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.

I enjoyed Mr. Clegg's first book, so I was very happy when I was able to get the advance copy of this one from Net Galley. Thank you, Net Galley, for the opportunity to read it. However, I am sorry to say that I did not enjoy it.

Mr. Clegg is an excellent writer and his prose is lovely. Some of the characters' back stories held my interest but others were just too wordy, convoluted, and rambling. I also did not care for most of the characters and did not emotionally engage with them. I didn't care what had happened to them or where their lives were going. I had wonderful expectations for this book but I was very disappointed.

However, all this is not to say that it wouldn't be a good pick for a book club. I've found that even books we don't enjoy can provide interesting, thought-provoking discussions, if there are controversial events and themes to discuss. and this book by Mr. Clegg certainly has those: class disparity, envy, secrets, family dyanmics.

This is a book about relationships. There were many characters to keep track of and they got a bit confusing at times going between the past and present. Some characters were more likable than others but none really grabbed me. I thought the authors prose was beautiful but at times was a bit over the top. For me, the book was anticlimactic. It was an ok read for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I was pulled into the drama and intrigue of this book from the first short chapter onward. It's a well written unique plot that I found engaging as I continued to wonder how the pieces would all fit together. At 28% of the way through the book I made a note that read "ok, tell me already"! My interest had moved from high intrigue to dragging. But it quickly picked back up. In the beginning, actually throughout the first half of the book, I found it challenging to keep track of the characters. I often had to skim earlier passages to make sure I knew which character I was reading about. I had one minor complaint with the story line which was I thought he prematurely aged two of the characters - they were acting 85 when they were only in their 60s. Overall an intriguing engaging story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

How have a I never read a Bill Clegg's novel before? He has a wonderful way with words. From what I have been seeing when I did some research on him was that he is someone who people love and I can see why. The characters that he have created in this book come to life off the pages and I became completely invested in them and their stories.

Bill Glegg has a gift to really look into people and how they act and think, their emotions etc. He was able to tell a story about people that spanned over six decades and kept me invested in every aspect of these characters. I found myself caring about these characters and wanting more as I kept reading

A beautifully written novel. I can't wait to read more of his work.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Although I would recommend this book to others, I was somewhat disappointed that the multiple characters and the shift in times were distracting. The characters were well portrayed and the author reminds us how our choices in relationships, good or bad, stay with us.

This book left me wanting more! I enjoyed discovering each character, especially Lupita, and wished more of her character was developed. I feel her story could fill a whole novel by itself. I felt for the other characters too; Dana and Jackie letting stubbornness and misunderstandings ruin their friendship. Floyd taking the easy road and Hap discovering himself.

I appreciate the beautiful imagery however sometimes it became too much and muddled the story. I also would have liked to see a more consistent flow as all the flashbacks made it difficult to keep track of characters and timelines.

Oh, Bill Clegg. Master of stunning, character-driven storytelling. This book was what I expected from the author, being familiar with his prior works.

The End of the Day is written by Bill Clegg, who up until this point is someone I have not heard of, despite him having written multiple other books. That said, I can see how people love his writing - he really transports his readers into the minds of his characters and allows us to feel their pain and see their thoughts and memories. It’s pretty remarkable.

While I enjoyed the beginning half of the novel more than the latter half, I still had an overall good experience with this read. My biggest issues stemmed from there being multiple characters with rich backgrounds that made it a little tough to keep track of everything. That, and there were definitely some characters I cared more about than others, making it tempting to just skim through that character's chapters to get to the ones I cared more about. Not that I did.

This is the sort of book for people who like to connect to their characters, go through the trials of life with them, etc. It’s a highly character-driven novel, in my opinion. And while I normally would say I’m someone who reads books for connection, I had trouble finding with this novel, even with the characters I cared about. That, in turn, made me feel slightly bored at moments because I couldn’t get over the feeling that I wasn’t truly connecting to anything while reading this.

Overall, though, Clegg’s novel is filled with hope, forgiveness, friends, and family. It is about how people's lives connect and disconnect and about so much more, and I think those who enjoy novels about family and friends should give this book a try on June 2, 2020!

Thank you to Galley Books for reaching out to me personally and sending me a physical copy of this novel, months prior to its release, in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate it!

I love Bill Clegg and have read all of his published work. Unfortunately, I did not like this. The novel went in circles without adding to the progression of the story. The frequent jumps back in time, sometimes to the recent past and within a paragraph or two (and without a page break) was confusing and not beneficial to the style of the book. The characters were not as deeply developed as those in his previous novel, and even in his memoirs. I will continue to read Bill Clegg's work, but wish this had had a heftier editing job.