cheers. You want to like her, and she's the star, but boy does she REALLY grate on your nerves sometimes. Even making her husband a very pessimistic jerk doesn't do much in the way of pleading a case where you take sympathy and feel sorry enough to like her or bond with her.

Overall it's a very cool concept to have a whole novel showcase such a short part of a character's life and the impact that moments in time can have on a person's life. I just wish the heroine was more likeable and that it moved faster in some parts. Not a book you would re-read, but not a book to overlook either.

Douglas Kennedy Author Biography

Douglas Kennedy is the author of eleven novels, including the international bestseller Leaving the World and The Moment. His most recent novel is Five Days (2013). His work has been translated into 22 languages, and in 2007 he received the French decoration of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He has two children and now divides his time between London, Paris, Berlin and Maine.

Author Interview

Other books by Douglas Kennedy at BookBrowse