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edgeofstories's review
4.0
Last Day by Domenica Ruta describes how different people "celebrate" the Last Day, a yearly holiday in anticipating of the end of the world. Focusing on several characters, including a team on an international space station, a tattoo artist, a teen girl, Ruta depicts existential dread in various forms and flavors. I really liked the different characters, and the ending definitely stuck with me. It's very bleak and dark with unlikable characters, which worked for me in this book (though I don't always enjoy it in other contexts). Unlike other reviewers, I somehow missed the comparison to Station Eleven, which is probably for the best.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
stephaniereads's review
2.0
(I received a free copy from Random House)
So I didn't love this one. It's about a fictional holiday called "Last Day," where every year humans celebrate what might be their last day on Earth (May 28th was once predicted to be the end of the world). Each year, though, the sun still rises and life carries on. But will it this year? We follow Sarah, a young girl fixated on a much older tattoo artist; Karen, a troubled woman who begins to hear voices; and Bear, an astronaut on the International Space Station.
What I liked: I *did* stay up too late reading this, which is always a good quality in a book. I was really into Sarah's narrative in the first half, especially because of Ruta's solid characterization. Also loved the imagination behind the origin of Last Day and the almost anthropological reports about how it's celebrated across the world.
What I didn't like: The three main narratives never came together, and didn't seem to enhance each other. They also weren't balanced for me, meaning I kept racing through certain characters' sections to get back to the more interesting story. It felt emotionally distanced, too, and nobody was very likable (not a deal breaker for me though). The ending also really didn't work for me.
So I didn't love this one. It's about a fictional holiday called "Last Day," where every year humans celebrate what might be their last day on Earth (May 28th was once predicted to be the end of the world). Each year, though, the sun still rises and life carries on. But will it this year? We follow Sarah, a young girl fixated on a much older tattoo artist; Karen, a troubled woman who begins to hear voices; and Bear, an astronaut on the International Space Station.
What I liked: I *did* stay up too late reading this, which is always a good quality in a book. I was really into Sarah's narrative in the first half, especially because of Ruta's solid characterization. Also loved the imagination behind the origin of Last Day and the almost anthropological reports about how it's celebrated across the world.
What I didn't like: The three main narratives never came together, and didn't seem to enhance each other. They also weren't balanced for me, meaning I kept racing through certain characters' sections to get back to the more interesting story. It felt emotionally distanced, too, and nobody was very likable (not a deal breaker for me though). The ending also really didn't work for me.
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