Amanda Curtin imagines fragile acts of care among the homeless in Paris
The author’s novel, Six Days, examines what people owe one another and what happens when those obligations are ignored.
Amanda Curtin’s novel Six Days begins with a girl’s death in a Paris cemetery during a harsh winter. Years later, Daniel Despard, an Australian man who has become a caretaker for homeless individuals, finds his routine disrupted when a young homeless girl enters his life. The novel explores themes of homelessness, addiction, grief, and the small acts of kindness that sustain people in difficult circumstances.
The story unfolds across six days in February 2012, alternating between Daniel’s modern-day experiences and a series of interconnected tales spanning different periods in French history, from postwar France to the student protests of 1968 and contemporary Catalonia. The novel emphasizes how lives can become intertwined across generations, with survival and moral values at its core.
Daniel emerges as a compelling character in Curtin’s work. She effectively illustrates the daily struggle to maintain sobriety through routines and mantras like "ROUTINE DISTRACTION REMEMBER THINK AHEAD." Although Daniel can be prickly, judgmental, and self-deprecating, Curtin prevents him from becoming a caricature of either recovery or failure. Instead, she captures the persistent negotiation required to stay sober.
Throughout the novel, cravings are a constant presence, often described as "The Thirst." These cravings serve as powerful moments, highlighting the ongoing nature of addiction. The Paris setting of Six Days is unique, focusing on locations like metro stations, stairwells, cemeteries, and shelters occupied by the homeless. Daniel’s observations often reveal the contrast between Paris’s appearance of beauty and the stark inequalities faced by its residents.
Curtin excels in portraying the diverse experiences of homelessness, giving distinct voices and desires to characters such as Claude, Cesare, and the unnamed "pumpkin soup girl." These characters resist easy sympathy or marginalization, with Claude standing out for her abrasive independence and unexpected tenderness. Curtin pays close attention to the sensory aspects of homelessness and the reactions people often have when encountering the homeless.
One particularly poignant scene involves Marcelline, another character in Daniel’s life, encountering Daniel sleeping rough near Montparnasse Cemetery. The scene vividly depicts the smell of vomit, alcohol-laden urine, and other bodily effluvia, causing Marcelline to instinctively recoil. However, Curtin refrains from judging Marcelline’s reaction, instead presenting it as a typical human response to discomfort or distress.
She demonstrates the power of choice in responding with care, moving from instinctive withdrawal to deliberate compassion.
Marcelline, though briefly appearing in the narrative, represents a crucial ethic of care. Her disappearance adds mystery to the story, while also symbolizing the importance of empathy and understanding in sustaining others. The novel repeatedly questions how well we truly know those who sustain us, often hiding grief beneath the surface. The pumpkin soup girl’s warning that "People sad for a long time sometimes they die" underscores the theme of hidden grief.
While some narrative strands are less successful, the novel's final sections effectively tie together the various themes and characters, delivering both satisfying and heartbreaking moments. Through its exploration of homelessness, addiction, and the relationships that bind people, Six Days offers a compassionate examination of lives often overlooked in society. It prompts readers to reconsider assumptions about worth, failure, and the importance of recognizing humanity in those who are marginalized.
Written by urgent.news from The Conversation AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
