Review: The Last Day – Cesca Major
The last day is written by British full-time author and screenwriter Cesca Major. She has also published several successful books under a pseudonym. Her books have been published in ten different countries.
Businesswoman Emma has a busy job and tries to combine it with caring for her family. Everything has to be done in top gear at Emma, answering the phone, getting rid of a lot of emails and apps. In addition, ensure that the children are at school and clubs on time and that they have all their belongings with them. When her husband Dan leaves their house in a hurry in the morning after an argument with Emma because she has forgotten their anniversary, a loud blow follows and… Dan is no longer there.
The last day Chapter one begins with a letter written by Dan on December 3, 2007. The agreement is that Dan and Emma write each other a letter every year on December 3, which is the date they met. The reader is then taken into Emma’s fast-paced life. There are a never ending amount of messages from her work, committees and private life that need to be answered and read. These messages can be read throughout the book. Sometimes a bit confusing, the content and those who send the messages are flying from here to here. In this part of the book the sentences are short which clearly reflects Emma’s hurried life.
Dan’s letters are a common thread in the book, through the letters the reader gains insight into their relationship over the years. Emma’s letters are often unfinished or never sent. Emma is clearly the main character in the book, Dan you could literally call a ‘shadow character’. He is present and yet not. That is immediately the main theme The last day. Dan was killed in an accident but is still present every day and it is December 3rd every day. Cesca Major movingly describes how Dan dies again every night before Emma goes to bed. The sadness, but especially the despair and chaotic thoughts of Emma, and later the children, is empathetic but also confusing to read.
How does someone deal with a great loss? Trying to live life again will not work, mistakes cannot be repaired. Would Emma have done things differently, would they both have done things differently in their relationship or work? Have they solved their problems differently, given the children more attention?
A book about love, sadness and bereavement, but also about slowly finding a new balance and insight into life.
The last day is not a light book, complicated at times by the jumping back and forth of Emma’s thoughts and despair. Then there are also the app and email messages and the flashbacks through Dan’s letters. A special book that may leave some readers with questions.
