The Last Laugh – Tracy Bloom (2018)
(4.3 / 5)
Bittersweet! That’s the main word that pops into my mind when I think about this book. So sad yet so joyful and lovely. Devastating, yet uplifting. I haven’t read many non-psychological thrillers from bookouture, but they have hit the mark on the head with every genre it seems!
On the day Jenny finds out she has terminal cancer, she finds out her husband is screwing a leggy blonde. Talk about a bad day. So in order to make herself feel alive again, she organises a huge party. Just like the ones she had in her 20’s. She invites all her family and old friends to come along. What transpires is a lovely story of reconciliation, moving through regrets, and of love.
To be honest when I started this book I didn’t like it. I thought that Jenny was a complete dill. How could she act so blaze about a terminal cancer diagnosis. And I couldn’t relate to her not being able to tell anyone about it. But as I kept reading I began to warm to her and the other characters, and by 3/4 through I was laughing out loud.
I really started to enjoy the characters and the dialogue. Although I couldn’t help but feel like her husband was a complete bastard, I was even warming to him by the end. Impending death puts everything into perspective I guess.
The main thing I was surprised about was how much I was thinking about this book after I finished. Not only thinking about the actual book, but thinking about the main theme – How important it is to enjoy your life right now. How you shouldn’t wait to mend relationships and how you should always try to be happy, even when life is really REALLY crappy. I like to think of myself as a pretty upbeat, easy going person. I have seen quite a few people die (occupational hazard of being a nurse I guess…) But I don’t know how I would handle this if it happened to me.
Would I recommend The Last Laugh?
Absolutely. It was a quick, entertaining and upsetting in a good way. Death is a part of life, and I really enjoyed and appreciated this perspective. Great book!
Many thanks to author Tracy Bloom and Bookouture via NetGalley for a copy of The Last Laugh for me to review. The last Laugh will be available for purchase from the 23rd February from: AMAZON | AMAZON AU
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