Oh, SmartGirls! I have just finished reading the most wonderful book! Dava Shastri's Last Day by Krithana Ramisetti is absolutely fantastic. Dava Shastri is a wealthy philanthropist whose life's purpose has been to make her own name synonymous with giving and making the world a better place. When the time comes for the end of her life, she gathers her family around her and reflects on whether or not she has been successful. Her four children, their spouses, and their children are all together on the family island in the year 2044. There is love, there is disagreement, there is grief.
These are the most wonderfully written characters. They are all beautifully flawed and all trying to live up to the extremely high expectations of Dava, herself included. Told in memories and flashbacks to the early twenty-first century that feel more like current events, the reader is pulled into an easily imaginable world that hasn't quite happened yet. This book is beautiful and thought-provoking, and it had me wondering what my own "going away party" might be like if I were given the opportunity to plan it someday.
I know we are only midway through February, but this could easily be the best book I read all year. My only regret is that I didn't save this for a book club selection. The discussion among friends would be magnificent.
I love this book and I hope you will, too.
No comments:
Post a Comment