A beautiful emotional read.A group of friends who have known each other for sixty years .Their lives captured in one day so much going on so many feelings.A book I thought about after I read the last page.Highly recommend.#netgalley#Theendoftgeday.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Simon & Schuster, through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“The End of the Day” is a story of friendship, adoption, betrayal, forgiveness, domestic violence, bullying, and some homosexuality. The setting primarily is in Wells, Connecticut. This story is two plots that become interwoven. Two friends in entirely different socioeconomic levels and the life cycle of the friendship is prevalent throughout the book. The story ebbs and flows between the teen and into senior years.

It has a constant “who dunnit” in a different sense (no spoilers!). Each chapter is written from a character’s perspective and keeps the reader guessing on how the two plotlines relate. It was well written where I felt compassion and anger for certain characters. I enjoyed this book and the author tied the loose ends nicely. I recommend this book!

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. Bill Clegg is a wonderful writer. I didn't enjoy this book in the same way that I did his other book, "Did You Ever Have a Family"; however, I'm still happy to have read it. The characters in this one were memorable and Clegg is great at balancing several characters at once (strong character development) without forgetting who is who. I will definitely recommend this to friends looking for a strong storyline, well-developed characters and a voice similar to Elizabeth Strout (one of my favorites!)

Bill Clegg is a master when you want to read about people, their life situations and how they navigate through difficult situations. The book will take you through difficult feelings of regret, guilt, sadness, and sorrow while doing it with much integrity and grace. Beautifully written.

The author wrote a novel that realistically captures the highs and lows within the relationships of people that are related or friends over a 60 year period. Some of these connections aren’t immediately known, but all keep the reader invested. This was such a great read that I highly recommend.

Over a single day in the interconnecting lives of five individuals stories, secrets, trauma and regrets spanning decades are revealed. Masterfully written.

This is a masterpiece of a story. Intensely intimate. Tells the story of individual people living their lives in disconnection. Little do they know that one even will brings the wall crumbling down around them to show how connected they really are. Estranged friends for 49 years are brought together. A young man learns his life has been nothing but lies. They are all connected. The lies and secrets that have been kept are unlocked. They discover, each individually, that what they have showed so shall they reap. Good or bad the choices they've made is the story they leave behind.
Truly excellent read!!

Bill Clegg is an editor by trade, which I think gives him a leg up when it comes to writing a novel. Several years ago I read Did You Ever Have a Family – and loved it – so when I had the opportunity to read the ARC of his latest, I jumped at it. And I wasn’t disappointed. Once again, Clegg demonstrates a deft ability to create unusual but believable characters and use them to render poignant insights about what brings us together and keeps us apart.

Following several different story lines that eventually come together, Clegg brings to light the significant ramifications of what seemed at the time to be inconsequential decisions in the past.

Dana, burdened by the contents of a briefcase, embarks to set the record straight after decades of estrangement from her teenage best friend. She thinks Jackie needs to know what really happened between them, but is Dana’s truth even accurate?

Lupita has been running for years, thinking she’s done the best she can in an impossible situation. With the past now calling, what responsibility does she have to spill the secrets that seem to be catching up?

At 41, Hap can’t seem to leave his father’s death-bed even if it means missing out on his newborn daughter’s first hours. How can a man that he hardly knows have such a pull on him?

What most of these characters don’t know about their histories has important implications for how they move into the future. Complicated by class and race, the stories of Dana, Jackie, Lupita and Hap delve into issues our country is still struggling with today. Clegg uses insight honed by years of reading manuscripts to bring fresh insight to friendships and family, how to make amends, and when to just let go.

Bill Clegg reminds us how choices—to connect, to betray, to protect—become our legacy. How one day can change everything.

Deeply observed and beautifully written, this novel is a feat of storytelling, capturing sixty years within the framework of one fateful day.

Well written with gorgeous storytelling and characters you’ll never forget.

I found the disconnected stories confusing and difficult to track. I couldn't keep the characters straight. I didn't finish this.

This is a great story about relationships, families and friends. We learn a great deal about many different people and how their lives connect.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is the first Bill Clegg book I have read. I wish I liked it more but I found it very hard to get into and to stay interested in. There are four main characters and each chapter is from one of their points of view. The problem I had with the book is that there is so much back and forth through time that I had a hard time distinguishing what timeline was being discussed. It was confusing and alot of it didn't seem to add to the story at hand. By the end of the book, I found that I didn't really care how it ended or what happened to the characters. I couldn't get invested in any of them.

I don't want to describe this book too much, because I'm not sure how to do so without giving anything away. We meet Dana, a wealthy woman, hiding from her housekeeper, off on a mysterious errand. Lupita, a driver in Hawaii. A man tending to his dying father. And so many more POVs in this novel that all come together to tell a complete story, and it's great fun seeing how all the pieces fit together. I had some theories about what was going on--and I was totally wrong--but I loved watching everything come together. The beginning of the novel is gripping, and while the second half loses some of the steam and tension, the ending is interesting. Some of the characters were let off the hook a little too easily, but I'm still thinking of some of the choices the characters made. This would be a fabulous book club book.

I can’t remember the last time a book kept my brain so busy and awake, that I couldn’t fall asleep at night, but this one did. There are so many visuals, a fair number of important characters to keep track of, and some alternating between past and present, all of which make one feel you have to sit up and pay attention.

A terrific read, even though it felt like a bit of work, as I feared losing track of something important.

Stars - 3; actual rating 3.5; less than a 4 simply because of the effort involved.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to Gallery Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Hap, a middle-aged man and new father attends to his dying father, and opens a briefcase of disturbing papers.

His contact with Dana, an elderly woman who knows all the secrets the briefcase contains, begins a cascade of memories, and her attempt to fix what's been broken for fifty years. Meanwhile, Lupita, now living in Hawaii, receives news and her own regrets come to the surface.

The plot of this book is hard to describe without spoilers- it's a character study, a friend saga, and a dysfunctional family story. It's a study in regret, love and "what was right at the time". And so hard to put down.

Told from the POVs of the important players- six in all- this book could easily have been a mess, but it was wonderful.

Clegg displays great skill at juggling the characters- there's never a question of whose voice is being read. Each character's development is specific- the reader sees only the actions relevant to the story- and in this time in their lives all of these characters' actions are despicable.

It also deftly touches on many hot button topics: mental health, abuse, racism, sexuality and dementia. These topics are brought into the story so cleanly that they are evocative, yet don't overpower.

Clegg's writing style reminds me of Elizabeth Strout, Colm Toibin, Ann Patchett, and James Baldwin. Highly recommended.

There's no doubt Bill Clegg is an insightful, smart, often poetic writer. And the cast of characters and the themes of THE END OF THE DAY are enticing and intriguing. But, somehow, this novel buckles under the weight of too many characters and too many themes. It's a difficult read, partially because the reader needs a cast list to keep the characters straight and partially because it is thus difficult to develop empathy for them. I'm still a Bill Clegg fan, but this novel is not his most compelling work.

Bill Clegg’s “The End of the Day” is a jigsaw puzzle of a novel. And one of those 1000+ ones where it’s really hard to fit them together. Even when you’re sure that you’ve got it, you’re not quite so sure again.

I suppose you could say that the work is a mystery. But for those who are familiar with “Did you Ever Have a Family” or either or both of Mr. Clegg's memoirs, we.re not gong to settle for base genre. “The End of the Day” has strong elements of class, gender, race, abuse, neglect, and brutality. Characters lie, cheat, steal, and deceive. Reading the story through one prism does not necessarily give the whole truth. This style keeps the reader involved through all the literal and figurative twists and turns that Clegg has to offer.

The Great American Melting Pot in the Land of Opportunity can be a cold, cruel place oftentimes. “The End of the Day” provides a slice of how may have looked 50 years ago. It forces us to wonder how it has changed in the interim - whether for better or for worse.

Thanks to Gallery/Scout Press and NetGalley for the eARC.

This book follows well developed characters over a span of sixty years, I sometimes had trouble keeping track of all the characters to begin with and had to go back to refresh my memory on them at times but it didn’t deter me as I was invested in the story and characters, and enjoyed this story overall. I also enjoyed how all the different characters lives and backgrounds, all ended up connected in the end. It definitely left me thinking about how this happens in real life as well.

I think I may have overhyped myself on this one, and it just didn't live up to where I wanted it to be. I love character driven novels, but I do think it's possible to over-do it. Clegg introduces us to SO many characters over the 4 parts of this novel, 6 characters to be exact--Dana, Jackie, Lupita, Hap, Alice, and Floyd. Keeping it to three or four of these voices would have been more effective. Each character did bring something to the table with their voice, but I think some careful editing could have highlighted what was important from each of the voices and the information could have been presented through a few core characters. My other major criticism is that I struggled to connect with the characters...Alice was the only character who didn't annoy me or have some irredeemable quality about her, and she wasn't even one of the "pivotal" perspectives. Clegg did a good job of illustrating how messy the human existence can be and how the people we surround ourselves with shape our lives. He also masterfully demonstrates how damaging just one lie can be--how it can spiral out of control and do irreparable harm to the people you love. 3.5 stars.

I can only surmise that the other reviewers of this book are being kind. There is lyrical prose to be found here and I think the way the author, Bill Clegg, weaves his words is lovely, but there is nothing in this story that felt cohesive, believable or relatable to me. The characters are so undeveloped, without conviction of any kind, and completely void of emotion, courage or purpose. They are all, cerebrally contemplative but ultimately indifferent to the point of frustration. There is every social issue you could think of just thrown in.... illegal immigration, white privilege, domestic violence, alcoholism, racism, same sex relationships, interracial/religion relationships, postpardom, abandonment, depression, bullying, dementia, and then a random tarot card reading reference towards the end of the book that made no sense at all, whatsoever (tarot is considered haram in islam). If any one or two of these issues where explored with more depth and less interference from all the other issues and a little insight and development of just one or two characters there might have been some sense and substance. As it is I honestly don't know what I read or why I finished it. I'm still grateful for the opportunity to have read this title, I'm sorry I couldn't find more positive things about it to recommend.