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Jaroslavas Melnikas – The Last Day | Review

Title: The Last Day

Author: Jaroslavas Melnikas

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 186

Rating 4/5

I don’t really know how to explain this one. I guess if I had to pigeonhole it, I’d call it literary fiction, but it’s also kind of like a set of short stories mixed together into one psychedelic whole. We start with a book that accurately predicts the day of people’s deaths, move on to disappearing rooms inside a family house and then eventually end up at a strange cinema that seems to have no staff.

It’s tough going and definitely not an easy read, but it’s also one of those books that compels you to keep on reading because you can’t wait to find out what happens next. And yet despite that, it’s not a plot heavy book. I don’t normally like this kind of stuff, but Melnikas nailed it. And of course, by reading this book, you’re also supporting Lithuanian literature and picking up a BBC Book of the Year award-winner, if you care about such things. Go and read it.

Click here to buy The Last Day.

Gareth Hollbrooke – It’s Never Easy These Days | Review

Title: It’s Never Easy These Days

Author: Gareth Hollbrooke

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 224

Rating: 4*/5

Gareth Hollbrooke – It’s Never Easy These Days

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

Before I get started on this one, I think it’s important to start by telling you a little bit about the book. Hollbrooke was active in both public and private hospitals from the 1970s to the 1990s, and these are his memoirs about his time spent managing hospitals. Now, I’m not necessarily involved in the healthcare industry, but my mum is a nurse and I’m working with a client on a book about the future of healthcare, so I thought I’d give this one a go and see what I thought of it.

It turned out to be a surprisingly delightful little memoir. Sure, Hollbrooke has a more old-fashioned style of writing, but his spelling and grammar are impeccable and that’s always a plus in my book. It makes the text feel a little dense at times, especially because he writes in long paragraphs, but the stories are short and sweet and just enough to take you on little visits to his world. He also has an eye for character, so even when I didn’t understand the medicine, I understood the staff.