The End of the Day is my first Bill Clegg book (even though I have one on my shelf to read) so I was not sure what to expect. The End of the Day is the story of Dana, Jackie, Hap, Lupita, & Alice. There are two story lines that appear to not relate but that is not true. Dana & Jackie are childhood friends who have not spoken in over 40 years. Lupita is the daughter of Dana's old house keeper who ran away around the same time Dana and Jackie stopped talking. Alice & Hap live in the Philadelphia area and Hap's estranged father dies suddenly while visiting Hap.
This is a story of truth and secrets. Why did Dana and Jackie stop talking, why did Lupita run away, and what will Hap's journey reveal? Several of these are answered about halfway through the book but what you think is the truth isn't totally as one of them has one more secret that none of the others know and maybe never will.
It was an interesting book but my biggest issue is that it is prose style and not much on the dialog end. This is not my favorite type of writing but I found the story engaging enough that I could get past that most of the time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery/Scout Press, and Bill Clegg for an early copy of this one to read.

Covering the span of about 60 years in a single day of memories, The End of the Day is a book filled with complex relationships, things that go unsaid, and regret. Dana, a wealthy woman who lived in NYC and a large Connecticut manor goes to clear the air with her childhood friend Jackie, who grew up nearby, but of middle class means. Lupita, whose family has been employed by Dana's family for two generations also grew up alongside Jackie and Dana, but not with them. We are next introduced to Hap, a 48 year old man with a new daughter and a midlife crisis, who is the center but not centered in the conflict of the plot.

There are several other characters, who while they don't drive the story, are still written in a compelling interesting way. We meet Floyd - Jackie's husband, Alice and Christopher - Hap's parents, Aunt Lee, who I actually would like a whole book about, and Lupita's family.

The opening chapters introduce us to the main characters. The descriptions of each leaves you wanting to know more. It's an exciting, detailed intro and a bit of a tease.

The level of detail in the writing is really compelling; moments are clear, interesting, and full of feeling. What I really enjoyed was that the relationships were written in a way that was realistic. Each character was acting with the knowledge they had, and within their own world views. I find that often characters in books will have more insight into others than most of us actually posses. This brought a level of realism to what could otherwise seem to be wild relationships among each of these people.

There were several times when a character was resurrected, and it took me a moment to remember who the person was or where they fit into the story. But the way that they each fit together was the most interesting part of this book.

The story didn't end in a satisfactory way; what I mean is that it didn't wrap up neatly and completely. Instead, it left the reader wondering what happened the next day. This seemed a more realistic approach to the conflicts among the characters, instead of a tidy ending, which wouldn't have felt sincere. The longing and the wondering and the regret and the misunderstandings is the point.

I thought this was really compelling storytelling. I could see this becoming a play.

Thank you NetGalley Publisher and author for this gifted ebook.

To be honest I made it to 24% and just could not finish.
I believe for me it was hard to keep up with all the characters.
I loved the description and thought it would be a great read and maybe it is.
I just could not get into it
Sorry.

The story is told in flashbacks mostly from the perspective of Lupita, Dana and Jackie.

The story starts with Dana showing up at Jackie's house after an estrangement of 49 years with a brief case full of papers. Both of these women are 68 and act like they are in their 80's. Dana is sliding into dementia. She is rich and manipulates people for her own entertainment. Jackie is her best friend in school but I get the sense that Dana likes to lord it over her and Jackie is in awe of Dana's until she isn't any more because she is in love. Lupita is a Mexican immigrant whose father is the caretaker at Edgeweather, Dana's home. There is a connection that the women share besides living close to each other but it was never revealed to the very end and by then I just didn't care. For most of the book there were just chapters with a different point of view from characters I didn't like. Jackie gets married to Floyd when she finds out she is pregnant. She was so in love she didn't seem to notice that Floyd didn't care about her and when she feels he did something wrong she throws him out of the house and changes the locks. Lupita is also pretty manipulative. There is the fourth point of view from Alice who decides to adopt a baby, Hap, and has an ex-boyfriend marry her so people will think Hap is actually her son. The two most interesting characters to me were Christopher, Alice's ex, and her husband, Mo. Unfortunately both died so we didn't learn too much about either one.

It was a beautifully written book, very lyrical, but I just couldn't enjoy it because the story seemed so vague and disconnected. Even the ending had me confused.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery books for providing me with this book. These are my own thoughts and opinion.

In this sweeping saga, one tragic event serves as the catalyst to reveal the secrets and betrayal that bonded these estranged friends for 60 years.
I was totally immersed in this book from page one. Part drama/part suspense mystery, the stories of these characters kept me reading for hours in anticipation of answers.
The alternating chapters written from multiple perspectives were a bit confusing at first, but once the story developed I was completely riveted. There are many unlikable characters and interesting twists, making this an engaging read.
An excellently written multi-layered plot, vividly detailed landscapes, and well fleshed-out characters makes Bill Clegg's "The End of the Day" one my favorite reads of 2020.
*Thank you NetGalley, Gallery/Scout Press, and Bill Clegg for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Bill Clegg writes beautifully. There can be no discussion about that. The inner life of his characters is always fascinating, and I love the detail and depth of his style. It is literary fiction at its best in the sense that it is more about the details and the writing than the plot.

I did, however, feel less engaged in this book than his first. I am not sure if there were too many characters to feel deeply connected to them or if the story just had one too many twists that weren't needed. I also felt that too many decisions the characters made were not logical.

Again, I am a big fan and look forward to reading his next book.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

I usually enjoy books with multiple storylines and complicated people, and this book has all of that. But this one fell flat for me and I had a tough time connecting with the story. Like a bunch of short stories crammed together, the characters never came to life for me.

2☆

What a wild ride. Upon hearing about the release of a new book by Bill Clegg, who I am aware is well-thought of author, I knew I should check it out.
The story follows the relationship between two friends and then various other players in the scenario. Jackie and Dana are childhood friends in New England and find themselves drawn apart at the beginning of adulthood for reasons that don't become very clear until the very end of the book. The relationship is so deftly crafted by Clegg and the plot is engaging and thoughtful.
I was intrigued by the character development and Lupita's character arc was so interesting and engaging that I found myself finishing the second half of the book in one night.
It was slower to begin than some books but still beautifully written and easy to slip into whenever I would pick it up, but I also find myself thinking about the characters after having finished the book last night.
Highly recommend.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The End of the Day features several characters who seemingly have nothing in common, but as the book goes on, their lives collide. Each character is very interesting and the way the story comes together is fascinating. The prose is beautiful and haunting. How do secrets help or hurt our lives? What is family? These are the questions you'll ask yourself as you read the book and for a while after you're finished.

This is definitely a character driven Novel! We follow 6 people through friends and family over 60 years. Its a slow reveal of commonalities and secrets that are uncovered. I enjoyed the beginning more than the end. The characters seemed to begin blending together and I had to keep rechecking the chapter title to see who I was reading, Alice, Jackie or Dana. They seemed to meld together.
Bill Clegg writes beautiful family dramas, but the characters are excrutiating drawn out at times, which I find a tad bit annoying and I want to scream, "I get it!"

Honestly, I enjoyed "Did you Ever Have a Family" much better. There was a storyline that flowed with unique characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Scout Press for the opportunity to review this interesting book.

jtb
https://seniorbooklounge.blogspot.com/

I was intrigued by the writing of this book from the beginning. There are numerous characters in the book with seemingly different lives and paths they are following. As the book progresses, you begin to see how their lives intersect. Interesting plot and well developed characters. The ending seemed to be a little abrupt. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book.

A coming of age story in a small town--one of my favorite genres--this one just didn't work for me. The narrative alternates between the present and the past. Each chapter focuses on one of the characters. I found this confusing and it was difficult to stay oriented. It's such a shame because the writing was just beautiful.

I had a hard time keeping the characters in this story straight and although the plot was intriguing, I didn’t find the resolutions very satisfying. Thank you for the advanced copy.

Buckle up! Take a deep breath and enjoy your 5 decades long journey takes you to the cities including NY, Florida, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Mexico and Kauai, meeting with different narrators and their unique stories!

Bill Clegg is truly mastermind of creating detailed, layered, natural characters may incredibly resonate with us because he knows true nature of people, their characteristics, antics, flaws and he may use his words like a composer who starts a delicate symphony and presents us smart, poignant, lyrical stories.
As a real fan of his work: “Did you ever a family? “, I was so excited to get this book into my hands from the beginning.

Let’s take a closer look to the story: Three childhood friends Lupita, Dana and Jackie estranged for 50 years. Do you want to know the reason behind their hurt feelings? You gotta join us to the journey going back and forth between 50 years ago and present time to find out what happened between those friends. And we’re also introduced a new father Hal who recently finds out his father’s ill-fated medical condition.

All of these characters’ paths intercept meticulously and you learn more about their heartbreaks, misunderstandings, resentments, secrets, lies, frustrations, angers from multi POVed story chapters.

Overall:Once again the author shared his extra ordinary story telling skills with us, introducing different, original characters and their stories but unfortunately this time I couldn’t resonate with each of the characters and I didn’t enjoy every narrator’s stories. Some of them captivated my attention including Hal and Lupita but some parts didn’t address to my heart and soul.

I’m giving 3.5 stars and rounding them up to 4 for the impeccable, strong writing skills of the author. Maybe I was expecting a little more after enjoying so much his previous novel. But i always keen on reading his upcoming works enthusiastically. He is a unique literature talent.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Gallery/ Scout Press for sharing this unique Arc with me in exchange my honest review.

I think this would be a great book club book but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. There was a lot of characters and I just stopped caring about them about halfway through.

Based on the synopsis, this could have been a book I loved. However, with the state of the world the way it is, I could not handle something so dense and with such a seemingly sad tone. After multiple chapters of confusion and disconnection, I decided this wasn’t the right book(or at least a book at the right time) for me.

For fans of thoughtful literary fiction, I think this would be a real winner. Someone who is used to a barrage of characters and who can ride out some confusion at the beginning could really love this story. Also, a reader who enjoys (or can better handle) a less upbeat story may find this to be right up their alley. The writing was beautiful, but the story just went over my head.

This novel didn't take off with me. The style is elegant, but after the first chapter of "THE END OF THE DAY," I was bored, and I stopped reading in the middle of the second chapter. I tried to read this book twice, during a long train ride to the mountains., and it felt like homework.
The characters and the storytelling style failed to engage me. There were too many details, too many names of relatives of various people before the story even started, and only one image captured my imagination, the memory of the girl taking the cab to Connecticut with her first trust fund money. (This could have been a more engaging start).
I am sure that other people, more patient readers, will feel different about this novel.
Thank you, NetGalley for providing this book. I regret not enjoying it more.

In all honesty, I had not heard of Bill Clegg or his previous best-selling novel, but his reviews were so positive, I thought I should get to know his work. This novel details the lives of 4 women, who are seemingly not connected to each other at first. But a few chapters in, connections begin to be made and you realize that they are all part of the same secret - but each one holds a different truth. There is one character - Dana- who is the thread that ties them all to each other. I found her very unsympathetic, a "poor little rich girl" but saved from the stereotype completely by questions around her sexuality. She has an elderly wealthy aunt, who is not a main character, but still a central figure in the lives of all four women; the aunt is the benefactor and decision-maker for three of them, in small and large ways. Dana is a bit Machiavellian and so of course tries to become the group's undoing - in her later years, she even decides the secret must no longer be a secret, with little regard to the lives she may upend. The men in this novel are on the periphery - that's not a bad thing - and are mainly written as morally good or morally bad - but always a little dumb. I actually found it refreshing to have a novel about women in which much of their choices - which certainly involved these men - were really made by putting their own needs and wants first. There are a few small giveaways that this novel is written by a man - such as, "she'd rather be a sharp size two than an adorable size ten." What? I found that focus on size to be pandering, an unneeded and sexist jab in a book that otherwise gets the inner workings of these women right. Overall, the theme is the danger of secrets; the lesson learned is we really only know our own reality, and even then, we may not neccessarily understand it. I read it quickly, and was actually a bit disappointed that it ended - the sign of a great book.

With numerous characters being introduced in the first 2 pages I had a difficult time connecting with any of them. Having only read the first 5 chapters I feel that it's not fair to give this book a rating. It just wasn't for me.
I found that none of the characters caught my attention and I have no opinion on any of them nor of the storyline which I could not get interested in.
It could just be that I am in a rut and couldn't concentrate hard enough to follow the book although right now I probably needed something light.
I do not feel that it is fair to give this book a one star or two star rating as I think it may be that it's just not for me.
This review won't be accepted without a star rating so I'm giving it a 3 star since I did enjoy Bill Clegg's writing style.
Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to review this book.

This book features a wide range of characters and their stories. I found the book to be well-written, but it was not uplifting. One storyline features two best friends who had a misunderstanding almost fifty years ago and they attempt to reconcile. As the story progresses, we learn the backstory for both, but ultimately, they do not work out their differences.

Another set of characters deal with a child given up for adoption and the repercussions of that. These stories all eventually intersect, but I kept hoping for redemption and reconciliation. Maybe at a different time in world events, I would appreciate this book more, but it left me wanting more at the end of the day.

No one seemed happy with the life they had lived, filled with regrets. Maybe this was the message the author wanted to convey, life is short, don’t waste it on petty disagreements.

I really enjoyed this author’s earlier book, “Did You Ever Have a Family” so I definitely wanted to read this one. I truly wish this one would have resonated more with me.