I really enjoyed this book.
It was written well and had nice characters.
I was really interested in the story

When his estranged wife is diagnosed with cancer, artist Wolf comes back to the family home to care for her and their daughter Ruth. Miriam's dying wish is to be cremated and her ashes scattered in the Hudson River as she is originally from New York. So Wolf and Ruth travel to New York to reconnect with Miriam's conservative Jewish family but Wolf also has another agenda.
This book is so cleverly put together that the reader is drawn in to the wildly disparate characters. As realisation slowly dawns the mood slips into a form of pathos so when the 'truth' is revealed it is not a surprise but is eminently sad. The whole set-up of Wolf's increasing dementia is portrayed in an incredibly sympathetic manner and the redemptive love of family comes through it all. A short but very poignant read.

Duffy’s second novel opens with errant husband, Wolf Mateus, returning to the London family home and his cancer-stricken Jewish wife upon hearing of her diagnosis and just a year before her death. His return is greeted with a typically scathing reference to his years of philandering by his disdainful sixteen-year-old daughter, Ruth, who persists in calling him “Mike” and whose life he has been largely absent from since the age of seven. Just two weeks after Miriam’s death Wolf takes Ruth to New York to scatter her mother’s ashes in the Hudson River with Miriam’s family during the ten holy days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. But for gentile Wolf there is a dual purpose to the trip, one that Ruth and her American family only slowly discover..

Irish by birth and with a propitious career in photography behind him, Wolf struggles to connect with his forthright and independent daughter and is mystified at her newfound fervour for Judaism, especially given her mother’s fairly relaxed attitude to her faith. Already facing suspicion and low-level hostility from Miriam’s orthodox family over his treatment of her Wolf also bears the brunt of their dismay that she has chosen a cremation over the Jewish preference for a burial. The connection between Wolf and Ruth is fragile at best and it is heartbreakingly sad to witness a discombobulating Wolf struggling to summon up memories of Miriam’s life in the city in a bid to find some common ground with his daughter. But for a grieving Ruth, exasperated at her father’s ambiguity and occupying an uneasy position managing Wolf and respecting her mother’s family, with every single day the gulf is widening.

The narrative throughout is the third-person perspective of Wolf and what becomes apparent as the story progresses are instances of repetition and peculiar breaks in an otherwise coherent narrative. At times this had me questioning whether I had read something correctly but what gradually becomes evident is that there is a far more serious issue at play and even Wolf’s fondness for alcohol can’t explain how increasingly odd he is appearing. I have never read a narrative quite like this and it is exceptionally well done without feeling laboured or heavy-handed and brought me far closer to realising how overwhelming life would seem in these circumstances. Assuming that he will play no part in her future the trip is a clumsy attempt by Wolf to set Ruth on the next phase of her life without yet revealing what the future holds for him.

Aside from the compelling insight into the fractured relationship between Wolf and his daughter I did had some issues with the novel. Despite the narrative being written from the third-person perspective of Wolf I noticed instances of head-hopping and found the relationship between Wolf and Miriam difficult to believe in with their history, and Wolf’s reasons for straying, notably absent. As someone who knows little about Judaism and the religious beliefs and practices I am not sure that I quite appreciated the subtext and understood why Miriam’s choice of burial would have upset her birth family so dramatically when surely the loss of her from their lives was the more significant matter.

A powerful and poignant read that tackles grief, faith and the regrets of a former husband and father waging an unwinnable war with his memory and is guaranteed to leave readers with much to contemplate.

A lovely story, full of love and friendship between and father and daughter. The intricacies that can see felt between two people.

When his wife Miriam days from cancer, Wolf has to take care of their 16-year-old daughter Ruth whom he hardly knows since the couple has been separated for quite some time. Miriam had one last wish: to have her ashes scattered in the Hudson River. Thus, Wolf and Ruth leave London for New York where he also hopes his daughter can find a new home with his former wife’s Jewish family. They arrive at the holy season between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur; Wolf has never really been religious and also their daughter has not been raised to follow religious traditions. Yet, with Miriam’s believing relatives, conflicts lie at hand. They only seem to have one mission, yet, there is something else the father has to announce to his daughter.

Austin Duffy’s novel “Ten Days” tells the story of people who have to cope with the loss of a beloved mother and wife. Even though they have not been living as a couple anymore, Wolf’s memories come back when he shows Ruth where they met, where their first kiss took place and where everything began. It seems to be quite difficult for him to deal with his intelligent and at times rebellious teenage daughter, however, the more the narration advances the more questions arise about Wolf’s behaviour which becomes not only quarrelsome but strange.

I totally enjoyed the novel since the characters are lively drawn and really appear to be authentic in the way they try to make sense of Miriam’s death. Ruth is quite independent and strong-willed, when Wolf’s secret is revealed, however, we also get to know another side of her character.

Not a totally emotional read, much more a slow novel which makes you ponder.