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kathleenww's review against another edition
5.0
This was a surprisingly good novel. I felt very engaged with the characters, and while I kept waiting for some crazy twist to happen, it never really did. There are many characters in this adventurous novel, and not one felt more or less important or necessary than another.
It's the last cruise for the elegant Queen Isabella and the crew and guests assembled are a fascinating and diverse group, from a quartet of elderly Israeli string players, to a Hungarian chef desperate to feel some success and control in his life. All sorts of people that would normally never encounter one another in "real life" are hurled together by the events of the ship's last trip from California to Hawaii. A really fun book! The ending was stunning.
It's the last cruise for the elegant Queen Isabella and the crew and guests assembled are a fascinating and diverse group, from a quartet of elderly Israeli string players, to a Hungarian chef desperate to feel some success and control in his life. All sorts of people that would normally never encounter one another in "real life" are hurled together by the events of the ship's last trip from California to Hawaii. A really fun book! The ending was stunning.
nixieknox's review against another edition
3.0
Because I have no desire to ever go on a cruise, I was fine with reading this. I liked all the characters, but I got WAY too much backstory on Rivka. Also it was a little unclear to me why the crew did what they did. Maybe it was unclear to me because it was unclear to them. That they all got along by the end was a little surprising. I guess what I'm saying is that everything happened a little too neatly with all the crazy events one after the other - people would have spiraled more out of control.
samalvarez823's review against another edition
4.0
Hello there friends! I grabbed this from my local library after seeing a review on it; and can I say, I am SO glad I did!
A vintage ocean liner, Queen Isabella is making its final voyage, a long trip to Hawaii from Long Beach, California. An supposed epic trip in retro form with a cast of characters that are so vastly different but, each having something to learn or lose on this vacation. When a crisis strikes, what will happen?
As many know, I’m obsessed with anything Titanic, shipwrecks, etc so seeing this novel was a huge score for me! It sort of reminded me of the times were in now, an unknown pandemic in which we have no idea what will happen, how it will end or what have you. Do you band together when tragedy strikes or do you separate yourself and rely on your own means? So many variables, so many outcomes, how does it go?
I really enjoyed this book and I think it’s a great, easy read. It brings up a lot of deep questions about what one really feels and the logic that goes inside of those thoughts. Go deeper with this one for yourself!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A vintage ocean liner, Queen Isabella is making its final voyage, a long trip to Hawaii from Long Beach, California. An supposed epic trip in retro form with a cast of characters that are so vastly different but, each having something to learn or lose on this vacation. When a crisis strikes, what will happen?
As many know, I’m obsessed with anything Titanic, shipwrecks, etc so seeing this novel was a huge score for me! It sort of reminded me of the times were in now, an unknown pandemic in which we have no idea what will happen, how it will end or what have you. Do you band together when tragedy strikes or do you separate yourself and rely on your own means? So many variables, so many outcomes, how does it go?
I really enjoyed this book and I think it’s a great, easy read. It brings up a lot of deep questions about what one really feels and the logic that goes inside of those thoughts. Go deeper with this one for yourself!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
moirastone's review against another edition
5.0
Kate Christensen, already my literary crush for The Astral and The Great Man and Trouble and this incredible interview, has given me the book of my actual dreams in The Last Cruise. I am not kidding, it's like she took some of the signal events of my life and a few other of my favorite literary tropes and made a book out them. It is:
1) set on an aging ocean liner (that bears a marked resemblance to the QE2), and features
2) a pair of female best friends, both at a crossroads in their lives, and a wry elderly woman who authors her own sexual and romantic reawakening, and
3) the plot turns on class dynamics, the erotics of making music and cooking, and seaborne catastrophe.
KATE DID YOU WRITE THIS FOR ME AND CAN WE BE FRIENDS?
1) set on an aging ocean liner (that bears a marked resemblance to the QE2), and features
2) a pair of female best friends, both at a crossroads in their lives, and a wry elderly woman who authors her own sexual and romantic reawakening, and
3) the plot turns on class dynamics, the erotics of making music and cooking, and seaborne catastrophe.
KATE DID YOU WRITE THIS FOR ME AND CAN WE BE FRIENDS?
mrsalexpaul's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book from the first page to the last. Working in hotels, I appreciated the various points of view - guest, entertainer, back-of-house staff. All the characters were likable, which is a huge necessity for me. I felt like each character was developed well and you really got a sense of their desires, flaws, fatal weaknesses, etc. The ending was left open for interpretation, which is normally something I'm not a fan of, but for some reason in this book it works. Reading this book, I only cared about the characters in their current state, in present time - I honestly wouldn't be interested in what happens when the cruise ends, so I felt like it was a good place to end the story. Definitely recommend!
maplegrey's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sonia_reppe's review
4.0
The fated events of this cruise vacation are told through three view-points: a chef, a musician, and a passenger named Christine who is vacationing with her friend. I think I liked all three viewpoints equally. Each of their arcs was interesting, although Christine's life decision near the end seemed abrupt. The ending of the book itself seemed abrupt. I felt like the blunt ending could have been tempered and even made really powerful in the hands of a different, more masterful author. I feel bad for saying that, because Christensen's writing is fun, but that is what I thought right after reading the last sentence.
Central to the plot is the poor conditions of the workers and the greediness of the cruise owners.
They are mostly from other countries and get paid poorly. In this book, the only American workers were in management or entertainment. (Probably how it really is).
The ship is an old vintage one, and the author uses this to imagine things going wrong, which is then exacerbated by the greed of the owner.
I believe this could be recommended to a variety of readers. There is the workers rights issue, the multiple viewpoint that are male and female, the diverse characters; those that like music elememts will enjoy the string quartet parts.
Central to the plot is the poor conditions of the workers and the greediness of the cruise owners.
They are mostly from other countries and get paid poorly. In this book, the only American workers were in management or entertainment. (Probably how it really is).
The ship is an old vintage one, and the author uses this to imagine things going wrong, which is then exacerbated by the greed of the owner.
I believe this could be recommended to a variety of readers. There is the workers rights issue, the multiple viewpoint that are male and female, the diverse characters; those that like music elememts will enjoy the string quartet parts.
lola425's review against another edition
4.0
Read in prepub. Due out July 2018. Christensen creates interesting, fully formed characters that do interesting things and this book was no exception. In an author less skilled than Christensen the story could have traveled a typical thriller type path. All the elements are there: action takes place on a cruise ship making its final voyage, characters from different walks of life thrown together, a crisis, but Christensen uses these elements to tell a story about the characters that resists cliche and the ending doesn't take the easy way out. Good stuff, add it to your TBR list.
pharmdad2007's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting and thought provoking, this book is an incomplete look at what can go wrong when you depend on a hundred disgruntled workers to get you safely across the world's largest ocean. Very open-ended, leaving the end result to the imagination.
suzannedix's review against another edition
3.0
Was it a brilliant ending or a cop-out? I'm still deciding...