This book went back and forth in time. Usually I enjoy reading books like that but this time I had a very difficult time following the story. I couldn’t keep track of the characters and never got a good feel for any of them. The writing was good but the story just didn’t keep my attention; way too confusing. I found the ending lacking, I went back and read it twice and still couldn’t tie it all together. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

As I read this story, I thought, "What a perfect example of literary fiction." This story is extremely character-driven and rather slow-paced when it comes to action. However, the plethora of intricate descriptions of the setting conveyed a strong sense of place. There are quite a number of characters to keep track of, but each of them have an important role in the story that is slowly unveiled.

The book shifts between the perspectives of a number of important characters, each one explaining the momentous moments in their past that shaped the course of their lives. As the narrative progresses, the connections between the people and the events are revealed, and the motives and reasoning become much clearer. The characters were relatable, but did not make a huge impact on me. Their individual developments over time were conveyed in a very realistic manner.

This book is well-written, with descriptive but not overly flowery language. Although there were slower sections of the book, the overall reading experience is a pleasant one.

Bill Clegg bases <i>The End of the Day</i> on triads: three girls, three families, three backgrounds and classes, and three generations. The three girls: Dana, rich and often manipulative; Jackie, tenuously connected to the middle class, often pathetic; and Lupita, immigrant Latinx working class, resilient, and ultimately noble. The three are intertwined as children and as teens, in ways that they know and in ways that they don’t know. In <i>The End of the Day</i>, the three look back to their childhoods from about fifty years out, unhappily rediscovering their connections and sometimes discovering their own histories.

<i>The End of the Day</i> is intricately plotted, sometimes too intricately for this reader, and usually fluidly written. Clegg sometimes skillfully evokes time, place, and class experiences, even on small points: he nails the class and religious sorting of colleges and college aspirations in 1950s and 1960s New England. To Clegg’s credit, he doesn’t try to explain away or excuse his characters and doesn’t strive for making them likeable. Clegg portrays some relationships affectingly, such as his touching portrayal of Mo and Alice. Fans of Clegg’s <i>Did You Ever Have a Family</i> will likely cheer the release of <i>The End of the Day</i>.

3.5 stars

This novel has an intriguing premise, but the characters just didn't pull me into the narrative. About 25% into the novel, I, stopped reading.

This book was good and written well... but 26% of the way through it I couldn’t get into it so I’m going to submit my review now. No issues with the writing.m just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Probably 4.5 stars. I enjoyed this book despite the fact that it was told in a non-linear fashion from many points of view. It's hard to really sum up other than to say that one decision echoes for fifty years into the future. At first the stories seems like they won't intersect, but of course they do.

Hap is dealing with his father's death and reminiscing about his life and especially his stepfather, to whom he never really warmed. His mother is taking care of his newborn while he is trying to make sense of his life.

Hap's mother, Alice, was a girl on scholarship at Bryn Mawr who makes an important connection with her patroness, Lee, who forever changes her life.

Dana is a wealthy woman, who knows secrets she intends to reveal to her childhood best from, a woman she hasn't spoken to in decades.

Jackie is a widow living a small life who seems to be under her daughter's control.

Lupita once worked for Dana's parents and is reminiscing about her life on the east coast after relocating to Hawaii.

I didn't like this book as much as his first novel, Have You Ever Had a Family, but to be fair, I think that novel was mostly told in a linear fashion, although I think it might have been told in flashbacks.

I’ll start off by saying I really thought this could have been a 5 star book. The intricate web of family disfunction is something that typically intrigues me. I finally finished it after putting it down 2 or 3 times threatening to toss it to the DNF pile. I just thought the characters were extremely boring and couldn’t bring myself to connect with any of them. When the story finally got interesting toward the end, it still fell short for me. Thank you for the ARC from NetGalley.

Great book! I wasn’t a fan of the number of characters going back and forth in the book. But In the midst of covid-19 this book helped me escape from it! Great read if you don’t mind flashbacks from past to present. And if you enjoy many characters in one book!

I read for enjoyment. Reading this book was entirely too much work. I found very little pleasure here. So many characters and the constant flipping back and forth between them (and time periods) was very distracting for me. I couldn’t just read. I had to actually study in order to keep up with what was going on. I felt that there was too much useless backstory that had no relevance to the book. The ending....well, I’ve read the ending twice and I’m still not sure exactly what happened.

Such an addictive novel! The End of the Day is an emotional read that will definitely stay with me! Bill Clegg does a fantastic job with creating a storyline that was intricately spun with well developed characters— so, so good! I initially was a little confused as to how certain storylines or characters were related, but Bill Clegg took everything full circle with situations and outcomes I never saw coming—love that! I have never read Bill Clegg prior and honestly I am completely wow’ed by his writing style and will be definitely be checking out his previous released novels! The End of the Day is solid 5 star book that would make a perfect book club selection! Highly recommend!

I was lucky enough to get to read an ARC copy of this book right in the middle of COVID 19 self isolation, when a true mental escape into a book that transports was much needed.. And The End of the Day definitely transports to a world that spans the lives of three women, from three very different socio economic backgrounds who are linked by secrets. It jumps between each of the women's perspective, and keeps the secret from the reader up until nearly the end. Bill Clegg's writing was super narrative in that I could envision each character, the settings, the giant mansion that sort of ties it all together. Loved it.

“I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing.
Out here it's like I'm someone else,
I thought that maybe I could find myself.
If I could just come in, I swear I'll leave.
Won't take nothing but a memory
From the house that built me.”
- The House That Built Me, written by Tom Douglas and Alan Shamblin

Families and relationships are funny things. A few words, a few simple choices, can change everything. But it’s what comes after those things, when we decide how we’re going to handle the aftermath, that creates the lives we finally lead. At the end of it all we’re left wondering what's real and what isn't, and what of any of it really matters.

Bill Clegg has done it again in his new novel, The End of the Day. As in his other beautiful book, Did You Ever Have a Family, he has entwined the lives of so many people with their hopes and dreams, with their hurt and sorrow, with their pleasure and contentment. Like the young woman who wants nothing more than to be a wife to her teenage crush, like the childhood best friends whose differences become more and more apparent as they get older. Like the solitary young woman who gave up what she needed to give up because there was no other way for her. And like the young man caught in everyone’s world without even knowing it.

There were a lot of characters in this novel. I must admit, at first there were too many for me to keep track of. At a third of the way through, I had to go back and start over, because the names and relationships were confusing to me. After I did that, though, everything fell into place and I couldn’t put the book down. I’ll also say that the confusion may have been because I had to interrupt my reading for a couple of days and then came back to it, so remembering everyone and their parts in the drama was a bit challenging. Others may not find this to be a problem at all.

The prose was beautiful, and I became as entangled with the story as the characters were with each other. The ending was just as life is, not necessarily perfect, which made it the most perfect ending of all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books/Scout Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review

Thank you for the ARC! This was a well detailed introspective novel spanning years of family, friendships, and trials amongst them all. While I enjoyed the story line, there were times I got confused not just due to the POV writing style, but the time spans switching. I had to reread portions to make sure I knew what was going on. I felt like the first half of the book moved more quickly, then started to drag some in cumbersome details. It was a pleasant read, and I was satisfied overall.

Bill Clegg is a masterful storyteller. If you read Did You Ever Have A Family, you will know what I mean. His ability to put words and sentences together to form a plot, is dizzying. His storytelling capabilities are off the charts.He also has a way of developing true-to-life characters. They are characters you can form a clear picture of in your head. I love it when I can think.. "oh that is how that character must look".

This was an epic, pageturner that I will be recommending in the future. It blew me away! I am already counting the days until Bill Clegg writes another book.

Highly, Highly Recommended!

Not student-appropriate...but a good personal read. I will definitely recommend to friends and colleagues.

Did not finish this book. Several interconnected stories spanning 50 years. Several jumps back and forth between characters and decades in no particular order. Very confusing and none of the characters made a solid impression or created a cohesive story arc.

This was an extremely engaging read! At first, I was frustrated by how nothing seem to connect. As I continued to read, the pieces all game together, unraveling an engaging story full of drama and intrigue that shows how one decision can impact numerous people.

This I was an enjoyable read that shows connections and disconnections in people’s lives. It is about love, hope, friendship, and tragedy. The author manages to weave this all together in the story.
Many thanks to Gallery Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I feel sorry for authors releasing books during this troubled time. I had a lot of trouble committing to this story--it is very quiet in a now-shouty world. Clegg’s characters--six main characters in all and their interconnected life stories reminded me of Ann Tyler’s world but with more melancholy. I usually like this kind of story but this book was just not for me right now. I do give it 4 stars because the characterizations are sharp and believable. The prose is quiet good and I know of many readers who will like this.

I enjoyed reading this book of how one day affects so many people. Well written with well developed characters. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!