Amanda Curtin’s novel Six Days, published by Upswell Publishing, examines homelessness, addiction, grief, and survival across six days in February 2012, moving between contemporary Paris and historical eras including occupied Paris and the 1968 student protests.
The Essential Facts of Six Days
- The narrative centers on Daniel Despard, an Australian expatriate, recovering alcoholic, and building caretaker in Paris whose routine is disrupted by a young homeless girl.
- The novel shifts between Daniel’s present-day struggle with sobriety and interconnected historical storylines spanning occupied Paris, postwar France, 1968 student protests, and contemporary Catalonia.
- Key figures include Daniel’s friend Marcelline, alongside distinct homeless characters such as Claude, Cesare, and the unnamed “pumpkin soup girl.”
Daniel Despard and the Daily Labour of Sobriety
Daniel Despard serves as the novel's primary focus, managing the exhausting daily labour of sobriety through a strict routine developed with his friend Marcelline. His life is governed by the mantra “ROUTINE DISTRACTION REMEMBER THINK AHEAD,” which functions as both a practical survival mechanism and a moral compass. Throughout the narrative, craving is portrayed as a palpable, relentless condition known as “The Thirst.” Curtin presents Daniel as prickly and self-deprecating rather than as a caricature, capturing the continuous negotiation required to maintain recovery.
Parisian Inequalities and the Reality of Homelessness
The Paris of Six Days highlights the sharp disparity between the city’s celebrated romance and the harsh conditions faced by its unhoused population. Metro stations, stairwells, cemeteries, and shelters form the backdrop for characters like Claude, Cesare, and the “pumpkin soup girl,” who resist easy sentimentalization. When Marcelline encounters Daniel sleeping rough near Montparnasse Cemetery, the text depicts an unvarnished reaction. Confronted by physical distress and bodily effluvium, Marcelline instinctively shrinks back before choosing to extend her hand.
Historical Threads and Generational Entanglements
Structured across six days in February 2012, the book connects Daniel’s present-day narrative with stories from occupied Paris, postwar France, the 1968 student protests, and modern Catalonia. The sections set during the Nazi occupation are particularly vivid, anchored by Claudine’s observation that “hunger is in charge of the table now.” While some historical shifts interrupt the emotional momentum of Daniel’s story, the overarching structure investigates how lives intersect across generations and what people owe one another.
| Novel Element | Primary Focus | Key Context |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Upswell Publishing | Australian independent press |
| Timeline | February 2012 (Present narrative) | Interspersed with 1940s, 1968, and recent historical flashbacks |
| Central Themes | Addiction and Homelessness | Explores recovery, survival, and marginalized urban populations |
Grief, Absence, and the Ethics of Care
Marcelline’s physical absence for much of the narrative generates the central mystery of the book while representing a distinct ethic of care. Her disappearance leaves Daniel—and the reader—to confront how well we truly know the people who sustain us. As the narrative draws its threads together across recovered addicts, migrants, and survivors, Curtin examines the responsibilities people assume for one another at the edges of visibility.
