Steffie finds trouble at every turn.
Siân Hughes’s third book, No Such Thing as Monday, spans the lifetime of Stephanie (Steffie) and the regret and pain that never seem to leave her alone. While not long in pages, the novel covers a large chunk of Steffie’s life: childhood to middle age. It follows the brutal reality of abandonment, familial guilt, favoritism, and poverty pinned against the background of England.
Hard-headed and hilarious, Steffie is a working woman who has just lost her father. Stan, abusive and inconsistent, always preferred Steffie over her softer older sister, Caroline. Steffie must confront her feelings associated with the past and Caroline, as well as the fact that said favoritism only sunk Steffie deeper into the muck.
The plot takes a step back to outline Steffie’s upbringing. The main theme? It’s fraught with much mystery around the sister who vanished off to “college” one day. Caroline always had a sweet spot for Steffie, creating small crafts and whispering kindness in the darkness of their partitioned bedroom. Steffie remembers this as well as no one speaking of Caroline. What Caroline did have was their mother’s love, and Steffie never understood why she couldn’t have it too, all the while not understanding their father’s abuse.
Years later, guilt weighs heavy as Steffie is abandoned by their father following her mother’s death, and she begins to realize more about her past. The chip on her shoulder gets harder and more noticeable as she runs into trouble with men, work, and eventually the law. She takes a job at a laundromat—laundering skills having been learned from her mother. Now with both parents dead, there seems only one logical option: find Caroline.
The novel unveils itself slowly but with much intention. We begin with a narrow shot of Steffie’s life, and it gradually expands until readers are also left grappling with feelings of guilt and confusion: only in adulthood, marked by years of shame, life experience, and hindsight, can we see the full picture. The pulsing question is “will we meet this sister?” but it’s not the only aspect that keeps us reading. Steffie is compelling, not always likeable, but certainly never unlikeable. She holds a realness even through her crude comments.
Class is a central social theme. Steffie believes she must, for a lack of a better word, “have her life together” before encountering her sister. While plagued with struggle, Caroline has made a life of her own, working at a hospital. Steffie worries she isn’t “posh” enough, determines she must have a consistent job, and must look the part before she sees her sister again. Did I mention it’s been 30 years?
There is an anxiety toward facing the embodiment of where Steffie’s shame stems from. As a child, she defended Stan against her mother, not understanding the abuse her mother and sister endured until later. Other adults in their childhood made sure it was clear that the abuse was “Steffie’s fault.” Steffie grew up to believe this.
Steffie also holds a grudge against Caroline pointing out that she never showed up to Stan’s funeral, and “she didn’t try to find me either.” It’s a justification that resolves Steffie of the full potency of her guilt. While Caroline was praised for being a good clothes washer, the one kindness she’s given, Steffie adopts this as her main employment in adulthood.
What’s interesting about this novel are the chapter titles—they give us a little foreshadowing of what’s to come. Each chapter is like a set of pages in a photo album, slowly contributing to a book that hopefully feels complete by the end. The novel is heavily character driven and we are often told in a matter-of-fact tone what happened, which is still engaging. Nothing is as it seemed from childhood, and through crafted flashbacks, Hughes gives readers and Steffie insight into what was truly happening during her childhood.
Ultimately, Steffie must grapple with a question: were these grueling decades a necessary punishment, and will she be forgiven by a sister who once loved her? No Such Thing As Monday is a powerful story that unveils itself with every page. It is bound to leave readers wondering if Mondays truly exist, or if that too is something they’ve confused for years.
FICTION
No Such Thing As Monday
By Siân Hughes
Henry Holt and Co.
Published November 10, 2026
