The End of the Day by Claire North

Lillie McGary
Sep 1, 2018 · 2 min read

This book follows the Harbinger of Death (a human named Charlie) linearly over a series of experiences fulfilling his duties. It is very vignette-y. Each section is an incident: what one experience of bringing news of death was like. Each section was very well done, but together they didn’t build to anything more. Charlie himself remained unchanged in opinion throughout. Different parts of the world were explored, but many of the moments were thematically interchangeable.

That is not to say the similar moments weren’t well done, or well timed. Indeed, they were often the heart of the story. Charlie met different people from section to section, so the same questions came up, the same conflicts of understanding. Charlie honors the living, but people often see him as death. Charlie is kind, and people do not understand. The whole book was enshrouded in warmth and goodness. The idea that life is beautiful is perhaps the central theme of the book.

I suggest reading this book in sections (as they are laid out and titled). Each one left me satisfied. Each was self-contained. Think of this book as a collection of short stories, and your reading will be fulfilling.

There was never any narrative pull between sections: I could, and did quite happily, put down the book for over a week. In fact, my reading experience was lessened when I read multiple sections together: each evokes the same sentiment in a different way. Such frank acceptance of people and championing of good is wholesome, but loses some charm with repetition.

Charlie himself is less of a person than an ideal. Once his character is established, he never surprises. He honors life and the living. Anger and violence is also life, and while he protects others he never strikes back for himself. Over the course of a novel and unchanging main character would be tiresome, but because of the vignette style of the book I was not frustrated by him. Unless I read more than one section at once.

Frequent dialogue-only scenes are used not only to open chapters but in scene between characters. Description of characters is startlingly light at points. Almost never is there described body language. The writing style often verges on poetic, with line breaks in the middle of sentences. Both serve to make the book more about an idea and an emotion than a concrete moment or people.

Each section of this book was enjoyable and good, but after reading the whole of it I had the same impression as after the first section. I read the whole thing because I wanted to re-create that feeling, but I was disappointed when the entire book remained the same. I rate this book 7/10.


Originally published at readingrampant.wordpress.com.

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