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mbenzz's review against another edition
3.0
**2.5 Stars** This is now the second book I've read that has been compared to 'Station Eleven', and it's the second book I've read that is NOTHING LIKE 'STATION ELEVEN'. I really wish publishers would STOP comparing their mediocre dystopian-esq novels to the beautiful story that is 'Station Eleven'. It just pisses readers off and sets them up for disappointment. Also, this story is NOT dystopian. At all.
Anyway...
I'll start this review by telling readers what they REALLY want to know while reading this book.
Yes...the world comes to an end at the end.
No, I will not go into how or when, or anything explaining it, but that's all I really wanted to know while reading this. In fact, it's the main reason I KEPT reading it. To see if and how the world would end (it's actually kind of terrifying in how absolute it is).
None of the characters drew me in. I didn't care for any of them...Karen's a broken, crazy woman who is incredibly depressing to read about. Sarah (with an 'H'!) is a sixteen year old girl trying WAAAAAY too hard to be what she perceives as deep and mature, but comes off as bratty and selfish. And Kurt is a creepy guy in his 40's preying upon the aforementioned sixteen year old girl (it's really skeevy and gross).
The three astronauts, Bear, Svec and Yui were my favorite to read about. Well, Bear and Svec. Yui is kind of...weird. I really liked having the perspective of three people so completely removed from Earth itself.
As for the writing? Well....this is a little harder for me to review. Much of it is written very well, but in many places (especially the ending), it comes off as trying to hard to be flowery and poetic. I don't know...I know how I want to describe it in my head, but I can't really explain it. Some sections are written in a way where you have to go back and re-read them to really understand what's happening. Nothing is really CLEAR, and that frustrates me. There's a lot of pointless descriptions and side-stories sprinkled throughout that have no meaning to the overall story. Like the dolphins at the end, or the kid with the rabbits, or Mary's psycho sister, Sarah. So many characters are thrown at you (especially near the end) that they mean nothing because you can't keep them all straight.
Overall, I don't know that I would recommend this to anyone I know. I CERTAINLY wouldn't recommend it to fans of 'Station Eleven', because they'll be in for a major disappointment. It's by no means a terrible book, but it's definitely a slow, slow burn, with a mild payout in the end.
*** I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
Anyway...
I'll start this review by telling readers what they REALLY want to know while reading this book.
Yes...the world comes to an end at the end.
No, I will not go into how or when, or anything explaining it, but that's all I really wanted to know while reading this. In fact, it's the main reason I KEPT reading it. To see if and how the world would end (it's actually kind of terrifying in how absolute it is).
None of the characters drew me in. I didn't care for any of them...Karen's a broken, crazy woman who is incredibly depressing to read about. Sarah (with an 'H'!) is a sixteen year old girl trying WAAAAAY too hard to be what she perceives as deep and mature, but comes off as bratty and selfish. And Kurt is a creepy guy in his 40's preying upon the aforementioned sixteen year old girl (it's really skeevy and gross).
The three astronauts, Bear, Svec and Yui were my favorite to read about. Well, Bear and Svec. Yui is kind of...weird. I really liked having the perspective of three people so completely removed from Earth itself.
As for the writing? Well....this is a little harder for me to review. Much of it is written very well, but in many places (especially the ending), it comes off as trying to hard to be flowery and poetic. I don't know...I know how I want to describe it in my head, but I can't really explain it. Some sections are written in a way where you have to go back and re-read them to really understand what's happening. Nothing is really CLEAR, and that frustrates me. There's a lot of pointless descriptions and side-stories sprinkled throughout that have no meaning to the overall story. Like the dolphins at the end, or the kid with the rabbits, or Mary's psycho sister, Sarah. So many characters are thrown at you (especially near the end) that they mean nothing because you can't keep them all straight.
Overall, I don't know that I would recommend this to anyone I know. I CERTAINLY wouldn't recommend it to fans of 'Station Eleven', because they'll be in for a major disappointment. It's by no means a terrible book, but it's definitely a slow, slow burn, with a mild payout in the end.
*** I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
ladyj317's review against another edition
5.0
clever (but not obnoxiously so) - great premise, great execution, will be reading again in the future
kgnade's review against another edition
1.0
I received an advanced reader copy of Last Day from Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley, in return for my honest opinion.
Last Day by Domenica Ruta is a story about making amends. The Last Day is May 28th – every year on this day, across the world, people celebrate Last Day. Many people attend large parties celebrating the day that could be the end of the world. Others seek out people they’ve wronged to apologize before the world ends.
Last Day follows a handful of people on this Last Day…Bear, an American astronaut living on the International Space Station; Sara, a teenager in love with an older man and Karen, a woman that doesn’t adhere to any of society’s rules. Will they make amends with those they hurt or will they celebrate the lives they’ve led?
This book was funny the the story line just didn’t work for me. The story was going to end one of two ways- it took forever to get there and was messy. This book was very wordy- a thesaurus may have exploded in it. Last Day is came out May 28, 2019 or Last Day.
Goodreads Rating: 1/5 stars
#domenicaruta #lastday #netgalley #arcs #advancedreadercopy #fiction #fictionbooks #readin2019 #randomhousepublishinggroup
For more of my reviews visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/WhattheBook/ or http://whatthebook-reviews.tumblr.com/ or follow me on Instagram @whatthebook__ or on Litsy @whatthebook.
Last Day by Domenica Ruta is a story about making amends. The Last Day is May 28th – every year on this day, across the world, people celebrate Last Day. Many people attend large parties celebrating the day that could be the end of the world. Others seek out people they’ve wronged to apologize before the world ends.
Last Day follows a handful of people on this Last Day…Bear, an American astronaut living on the International Space Station; Sara, a teenager in love with an older man and Karen, a woman that doesn’t adhere to any of society’s rules. Will they make amends with those they hurt or will they celebrate the lives they’ve led?
This book was funny the the story line just didn’t work for me. The story was going to end one of two ways- it took forever to get there and was messy. This book was very wordy- a thesaurus may have exploded in it. Last Day is came out May 28, 2019 or Last Day.
Goodreads Rating: 1/5 stars
#domenicaruta #lastday #netgalley #arcs #advancedreadercopy #fiction #fictionbooks #readin2019 #randomhousepublishinggroup
For more of my reviews visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/WhattheBook/ or http://whatthebook-reviews.tumblr.com/ or follow me on Instagram @whatthebook__ or on Litsy @whatthebook.
bags_and_bookz's review against another edition
2.0
I was very excited to get approved for this book but it left me quite disappointed.
This is the story of the World's End, or at least it is supposed to be. In the described world, which is very like ours now, people celebrate Last Day every year and wait till the World ends after every celebration, but it looks like it never did. There is a story behind all of that but it was shared only in bits and pieces and hard to get where this Last Day idea came from. Nevertheless, the reader follows few characters on this particular Last Day celebration. There is a good man Bear - astronaut - serving his mission in space, a teenager Sarah, lost in understanding her self and her place in the World, and mentally and physically abused Karen. Along the way, many more characters come into play but left little or no mark on the narration.
At first, I was engaged in Sarah's thoughts of discovering herself and setting limits. I was sad to follow Karen's pursuits (however, I think that the theme of mental illness was poorly executed). I was intrigued of Bear's space adventures. However, after about 100 pages, more random characters were introduced with little or no value, and I was put off. It was hard to follow whose story it was and why some characters were connected and how it would play out. Well, it didn't and I had a feeling of unfinished story lines.
SPOILER
At the end, when the reader understands, that the World would actually end after this particular celebration, even more random characters are thrown into the story (music composer, a woman from Bali, etc) which just gives more pages but less value.
Anyway, I hoped I liked it more, but it felt like a waste of time.
This is the story of the World's End, or at least it is supposed to be. In the described world, which is very like ours now, people celebrate Last Day every year and wait till the World ends after every celebration, but it looks like it never did. There is a story behind all of that but it was shared only in bits and pieces and hard to get where this Last Day idea came from. Nevertheless, the reader follows few characters on this particular Last Day celebration. There is a good man Bear - astronaut - serving his mission in space, a teenager Sarah, lost in understanding her self and her place in the World, and mentally and physically abused Karen. Along the way, many more characters come into play but left little or no mark on the narration.
At first, I was engaged in Sarah's thoughts of discovering herself and setting limits. I was sad to follow Karen's pursuits (however, I think that the theme of mental illness was poorly executed). I was intrigued of Bear's space adventures. However, after about 100 pages, more random characters were introduced with little or no value, and I was put off. It was hard to follow whose story it was and why some characters were connected and how it would play out. Well, it didn't and I had a feeling of unfinished story lines.
SPOILER
At the end, when the reader understands, that the World would actually end after this particular celebration, even more random characters are thrown into the story (music composer, a woman from Bali, etc) which just gives more pages but less value.
Anyway, I hoped I liked it more, but it felt like a waste of time.
caitlintremblay's review against another edition
4.0
This book felt frantic, I assume to mimic the chaos of a last day on earth. It was maybe too frantic for how short it was, I loved a lot of the characters and wish we had more time with them, especially Karen who was one of the most complicated and heartbreaking characters I’ve encountered in a long time. Sarah and Kurt made me mad, Sarah the most. She was full of precocious teen angst that felt more like unchecked privilege than any actual metal health issue or “growing pains.” The crew on the ISS was great comic relief though I wish we had some chapters from Svec’s perspective. Overall, I enjoyed the character writing in this book so much that I wished the plot was a little longer and a little more complex.
asgard793's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
I can respect what this booked tried to be: a loosely connected set of characters facing the possibility of the end of the world, but my appreciation ends there. The characters range from astronauts on the ISS, a tattoo artist, a teenage girl to a neuro-atypical group home resident seeking a family. The connections are tenuous to the point of irrelevance with each chapter alternates between characters. The contained time-frame and limited page space for each character gives little for the reader connect with or grow into. There's bursts of beauty in the writing, but each chapter is interrupted by the next, he affect is jarring with little direction. The idea of a Last Day each year and its cultural imprint on societies in the form of celebrations and customs is fascinating, if only this were the focus rather than thinly drawn characters and tedious writing.
readers_block's review against another edition
4.0
3.75/5
I really appreciate a book with a completely unique concept and I really felt that this one was. The entire book centers on a cast of characters on "Last Day" a (mostly) worldwide event on which the end of the world is supposed to happen, though its celebrated every year and hasn't happened yet.
However this book is dark. The characters are depressing (I think only two of them were ever described as being happy), very dark and sad things happen, and it ends with the actual end of the world. That said I really enjoyed the quirkiness (at the risk of sounding too lighthearted) of it. The author truly has a brilliant imagination.
I really appreciate a book with a completely unique concept and I really felt that this one was. The entire book centers on a cast of characters on "Last Day" a (mostly) worldwide event on which the end of the world is supposed to happen, though its celebrated every year and hasn't happened yet.
However this book is dark. The characters are depressing (I think only two of them were ever described as being happy), very dark and sad things happen, and it ends with the actual end of the world. That said I really enjoyed the quirkiness (at the risk of sounding too lighthearted) of it. The author truly has a brilliant imagination.
emmadstanden's review against another edition
3.0
What would you do on the "last day"? What would you do if the last day was foretold but without a year attached... celebrated year after year as an annual holiday full of superstition and traditions?
Domenica Ruta illustrates how people's lives intersect and overlap from a casual glance, to a meaningful relationship, to a distant relation. Ruta paints a haunting picture of human wandering eerily suggesting the reader to question what human worth is.
3.5
Domenica Ruta illustrates how people's lives intersect and overlap from a casual glance, to a meaningful relationship, to a distant relation. Ruta paints a haunting picture of human wandering eerily suggesting the reader to question what human worth is.
3.5
ktrain3900's review against another edition
2.0
More interesting in concept than execution. I suppose dwelling on the minutia of the lives of seemingly random folks, most of whom you'd not want to spend a moment with, over the course of a couple days, only to burst it open at the end, was a statement in and of itself about how we spend our life and time. For me it came off as ploddingly detailed and ultimately feeling like a bit of letdown, even if the last chapter was by far the most eloquently written. I get the cleverness of the plotting, of what it could mean about my reaction to the book, but it just doesn't balance with the simpleness and/or sad-sackishness of so many characters.