The Beauty of the End

The Beauty of the End
Debbie Howells

There were 11 members present when we reviewed this book and most of us felt the beginning was a bit disjointed but once got into the book we enjoyed the story because it improves as it goes on and became very readable. One member particularly liked how as the book progresses it reveals what Noah and April are really like.
We felt we engaged with the story although some of it was predictable but we thought the characters were not very appealing. We liked Ella but some felt it unlikely a 14 year old would have the insight or self-awareness to lead the counsellors on as she did but she would definitely be capable of understanding that her mother doesn’t really care about her. We liked how Ella’s relevance is gradually revealed and how her story adds to unravelling the plot.
However, we were quite critical of the writing style which felt disjointed over the different timelines and we didn’t like the way the ending was told by 4 different characters, we felt that was a bit unnecessary as once was enough really.
Some of us thought that Noah felt more like a woman in his thoughts and deeds - but it is difficult to say why - and perhaps Debbie Howells should consider avoiding writing a 1st person tale as a man again. Some of us didn’t see the twist at the end at all.
We thought it a depressing story, but psychological thrillers have characters with “problems” to solve. It seems to be the fashion now to write about dysfunctional people.
But none of us understood the title.

Penistone Library Readers’ Group
13 December 2016