One Day We’re All Going To Die by Elise Esther Hearst

Set in 2009, Melbourne Australia, One Day We’re All Going To Die is a character focused novel about a young 24 year old Jewish Naomi. Naomi works for a Jewish Memorial Museum. Her best friend is her grandmother Cookie who managed to survive the Holocaust. We watch Naomi have an affair, navigate other romances and negotiate her thoughts and feelings about the world.

This was a conflicting book for me. Naomi is not a likeable character. Was it a clever character focused novel nonetheless? Absolutely. Would I recommend it if the premise sounds like you’re thing? Yes. Did I even like this book? I still don’t know. But time may still tell. 😉

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Australia Publishing for this ARC.

Such an interesting sad girl novel. I liked the link back to her heritage and generational truma. For me it was a 4/5 star read.

Set in Australia in Melbourne in 2009. Naomi works at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Her grandparents David and Cookie are in a home for the aged.
A slow paced interaction between Naomi and her parents, grandparents and her sister Melanie.
Naomi’s best friend Gemma wants Naomi to have a good time. Naomi’s mother wants Naomi to meet Jewish men but is not happy when Naomi has an affair with a married Jewish man.
I loved the interactions between Naomi and her grandmother Cookie and the way her grandfather David struggled with forgetfulness.
Naomi tries to please everyone but struggles to please herself. This is about workplace relationships, friendships and families.

Coming of age/find-yourself-in-your-twenties novels have fast become the 'in-thing'. I'm a self-confessed fan of this genre, despite being long out of my twenties. There's a fresh appeal to this new intake, they've left the rom-com cheesy tropes behind and instead offer readers an honest, messy, real, emotional rollercoaster of a read that each of us, on some level, no matter our ages, can relate to.

One Day We're All Going to Die is the story of 27-year-old Naomi, Jewish, single, living in Melbourne in a house bought for by her overprotective parents who are overly involved in every aspect of her life, thoroughly enjoying her job as a curator at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, in between regularly visiting her grandparents in an aged care facility, the weight of her ancestors and the expectations that come with their collective sacrifices resting heavily across her shoulders.

Naomi swiftly derails her life when she enters into an affair with her boss, a married Jewish man. He takes advantage of Naomi in a classic toxic abuse of power within the workplace that sees her giving up her job and her independence when it all inevitably crashes and burns. Enter the finding yourself stage of this story.

The dialogue within this story between Naomi and her parents and most especially her grandmother, Cookie, was sparkling and on point one hundred percent of the time. The story is populated with some utterly fantastic scenes. It's also got its fair share of heartbreaking moments too.

I really enjoyed this exposure to the inner workings of an Australian Jewish family, written by an Australian Jewish woman. The feeling of lived experiences was ever present throughout the novel and the authenticity of Naomi, and her family, made it all the more of an enjoyable read for me. I feel like this novel would make a great television series.

Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

One Day We’re All Going To Die is a raw, unfiltered emotional read that puts the Jewish faith, customs and conflicts on display. The cover first caught my attention. A young woman dressed in dark attire with a set of white wings behind her speak to me of elements of death juxtaposed against the light. As noted in the title and her clothing, there’s a subtle nod to the paradoxes seen in this story. The Jewish girl who falls for a married Jewish man and is used by him for his own selfish needs. Later she meets a non-Jewish man who is kind and considerate but her parents aren’t happy with her dating him as he is not Jewish. The absurdity rings clear that you cannot measure a person’s character by their religion.

This is a coming of age story based on a 27 year old single Jewish woman in Melbourne named Naomi. She is raised in a ‘consciously Jewish environment’ expected to understand ‘Jewish practices and values’ to interpret, inherit and pass on these values. And although she loves her family and cares what they think of her, she is often caught in the conflicts of their cultural beliefs and practices. She wonders why they have raised her this way as ‘her own mother ate bacon more regularly than she hosted Shabbat…’ The reason, her mother claims is that they want to give her everything: ‘financial stability, but also a cultural and religious framework’ just in case a natural disaster or genocide occurs. But since her parents do not practice fully what they preach, their inconsistencies play havoc with Naomie’s development.

Naomi works at the Museum of Jewish Heritage and is good at her job but her confidence level is quite low. We see throughout the story that her insecurities are exposed in so many scenes, with the tumultuous and sometimes self- destructive life she leads. It seems she has no will power or strength of her own to stand up for herself against men who take advantage of her. The compliance she learned at home has set her up to fail. A number of times I wanted her to show resistance but she was driven by her need for acceptance. Why is she like this? It may be that her uncertainties about herself have come as a result of her family’s restrictive culture. Naomi desperately wants to lead a normal life but does not know how. In many ways she longs to be free from the pre-ordained life imposed upon her. She struggles with relationships within and outside the family.

This novel wears a lot of loss, sadness, loneliness and despair. Such as in the failed or bad relationships, the generational trauma, the movement of death that surrounds Naomi's life. It all has an effect. But the constant drone of hopelessness is punctuated with moments of dark humour. A few short victories lift the tone to a happier place. And out of her confusion, we can see for her a second chance.

This novel was a very different read for me. But I was able to appreciate the author’s ability and need to tell such a difficult story. Hearst knows her topic extremely well. She put us in Naomi’s shoes to experience her traumas, fears, passion and pleasure. From that tumultuous journey, we are able to feel the character’s desire to understand herself so that she can move forward and build a better life. One that still honours her family’s culture but also provides a measure of normalcy, freewill and choice. 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to publisher HQ Fiction and Netgalley for my review copy.

I seem to be picking up lots of different kinds of Jewish books at the moment, and I'm here for it.
This one is set in my home town of Melbourne, and all the action (except a trip to Tasmania) happens within a short distance of where I live now. I love a local book!
Naomi herself reminded me of some of the girls I went to (co-ed, Jewish day) school with. She's privileged and bumbling. Like many of the main characters or books like these she is somewhat passive and lets things happen to her. There is a sense of distance from her - I just had to check whether the book was in first or third person.
I enjoyed my time with Naomi, even if she is a sometimes frustrating protagonist. This was lab;led a coming of age novel, and it might be, but it's more Naomi (like the rest of us) muddling through and doing her best, mostly. The questions of generational trauma, and of what it means to be Jewish religiously and culturally, resonated with me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Australia for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful debut novel from Elise Esther Hearst. A novel about defining yourself, intergenerational trauma and navigating expectations all while dealing with the messiness of life. Definitely an author to keep an eye on.

this was okay, but read a little juvenile and i didn't feel connected to the characters or what happens to them at all. i can see other reader enjoying this a lot tho!

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.

This book follows Naomi, a 27-year-old woman who is trying to learn who she wants to be amidst family and social expectations.

We also get a glimpse at Jewish culture and the power that lies within a family.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

A reflective debut. 'One Day We're All Going To Die' shows us a 27 year old woman called Naomi who is trying to learn who she wants to be while balancing self-imposed and generationally high expectations. The reader will progress through intimate examinations of relationships.

An amusing read that prefaces a Jewish culture and the power the lies within a family.

I am keen to see if Elise Esther Hearst revisits Naomi in future works and will be including her in my automatic TBRs.

Thank you to Harlequin Australia for giving me early access and the chance to review. Release date: 30 August 2023