Writing this review is going to be a special challenge because I have always had a hard time talking about books that I loved and that have moved me deeply. I tend to gush without explaining why I enjoyed the book so much.

On first impression, Claire North’s stunning and strange novel, The End of the Day, is about death. Charlie is the most recent Harbinger of Death. As he explains it, he goes before as a courtesy or a warning. Through his eyes, we see good deaths and bad—and the longer you read, the more you realize that this is not a book about death so much as it is a book about empathy. I read The End of the Day in chunks over two days. I would inhale the short chapters until I could take no more of its emotional honesty and have to take a break. The breaks didn’t last too long because I just had to have more.

The End of the Day covers the three or four years at the beginning of his career as Death’s Harbinger, but it tells his story out of order. We see Charlie when he’s bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as he enjoyed traveling around the world to meet the last woman of her tribe in Peru. We see him as he has a mystical encounter with Death on a glacier in Greenland. We also see Charlie as all of the senseless deaths shake him to the core when he visits a rebel compound in Syria after years of civil war. Charlie’s relationship with death, and Death, are constantly changing—though he seems to have a better grip on what Death is than most of the people he meets.

Charlie’s job is supposed to be either a courtesy or a warning. When it’s a courtesy, Charlie sees people before they have a good death, at peace with their lives and their ends. When it’s a warning, Charlie strives mightily to get people to heed him so that Death might pass them by. But Charlie also has an unofficial third duty to perform: answering questions from people who want to understand Death and try to bargain with the psychopomp. These parts of the book are often harrowing for Charlie because of his answers, though some of them are incredibly thoughtful.

Throughout the book are interstitial chapters that consist of nothing but untagged dialogue. These snatches of speech, for me, were gut-wrenching contrasts to Charlie’s deep empathy for everyone he meets. Some of them sounded like they were taken directly from Donald Trump or Fox News because of their profound racism and stupidity. I was struck, over and over again, by how current they sounded because we seem to be living in a time when more and more people only care about themselves and their families. Everyone else can go hang for all they care. None of these voices realize that Death comes for all of us in the end. The divisions we put up between ourselves and others are completely meaningless and do nothing but make us miserable.

The End of the Day is not for everyone. It’s achronological structure will bother some readers. The issues the book covers will distress others. But I found the book to be one of the most enlightening and beautiful novels I’ve read in a while.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration. It will be released on 4 April 2017.

Wow. I wasn't sure what to expect when I read the premise but I certainly wasn't expecting what I got. Claire Norths latest book is stunning. Descriptive, inventive, heartfelt and devastating at the same time. From war torn countries to the carrying on of a bloodline in small town america, charlie, the harbinger of death can be a courtesy or a warning of death following behind. It could be the death of an idea or a horrific accident, a new beginning or social change. Each avenue is explored in this book.

I'll start off by saying while I loved the premise of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August I wasn't a fan of the execution. And I felt exactly the same about this book. I love the sound of all Claire North's books but this goes to show that her writing just isn't for me. I got 50% through the novel before putting it down.

It's definitely a slow burner, and very character focused rather than massively plot driven. It explores really interesting topics, as you'd expect from a novel about the Harbinger of Death. It also jumps around in time and place a lot, including some chapters which are purely a page or two of random people talking.

But, I don't want to put anyone off reading this. If you're a fan of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, then you'll love this. And if you've never tried a Claire North novel people, you definitely should. This low rating is definitely due to personal taste rather than a bad book.

I was unable to even finish this book because the writing style is so dull and logical that it is hard to read. The concept itself is interesting but I don't think it was presented in the right way.

Charlie counts himself lucky, in a way. Graduating in a recession is never easy and he's been fortunate to find a job that offers a good pension and a chance to use his languages. He's always been a people person and now he gets to travel the world, meeting all sorts of interesting characters. Generally speaking, his boss doesn't interfere with his work, and the central office in Milton Keynes takes care of insurance, expenses and any niggling little accidents that need strings to be pulled. And Charlie's job title always attracts people's attention at parties. How many people can say they're the Harbinger of Death?

Charlie is never quite sure where work will send him next. An appointment pops up in his phone, which might send him off to India, to Lagos, to the glaciers of the Arctic Circle or to the humid forests of South America. And he’s never quite sure why he’s going. His role is to go before Death, sometimes as a courtesy – to honour someone or something which will soon pass away forever – and sometimes as a warning, hinting that the future might yet be averted.

I liked the idea of this novel, and I was interested by North’s decision that Death should send Charlie not only to honour people, but also to honour the imminent passing of ideas. Those ideas could be morally good or bad – the creation of a Palestinian-Israeli orchestra in the Gaza Strip; the world of debutantes and old fashioned values in the American South; the death of an obscure language with its final speaker. But I found that at times North came dangerously close to social-message fiction, as in her choice to send Charlie to honour the final inhabitants of a South London estate on the brink of being demolished by an unprincipled developer; or his trip to the melting glaciers in Greenland. While I do feel there’s a place for authors to deal with such issues in their work, there are times when (despite its earnestness) the book feels uncomfortably glib.

And the same goes for its character. Is this a humorous work or not? The book can’t quite make up its mind whether it wants to be ironic – Charlie hanging out with the Harbingers for the other three Horsemen in the odd war zone, having a catch up while the world burns – or profoundly serious. Perhaps if it were set at some point in the past, it would matter less, and maybe it’s just me being unnecessarily sensitive, but I found it uncomfortable to have light-hearted absurdity woven in with tales of atrocities that are still happening – in Mosul, in Syria and so forth. I think authors have to be very careful in dealing with such things, so that it doesn’t look as if they’re exploiting events to make their book look edgy or relevant or on-point. Charlie parachutes into situations, gains insights from talking to generically wise foreigners, and leaves again. It feels a bit like disaster tourism, or the stereotypical white boy slumming it in some needy corner of the world during his gap year, to prove his social conscience.

I’m being a bit hard, yes. And the book’s ultimate message is one that all of us should welcome at such times as these: that humanity is universal and that everyone deserves dignity. But maybe there would have been a way to do that without appropriating ongoing humanitarian crises for fictional impact. There are, of course, redeeming features. Charlie is a perfectly personable young man, eager to do well. North uses short chapters full of babble to evoke the world of opinions within which we live, which perhaps cloud our ability to see the things which are really important. But I think there are moments when the concept becomes more important than the plot, and certain sections run just a little too close to the knuckle for this reader’s comfort.

The full review will be published on my blog on 9 March 2017:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/03/09/the-end-of-the-day-claire-north

I hardly know where to begin. Meet Charlie. Official job, Harbinger of Death. A regular guy from England, he is selected to proceed death, sometimes as a warning, sometimes as a courtesy and sometimes not for the death of a person but of an idea. He is the bridge.

It is what he sees and learns about humans and humanity that were both touching, honest and profound. The writing is quirky but works perfectly in the telling of this one man's journey. The author touches many current topics in a unique and masterful way.

My favorite book of 2017 so far. Read it your first opportunity. You won't be disappointed

Well i have never ever read anything quite like this. A very good tale indeed. Charlie is a very interesting character and the plot is so original. It took me a while to get used to the style of writing and what was going on, but once i did i was completely engrossed. Another winner from claire North.

The End of The Day begins with Charlie, a new employee of death’s. His official title is the Harbinger of Death, it is his mission to visit with individuals before death arrives. He brings whiskey with him and many find comfort in the warmth found at the bottom of the glass. What I enjoyed most was the descriptions of the Harbingers that change according to who is seeing them, much like death itself, this is personalized to each person.

North uses descriptions and details wisely and subtly so that sometimes chapters later you realize a clue that was dropped much earlier on in the novel that you didn’t pick up on. It’s very clever and makes a bigger impact than if you were simply told. This is a novel that will still be engaging on the second, third and fourth read.

This book is just as gorgeous as its cover and as depressing as it is uplifting. Charlie, from Birmingham England (not Alabama), is the Harbinger of Death. Sometimes he comes as a courtesy, sometimes as a warning, and he doesn't always knows which is which. During his travels (on a plane, train or car, like a traveling salesman and not the Harbinger of one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse) he gets to meet all kinds of people. Some good, some not. The story reminded me a little of Neil Gaiman's American Gods, with its philosophical depth and beautiful prose. Charlie doesn't judge anyone, and even he doesn't know what Death is (however forcefully you ask). He knows good, evil, kindness, loss, and still loves his job. Death is with us since we are born and is the one thing we know for certain. I don't have words to describe how deeply touching it is, so I will just point out one of the many, many details that made me smile: the Harbinger of Famine standing outside a health food store, confused about all the diet aids and supplements. Read it, it's wonderful.

4 stars

I wasn’t certain about this book when I first read it. But then, I decided I liked it.

Charlie is the Harbinger of Death. He comes to visit before the Horseman of the Apocalypse named Death makes a final visit – in this lifetime. Or, maybe Death will go along and not visit the person. Charlie has been all over the world on his travels. He has seen some amazing places and things and has had to face danger as well. He also collects t-shirts.

He is particularly gentle with his “clients.” He spends time with them and comforts them; he gives them little gifts.

Claire North’s writing is very good. It is both beautiful – almost lyrical. And what a clever idea for a book! This is my first Claire North novel and it certainly won’t be my last.

I want to thank Netgalley and RedHook Books/RedHook for forwarding to me a copy of this most delightful book to read.

There are jobs and then there are jobs. Harbinger of Death is the latter. Fascinating, unusual job that is worth an entire book to follow. If it sounds quirky and whimsical, like certain tv shows or Christopher Moore's books, it really isn't. It's actually quite dark and emotionally devastating of a read. Apocalyptic and eerily timely, the world ending incrementally by stabs of hatred, prejudice, anger, stupidity and ignorance. Harbinger's job is to come before and to see the humanity behind its ugly trappings, to recognize the soul of each and every individual, no matter how repugnant or unlovable. It's a tough job, dangerous even and yet something noble about bearing witness to the end of the world, a sliver of kindness in the end of the day. The ability to behold impartially is mind blowing really, in a world more divided than ever and apparently so for the lack of discourse, though I have never found it to be a particularly effective solution because ignorance galvanized by prejudiced hatred appears impenetrable to reason and indifferent to logic and facts. Striking poignant and befitting book for 2017. This is my first read by the author and it's been a pretty favorable introduction. It can be frustrating elliptical, particularly the dialogue, and though I'm partial to ellipsis myself...see...at times it was too much. Conceptually an interesting premise, well executed, somewhat idealistic on occasion, but the author is so young, it's to be expected. Good thought stimulant, though, always nice when a book does that. Thanks Netgalley.

What an interesting and intriguing character Charlie is,.
Highly recommend you read this brilliant novel just make sure you don't have anything planned because you will cancel those plans.