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samantha_duncan 's review for:
Dava Shastri's Last Day
by Kirthana Ramisetti
There were a lot of aspects of the premise I was interested to see play out. A billionaire facing death choosing assisted suicide. Announcing her death beforehand so she can see herself eulogized by the media. What happens when she is remembered for the more salacious parts of her life, rather than her philanthropic work. Ultimately, what happens when control is taken away from a control freak.
Dava Shastri is a character who subverts what women are expected to do in fiction (and real life). A mother more focused on her career than her family, who sees her children in terms of how they can carry on her legacy, and who initially doesn't consider how her choices will impact anyone close to her. Even her work itself, while it's benefitted so many lives, seems like it's all organized around curating a perception of her that is generous and giving. It's refreshing to see a woman, especially a mother, make choices solely for her, and it's hard to write a self-centered billionaire that readers won't absolutely hate.
Would have liked to see the premise fleshed out a little more, namely the idea that we all want to, but can't, control public perceptions of ourselves. The cast of characters is large and not developed enough or very realistically. It's about rich people, so entirely unrelatable to most of us (which is fine, but ugh, rich people, lol). It's also set a couple decades in the future but doesn't do enough to address climate change, healthcare, the billionaire class's effect on society, class privilege etc. Read for the premise, not for the story or characters.
Dava Shastri is a character who subverts what women are expected to do in fiction (and real life). A mother more focused on her career than her family, who sees her children in terms of how they can carry on her legacy, and who initially doesn't consider how her choices will impact anyone close to her. Even her work itself, while it's benefitted so many lives, seems like it's all organized around curating a perception of her that is generous and giving. It's refreshing to see a woman, especially a mother, make choices solely for her, and it's hard to write a self-centered billionaire that readers won't absolutely hate.
Would have liked to see the premise fleshed out a little more, namely the idea that we all want to, but can't, control public perceptions of ourselves. The cast of characters is large and not developed enough or very realistically. It's about rich people, so entirely unrelatable to most of us (which is fine, but ugh, rich people, lol). It's also set a couple decades in the future but doesn't do enough to address climate change, healthcare, the billionaire class's effect on society, class privilege etc. Read for the premise, not for the story or characters.