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Claire North

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The End of the Day Kindle Edition

by Claire North (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

3.8 846 ratings

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A novel about life and death and a quest for moral purpose, by the acclaimed author of word-of-mouth bestseller The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August.

"Wholly original and hauntingly beautiful." -- Kirkus

"Funny, ambitious, immensely humane and full of philosophical panache." -- Sunday Times

Sooner or later, Death visits everyone. Before that, they meet Charlie: the Harbinger.

Sometimes he comes as a courtesy, sometimes as a warning. Either way, this will be the most important meeting of your life.

But who will come for Charlie?

"A fascinating exploration of what makes us human -- and a riveting journey through life, and death." -- The Bookbag

"Reaffirms the passion and ambition that have made North such a consistently intriguing writer." -- Locus

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A beautiful, if occasionally uncomfortable, read that resists being labeled with any particular genre."―Library Journal (starred review)

"Wholly original and hauntingly beautiful. North is a writer to watch."―Kirkus

"Thrilling and moving, The End of the Day is a fascinating exploration of what makes us human -- and a riveting journey through life, and death."― The Bookbag

"[Claire's] writing is poetic and accessible, imaginative and jam-packed full of knowledge . . . making The End of the Day a thoroughly engaging and astute read from start to finish"―SciFiNow

"North is [a] consistently intriguing writer."―Locus

"North is an exciting voice in contemporary fantasy, and The End of the Day should be a welcome calling card from her to many new readers."―San Francisco Chronicle

"Just like Death itself, the story is unpredictable . . . But it's moving, a novel you'll sob to while reading."―SFX

"Surreal, whimsical...shaped with philosophical panache."―Guardian

"[T]his is an inquiry into modern human existence. Philosophical questions are threaded through the electrifying plot. Even the protagonist's darkness alias is "why." Reminiscent of William Gibson's best work, North leads us into a brilliant world of elite but mindless humans, and shines a sharp light on what a rare gift it is to be able to think for oneself and what the consequences of it are."―RT Book Reviews on The Sudden Appearance of Hope

"Beautifully written, with a protagonist who is both tragic and heroic, the novel is remarkably powerful and deeply memorable, the latest in a string of terrific books from this newly emerged star in the genre-blending universe."
―Booklist (Starred Review) on The Sudden Appearance of Hope

"North has established a reputation for tense, dense, science fiction/fantasy-inflected thrillers that defy facile explanations... Simultaneously a tense conspiracy caper, a haunting meditation on loneliness and a brutally cynical examination of modern media... Well-paced, brilliant and balanced."―New York Times on The Sudden Appearance of Hope

"Touch is a story within a story within a story and it's one of the cleverest, most compelling books I've read in a long time. The intoxicating voice, ingenious premise and intricate plot will have readers clamoring for a copy. Touch has bestseller written all over it and Claire North is one hell of a writer."―C. L. Taylor, author of The Accident on Touch

"I don't say this lightly but The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August is one of the top ten books I've ever read."―James Dashner, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Maze Runner on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

"An astonishing re-invention of the time travel narrative. Bold, magical and masterful."―M. R. Carey, author of The Girl with all the Gifts on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

"Wonderful novel...held together by a compelling mystery involving nothing less than the end of the world itself. Beautifully written and structured...a remarkable book."―Booklist (Starred Review) on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

"A masterful literary thriller."―io9 on The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

About the Author

Claire North is a pseudonym for Catherine Webb, a Carnegie Medal-nominated author whose first book was written when she was just fourteen years old. She went on to write several other novels in various genres, before publishing her first major work as Claire North, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, in 2014. It was a critically acclaimed success, receiving rave reviews and an Audie nomination, and was included in the Washington Post's Best Books of the Year list. Her next novel, Touch, was also in the Washington Post's Best Books of the Year, in 2015. Catherine currently works as a theatre lighting designer and is a fan of big cities, urban magic, Thai food and graffiti-spotting. She lives in London.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01KT7YT6O
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Redhook (April 4, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 4, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2281 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 513 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #790,759 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #879 in Action & Adventure Literary Fiction
- #1,934 in Metaphysical & Visionary Fiction (Books)
- #3,617 in Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Literary Fiction

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3.8 846 ratings

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Claire North is a pseudonym for Catherine Webb, a Carnegie Medal-nominated author whose first book was written when she was just fourteen years old. She went on to write several other novels in various genres, before publishing her first major work as Claire North, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, in 2014. It was a critically acclaimed success, receiving rave reviews and an Audie nomination, and was included in the Washington Post's Best Books of the Year list. Her most recent novel, Touch, was also in the Washington Post's Best Books of the Year, in 2015.

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3.8 out of 5

846 global ratings

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fzwz

Experiment in Storytelling

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2017

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I am going to take liberties in this review. I have no special knowledge of the true motives and intentions of the author, but as with any reader, I get to decide what it is I think I have read. Here is what I think: This is a beautifully written story, but it's not for everyone. Some reviewers have complained that there is no plot. They are right! There is no plot. The author, Catherine Webb (Clair North) has written many novels in several genres and she certainly knows what a plot is, and that many readers will expect one. This book should be thought of more as an experiment in telling a story by means of all the components of a well written novel, except the plot. There is action and danger, but these are not intended to lead somewhere. Action here is not a journey, but rather a context within which to paint a character, or some facet of life, or to make a comment about or illustrate some truth.

The main character, Charlie, answers a want add for the position of Harbinger of Death and after an interview and screening process, is offered the job. As Harbinger, he goes before Death, either as a warning, or a courtesy. This part of the story is told in an absolutely literal way. Death is an actual Horseman of the Apocalypse and there are cameos of Pestilence, Famine, and War. No one questions this reality. That's not what the story is about. Charlie is just a regular guy who is almost pathologically incoherent, until the tension of the moment builds to such an extreme that he bursts forth with simple and innocent wisdom, time and time again. This is at core, a love story – Charlie's love for humanity, love of life, and love of a woman who's primary special quality is that he loves her. As the story progresses, it's these loves that become clearer and more distinct in the mind of the reader. Another reviewer said there is no plot, and also there is no character growth. I totally disagree with the second part. It is unfortunate that the most beautiful parts of this story might be missed by some readers because the entire novel consists of the parts they usually skim. As I said, it's not for everyone, but I give it 5 stars.

12 people found this helpful

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josh

It was a fun quick read and the author is well beyond her ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2017

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It has no plot. Don't expect one. It's a collection of interesting experiences and that's what makes it enjoyable. It was a fun quick read and the author is well beyond her years. This book is not for people who over analyze. This book is just a cool collection of stories about people from different walks of life.

One person found this helpful

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Joe Da Rold

Intriguing, but not North's best.

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2018

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Much as I was mesmerized by her previous books, "The Sudden Appearance of Hope", and "The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August", I had mixed-to-negative feelings about "The End of the Day." The premise is intriguing: a Harbinger of Death has been hired to precede Death around the world. He does not bring death, he goes as a courtesy, or as a warning, or to honor the living. Charlie, the new Harbinger of Death, is a people-person, and most often counsels his appointments, always bringing a gift from Death that links their past or their futures. This is structured like a picaresque novel, with one unconnected episode after another. In some ways this is similar to her novel Touch, but it never feels gimmicky. Some of the scenes are tedious (the glacier trek), some are riveting (the Belarus kidnapping), but on the whole there is too much repetition with Charlie being kidnapped by torturers who want to know “What is Death?” Many of the characters lack depth, including the re-appearing businessman Patrick, and Charlie’s colleagues, the Harbingers of Pestilence, Famine, and War. With such an intriguing main character, this will likely remain in my memory, but I am unlikely to recommend it as I would her other works.

7 people found this helpful

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Marcela

Love Claire North but this book was so MEDIOCRE

Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2017

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I love everything Claire North has written up until this book. The concept was fantastic,but the characters fell totally flat for me, especially the main character. I never connected with the protagonist as I have in her other stories. He was flat and boring and somewhat wimpy. There was no true plot or climax or ending or any structure to the story. This book turned out to be a big disappointment. I hope her next one is good because I do love her take on humanity and existentialism.

2 people found this helpful

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Nora

Just Beautiful

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2022

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The more I read Claire North, the more I love her writing. While this particular book does not have a regular storyline (characters have an objective, fight, learn/grow, achive objective) it is a wonderful story. The beauty in this particular work is the way it honors life of all sorts by observing death. Nothing is ever truly defined, and while it has its moments of 'action' it reads more like an extended poem. If you are looking for something emotionally based without the structure of a regular storyline, this is the book for you.

2 people found this helpful

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John Boy

As always

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2020

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As always, a true pleasure to read something from the heart and mind of a person so uniquely good at her craft. Having read much, for most of my life, it has, at this late stage, been a joy to find and share in her imagination and passions and insights. Well done. Again.

Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2021

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Nearly unremittingly depressing, like living in an all-gray house with a few splashes of color. 425 pages and, while there are moments of beauty and grace, there’s a great deal more death, destruction, awful people, and, yeah, torture. I usually love North’s work, so I waited it out, hoping for an ending that would make it worthwhile. And usually a quiet embrace could do that for me. Not here.

Spoilers: that may be part of the point: that there are apocalypses all the time, that people often are hateful, stupid, and violent, but that learning to “honor the living” is important and that love can keep us going. But that wasn’t enough for me in watching this character, who is so freaking damaged by the end.

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Jamie

What If You Were The Harbinger Of Death?

Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2019

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The End of the Day by Claire North

What if you were the Harbinger of Death? No, not an allegory, but an actual job. What would you do? How would you act? Hows would this change you as a person, and also influence those around you?
This is no easy read, but but it totally draws you in. Our hero, Charlie, is an erstwhile English man, who lands this job out of college, and has to negotiate his way thru many lives, and their endings. Including his own. At least, that what it looks like?
Read on, and discover what the Four Horses may really mean...

2 people found this helpful

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Anita B.

Alright

Reviewed in Canada on January 5, 2019

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Very tough for me to get engaged in the plot. Not a bad book but not her best in my opinion.

William Donelson

TEN STARS. Incredible and extraordinary, a Masterpiece

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 8, 2017

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TEN STARS. Incredible and extraordinary, a Masterpiece.

It's clear that I will never find the words I need for my review of this astonishing book, unlike any other book I have ever read. But please accept these for now, and know that in my heart, they will grow and change and resonate always.

If you've read Claire North before, you know she loves developing new styles, new concepts, new presentations. Much of this book is almost stream-of-consciousness, bits of overheard "modern life" dialogue, many very political or cultural in nature, many deeply offensive to our humanity... Please just go with the flow of the book for while, accept it's style. It's actually quite fresh and wonderful, and gently more profound as you progress.

The whole book is a kind of road trip through the human condition, with our protagonist, Charlie, kind and mild-mannered, an agent to celebrate each person he meets in their life before Death comes to them. He is a perfect witness of what we do to each other, what we allow to be done, and how we react to what is done. He is a witness to who each person is, to their life energy, to their humanity.

• Exquisite, profound... I cannot stop crying while reading this chapter about a hopeful, loving Jewish and Palestinian orchestra in the West Bank...

And I realise here that her previous books have been BY Claire North, BY her skill, BY her vision and her clever concepts, but this book IS Claire North. It IS her, it is who she is, her deepest heart laid bare as a gift to us.

The entire construction of the stories that make up Charlie's journey is wonderful, flowing and conversational, but without any overarching plot. It's a different style than perhaps you enjoy or have seen before. Just go with it, allow yourself to be carried along by it. As you travel with Charlie you will find both terrible horrors and shining gems, becoming deeply profound in time.

Claire's language can be astonishing, reaching into you to your deepest heart, and teaching you. I wept with horror and with joy throughout.

Claire North uses a surreal device for some of the actors/witnesses in the story. Charlie (and, I suppose the other Harbingers for the riders) operate out of typical, everyday business offices. Charlie is an employee of Death, and the Milton Keynes office is a sort of typical business agency working for Death, that sets Charlie's travel and schedules his appointments, pays his airfare and hotel bills, and his taxes and the like. He is directed to bring particular gifts to each person on his list, usually some object from their pasts, or perhaps something to indicate their futures.

In the journey of The End of the Day, Death, War, Famine and Pestilence - the four riders of the apocalypse and their "clerical" human Harbingers - appear to us as people, almost everyday people, sometimes friendly and sometimes joyous for human triumphs, mostly about promoting their nature. The human Harbingers "go before", and Charlie is the Harbinger of Death, coming to people before their Death, or sometimes as a warning.

Claire's deepest heart speaks in this book, guides us through life, expresses her horror and joy and hope, her anger at injustice and greed, my anger like hers, my joy like hers, my horror like hers. Her political views, her charity, her love for all of us is clear here.

We are seeing the truth of Claire North herself, and it is extraordinarily beautiful. I feel honoured to have had the chance to read this book. I will surely return to it again, and again in the future.

Claire wisely includes Emmi, who becomes Charlie's life partner, his anchor, his true love. Her inclusion in the story reflects our hearts' most extraordinary needs: To love and to be loved, to have the most beautiful parts of us be understood and respected and supported. Without Emmi in this book, hope would die.

---

4% ... After Charlie visits her, Death comes to Mama Sakinai ...
Death smiled again, and leant in close, holding the old woman’s hand gently within his taloned grasp, twisting his head to the side a little so that his mighty horns might not tear the window above her head. Then, in her language –in the ancient tongue of her peoples, the ones who had hunted until the settlers came, the ones who had died in the human hunts, the ones who had forgotten their names –he murmured in her ear, There is a place waiting for you behind the setting moon, Mama Sakinai. There are the spirits of your ancestors, living anew in the rivers of the sky. They call to you, they call to you, in your own tongue; they are waiting to tell the stories again, the stories that will never more be told in this land of burning sun. They hear your footsteps on the golden way, they catch you as you fall. Your people all are dead, Mama Sakinai, and your language too, and your stories and your lives, but only the world of the living is changed, never the world of the dead.

7% ... Some wonderful, exquisite moments of pure brilliance and joy....
Now [ Death ] watched the bear as it swam back to shore, and the bear after a while saw him, and recognised him for what he was, as all things do, and walked over slowly, bowing her head to press her great, puffing nose against his hair, and Death held her close, and felt her breathe, and waited.

27% ... chapter 35 ... a rage at “the system”, the jungle capitalism that eats its young, the greedy people with broken egos who only value power and possessions, and can never be fulfilled. Bless you Claire North.

38% ... "They are charging fifty thousand Syrian pounds for every man, woman and child who wishes to leave [the city]. It is criminal, you see, to run away from war; it is treachery. If the people run, do you know what they meet then?

“They meet the extremists. They meet the boys whose fathers died before they could teach them about humanity. They meet the angry men, the kids who never worked out who they were until God told them in a bloody dream. They meet the lucky survivors, the ones who escaped the bombs, and who, seeing their friends dead, knew it was only heaven that saved them. They meet the soldiers who did not want to fight, whose families will die if they do not. They meet the men who fight for a cause, and have chosen the cause over life. They meet the beheaders, who are happy to saw through the spines of teachers, doctors, nurses, journalists and children. They meet the men who stone women to death, and set fire to prisoners inside metal cages.”

42% ... Everyone meets Death. The tired welcome her; the just rage against her coming. The young do not understand her; the great do not realise that she cannot be bought. But of all those for whom she comes, it is always the lovers who are the most afraid.
- Extract from an email,
Saga Kekkonen, “Advice for a new Harbinger”.

• Charlie actually accompanies Death, only once ....

And the old man?

He opened his eyes at Death’s touch and he beheld …
… what he beheld was his secret, and only his to know, but he smiled.

“Oh,” he wheezed. “It’s you.”

Hello, Isaak.

“Been a while.”

It has, hasn’t it?

“You haven’t changed.”

Ah, but in my way …

“Where was it last …?”

Sobibor. [Nazi Death Camp]

“Sobibor,” he breathed. “I remember. You were there. You helped me, you said you’d never tell, and I never told either. Sobibor –you had to survive day after day in the camp, and you were there and together …”

Death squeezed his hand tighter, smiling up into the ancient, blurred eyes. I remember. I was always there. You lived for the day, and you lived for the day after that, and one day the days would end, but you would live until that very moment. I remember.

The old man, with great effort, laid his free hand on Death’s own, and squeezed back. “I wondered when I’d see you again, my friend. There were many times when I thought … but you came for someone else, not for me. I didn’t know if that was because of what we’d done, what we’d seen together, whether you wanted someone to witness, to remember.”

People will remember, Death replied quietly. I remember everything, but I have a Harbinger too, and he remembers as the mortals do, and he remembers for the living.

The old man craned his head to see Charlie, who moved round to be better in his view. He smiled at Charlie, who tried to smile back, then the man’s gaze returned to Death.

“Do you think they’re waiting for me?” he asked.

I don’t know.

“I always thought they would be.”

Then that’s what matters.

“This man … together …” He pointed at Death, but looked at Charlie. “I never told, and he swore he never would. But you should know. You should know because … the living must know. You had to live. You had to live, even if it meant betraying your people, even if it meant … I lived by closing the doors. They went into the chamber and together we closed the doors, didn’t we? We always closed the doors.”

Charlie bit his lip, looked at the man, looked at Death, then knelt down by the man’s side and added his own hands to the tangle of flesh folded across his knee. Charlie’s fingers were hot, the only warm thing in that grasp, a beating heart. “You lived, Isaak,” he whispered. “You lived.”

The old man smiled, and the smile stayed on his face forever.

One person found this helpful

Jenni Sorensen

Stunning

Reviewed in Australia on April 10, 2017

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Another truly original and captivating book by this author. Where dies she get her ideas? Reading this, you feel she knows the world intimately and in depth; has every emotion in abundance and understands the human condition far better than most.
I will read this again, as I am her previous novels, probably more than once. The story leaves you with some questions, but not enough to stop you suspending disbelief and going along with the premise. If you haven't read this author I strongly suggest you do. You will not be disappointed.

3 people found this helpful

TT

A beautiful story to make you think and feel

Reviewed in Australia on July 13, 2019

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Claire North creates characters that get under your skin and into your heart. This novel is so far reaching it misses not one part of how we live and love. A truly imaginative writing style means this book is an absolute gem you’ll recommend to friends long after.

E. Slimon

Not my favourite of hers

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2022

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I’ve read most of Clare Norths books and am a big fan and whilst the concept of this was good. The ending was unsatisfactory. I hate an ending where you have to decide what happens to the protagonist. Just tell me!

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