If you’re looking for a cracking good read that’s sure to make you laugh, then you need to read Last One At The Party. Only released on 4th February 2021, its already been listed as an Amazon bestseller. Everyone is raving about this book and with very good reason. It’s brilliant!
And lets face it, when the TV/film rights have been sold to Ridley Scott’s production company, that is a very good sign of a damn good story!
It’s also a novel about a global pandemic. Yes, that’s correct, you’ve read that right. You would think that as we’re living in the midst of a horrible pandemic, the last thing we want to do is read about a fictional one. But believe me, this is a funny, poignant endearing and very authentic must read! Dare I say, I’d even describe it as uplifting. I really love this book as do loads of other book bloggers and readers. It was a sheer coincidence that author Bethany Clift signed her publishing deal for Last One At The Party three months before a real-life global pandemic struck. However as Bethany comments in her note to the readers, this has ‘never been a novel about a pandemic…This is a story about surviving post-humanity rather than post-pandemic…This is a story about life.’
And what a vibrant, life-affirming story it is!
This is a story of a woman who appears to be the only living survivor of the deadly virus 6DM. She is a woman that I could really relate to in so many ways. As I was reading it, I also believed that many of my friends would relate to her too and couldn’t wait to share her story with them. She is not a woman determined to save humanity in a dystopian world when all seems lost – rather she gets drunk, raids Harrods and does a few other things she would never of considered in her pre-pandemic life.
This is story juxtaposed between the woman’s old life in which she was a wife, daughter, friend; and her new life as ‘the only person here. In this country. Potentially, in the world.’ Throughout she had me howling with laughter, had me thinking ‘Yes, I would do that‘ and had me crying. This is a woman that is funny, real, flawed and a true survivor. I really liked her, admired her and truly empathised with her for a variety of reasons.
I was thinking about this book a few days after I finished it (it’s a story that stays with you) and realised that the woman is nameless throughout the narrative. For me this enhanced the power of the story. Throughout the emotions she feels are so visceral and I was striving for her right to the very end. But crikey I wasn’t prepared for the ending. I found it thought provoking and subtly very powerful. It left me feeling intrigued.
Thank you to Steven Cooper for inviting me to take part in the blog tour of Hodder & Stoughton’s lead debut fiction novel of 2021. It was a sheer delight and privilege for me to review this life-affirming book. However my biggest thanks must go to Bethany Clift for writing such a warm, emotive and hilarious book. It is a cracker!
To read the reviews from my fellow bloggers also on the blog tour please see below.
Happy reading everyone! 🙂
My rating:
