One Hundred Days

Alice Pung — 2021

One hundred days. It's no time at all, she tells me. But she's not the one waiting. In a heady whirlwind of independence, lust and defiance, sixteen-year-old Karuna falls pregnant. Not on purpose, but not entirely by accident, either. Incensed, Karuna's mother, already over-protective, confines her to their fourteenth-storey housing-commission flat, to keep her safe from the outside world - and make sure she can't get into any more trouble. Stuck inside for endless hours, Karuna battles her mother and herself for a sense of power in her own life, as a new life forms and grows within her. As the due date draws ever closer, the question of who will get to raise the baby - who it will call Mum - festers between them. One Hundred Days is a fractured fairytale exploring the fault lines between love and control. At times tense and claustrophobic, it is nevertheless brimming with humour, warmth and character. It is a magnificent new work from one of Australia's most celebrated writers.

Reviews

Bria@ladspter

May 31, 2024

This writing style is not my favorite and family trauma is not exactly what I wanted to read. I knew Karuna’s relationship with her mom was gonna be bad but not that bad. Fuck Karuna’s mom. I don’t blame Karuna’s dad for leaving but I do blame him for leaving Karuna there.

Ignatia Doringin@ignatiadgn

Sep 19, 2023

What a beautiful book. Portraying life, perspectives, struggles, but above all celebrating being a women. Sisterhood, motherhood, unconditional love, adolescence and everything in between. “I celebrate myself” ❤️

Tess McMahon@tessmcmahon

Nov 12, 2022

One Hundred Days left me with complicated feelings about the characters, their intentions and right and wrong. Which made me think about how society really created the black and white concepts of 'right' and 'wrong', 'good' and 'evil'. Reality is much more complicated, and this book does a great job of exploring control, power, motherhood and mother/daughter relationships. This book is quite short and only took a few hours to get through - highly recommend for a really quick, well-written read that still manages to explore some really interesting themes.

Taranjeet Thandi@teej90

Apr 8, 2022

Angela @oii-angmew

Jan 30, 2024

Grace Quilty@graceq

Aug 31, 2022

Nat Lim@littlemissmaudlin

Dec 28, 2021

Sun Pezzimenti @sunpezz

Dec 25, 2021