A review by bookmarkonthewall
Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

It’s November 2023. A new deadly virus, 6DM (6 days maximum before your body disintegrates and destroys itself) has wiped out humanity except for one woman who against all odds is alive. Alone in a post-apocalyptic dystopian world on planet Earth, we learn about the life this woman had - her relationships with her family, friends and husband, to her work and lifestyle - which wasn’t a happy life but full of compromises and meeting other people’s expectations of who she should and is supposed to be in life. In a world where she is the only one left, who will she become?

💭Don’t let this pretty pink covered book fool you! This is a terrifying, devastating, funny and uplifting book all at the same time - it’s a real rollercoaster of emotions along the way. Even though dystopian novels / films really creep me out, I’m strangely fascinated by them and the creation of potential new worlds of, in short, horror. 

So Clift wrote this book before Covid-19 happened but has tailored the content to align with its release during Covid-19, which I think intensifies the backdrop of this book, which is only a couple of years ahead. It works and it feels v realistic, and makes the notion of human kind being wiped out even more chilling. But the focus of the book isn’t about the pandemic and the after-effects of that (I mean there are obviously scary vivid details on death, rotting human corpses, rats and maggots..) but on this one woman who is alive. 

I love that the only remnant of survival of the human race is a woman! She has no name but we get to know all about her past life and who she was, but it’s clear she wasn’t happy. So we follow her journey in the new world where she can do, act, think, feel, however she wants. Though she’s not a Will Smith I am Legend character who is ready to fend off all the bad things in a post-apocalyptic world. She is one of us. And she gets drunk and gets high staying in the most luxurious hotel and eating food from Harrods to numb the pain of losing loved ones and not deal with reality. Through these stories, it provides a sense of fun and humour to the bleak and dark situation, and you go along with it. 

Through this woman we get to see her flaws and vulnerability but we also see strength and resilience, someone who has a will to survive too. We learn a lot about love, and what friends, families and lovers can mean to us. This book covers so many different themes - astounded by the expansiveness of this book!

And without revealing any spoilers, the ending has left me screaming!! I almost thought my copy was missing a few pages! I think we need a sequel...

⚖️ Great read if you want a mix of dystopian, feminist, character driven fiction. Highly recommend! Can someone read it soon so I can chat about the ending please?!
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