Publication Date: Available Now from Orbit
Source: Review Copy
Charlie has a new job. He gets to travel, and he meets interesting people, some of whom are actually pleased to see him.
It’s good to have a friendly face, you see. At the end.
But the end of all things is coming. Charlie’s boss and his three associated are riding out, and it’s Charlie’s job to go before.
Sometimes he is sent as a courtesy, sometimes as a warning. He never knows which.
I loved The End of the Day. I took my time with it, a novel to be savoured for its utterly beautiful writing, gorgeous descriptive nuances and Charlie, the character at the heart of it, one I will never forget.
The world Claire North has built here is one of many levels, Charlie, who takes on a new role as the harbinger of death whilst learning about life, is so wonderfully normal that you just sink into his world feeling like it is all entirely possible. The End of the Day is melancholy, intense, a book that has something to say in the underneath of it all if you listen to its small quiet voice. The places Charlie visits, the people he meets, some of them in their last moments, just ingrain themselves into your senses, this is a book with that thing called “all the feels”
I actually find it quite difficult to describe with any actually useful thoughts at all, it just IS – Claire North writes with a peaceful complexity, she drew me into her story without me hardly noticing until I was just living it all right alongside Charlie and the rest of the eclectic, memorable characters I met along the way. Some of the scenes are heart stopping, most of them gently contemplative but ultimately utterly gripping, a book to sink into and leave the world behind.
Overall just total total magic. Magic on the page.
Highly Recommended.
Happy Reading!
