Days Without End

A Novel

By: Sebastian Barry

Narrated by: Aidan Kelly

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

From Sebastian Barry, a two-time finalist for the Man Booker Prize, comes a powerful and unforgettable novel chronicling a young Irish immigrant's army years in the Indian wars and the American Civil War.

Thomas McNulty, having fled the Great Famine in Ireland and now barely 17 years old, signs up for the US Army in the 1850s and with his brother in arms, John Cole, goes to fight in the Indian Wars - against the Sioux and the Yurok - and, ultimately, in the Civil War. Orphans of terrible hardships themselves, they find these days to be vivid and alive, despite the horrors they see and are complicit in.

Moving from the plains of Wyoming to Tennessee, Sebastian Barry's latest work is a masterpiece of atmosphere and language. An intensely poignant story of two men and the makeshift family they create with a young Sioux girl, Winona, Days Without End is a fresh and haunting portrait of the most fateful years in American history and is a novel never to be forgotten.

©2017 Sebastian Barry (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"If an audiobook that is gorgeously written, tells a heart-thumping story, and is performed with flawless taste and authority is a cause for celebration, chill the champagne.... If the setting sounds familiar, the story is not, and you will not soon forget it, thanks to dazzling language and to a supple and powerful performance by [narrator Aidan] Kelly, whose Thomas is somehow both pragmatic and full of wonder." ( AudioFile)

Can't say enough good things

Please listen to or read this book. It was so well done and moving. Aidan Kelly is brilliant as Thomas and you'll fall in love with all the characters and their incredible story. Love, tragedy, war, injustice, triumph, humor... this book has it all. Brilliant and top notch.

Breathtaking wriring!

The writing is astoundingly beautiful and direct, as are the characters and themes generously and poignantly presented.

Misleading Description but Really Good

I don't care to be tricked into reading subjects that are inconsequential to me. call it advertising maybe. usually book summaries don't overlook major plot drivers. anyhow spectacular writing and very believable subject matter. I feel it captures the relativism of those days where humans are ruthless in pioneering. I feel that it doesn't likely portray homosexual acceptance accurately; that would be modern moral relativism or maybe Roman relativism. who knows. only unbelievable aspect of this book; unfortunately screams of agenda beyond the story.

Luscious Text, Lusciously Uttered

It's impossible to describe the delectable quality of this audible book. Each phrase is a perfect morsel, perfectly delivered to the palate of the mind. I would call it a literary amuse bouche for the compact perfection of the writing, but that might make you think this book is vapid or inconsequential. It is neither.

I will read anything Sebatian Barry writes.

Teenaged Irish boy, famine survivor, end up in USA and sees it all: the frontier, Indian wars and the Civil War. I lack the capacity to do this work justice, except to say that having listened to the audio, my life is richer for it. Aidan Kelly loves every word he speaks. It makes you homesick to listen to him.

Beautifully orated

This is a lovey and unique story of civil war but so much further enhanced by the Irish actor's narrative. So much of the dialog is almost poetic in it s description of the countryside, the battles and the soldiers emotions. Highly recommend this audible selection!

Unusual story

This a haunting story of the frontier. It will take out west, back East, and into the South. The characters are the outcast of society. This is a story unlike any other and told almost poetic fashion.

A little corner of the Wild West

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes! Mid 19th century US history mixed with romantic and non-romantic love. While some reviewers believe that the main characters are anachronistic, they aren't. Love is love!

What other book might you compare Days Without End to and why?

Oddly, Outlander (minus the time travel of course) in the descriptions of battles and farm life.

What does Aidan Kelly bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Pronunciation of many Irish slang words

If you could take any character from Days Without End out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Handsome John Cole because he doesn't say much but when he does, it's quite passionate.

Fun, imaginative, fast, wild, sensitive

This is a vivid, visceral novel, fun, sensitive, and fast-paced. It is extremely entertaining and written with clarity. The narrative performance is outstanding, well-paced, emotive, tone and accent sensitive. This is a great novel to read and listen to audible accompanying.

Best book I have read in years

There are very few books I would read a second time in quick succession but this is one of them, the expressions are worth taking down and reading over and over, a true gem