The Essence of Senescence

Wow, this story was so enchanting. I loved every moment of this.

In short, this is a story about five elderly people navigating their way through the past, present and future. It’s such a journey about what really matters in life and what we can do with the time we still have left.

The character work was fantastic, each character felt so real to me. They were all so wonderfully different to one another but ultimately they are all human just want to live life to its fullest. I rarely read books about older people & this was so refreshing. We can learn so much from those older than us. Everyone has a story.

The writing style was so lovely; the lyrical descriptions woven through this story made it even more mystifying. The conversations in this story and also the representation was so well done in my opinion. I feel as though it’s one of those stories that you’ll get something new out of with each re-read. I highly recommend this & I’ll definitely be reading more from this author.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & the author Milo Twyla for allowing me to read and review this eARC.

“The Universe simply writes itself. Things just happen, without plan.”

Is it possible to have a coming of age story for a group of retirees? I’m not sure, but to me that’s what The Essence of Senescence by Mili Twyla is best described as, although there is much more to it than that.

This book focuses on a group of retirees on the run with a dog who may or may not be more than it seems. Throughout the story we get to learn the fears, past, and dreams of these characters.

Overall I enjoyed the story quite a bit; I’ve never read anything like this, and doubt I’ll come across anything like it again.

My only real critique is that there were some moments of character growth that felt rushed, but I feel like this was done to help aid the timeline of the story and is understandable.

A solid 4 star read that is worth a look when it’s released on October 20th!

Let me first start off saying this has become one of my top ten most favorite books I have ever read! The story itself has five main characters that escape from their retirement home and have an Alice in Wonderland type journey. These five characters that this author has created were so relatable, I could actually find some of my personality traits in each one of them. Her character's were so real and raw and had such amazing views on their life experiences. I was left feeling like I was actually talking with a well travelled senior citizen who has led and is still leading an amazing life. Among her cast of characters my favorite was "Zephy" she was amazing but also broke my heart. I don't want to give too much detail because I don't want to spoil one single sentence of this amazing journey.

Milo's use of the English language is so lyrical and expressive that after every chapter the reader is left with some of the most beautiful and heart wrenching ideas. Her philosophical ideas on religion and the afterlife were spot on and a refreshing idea on the subject of death. I highly, highly recommend this book to anyone at any season of their lives, young, middle aged, or senior, it is truly a book that will span the decades of time and grow with the reader. I personally feel that if I read this book five years from now I will come away with a different idea/feeling from the same story. It is truly a beautiful book and would be an amazing book club read, so many different ideas to bounce off of each other!

This was a really entertaining read. I liked all the characters and the chemistry between the characters. It was well written and I enjoyed getting to know all the characters in the book.
I really recommend this book.