The end of everything was her beginning.
It’s December 2023 and the world as we know it has ended.
The human race has been wiped out by a virus called 6DM (‘Six Days Maximum’ – the longest you’ve got before your body destroys itself).
But somehow, in London, one woman is still alive. A woman who has spent her whole life compromising what she wants, hiding how she feels and desperately trying to fit in. A woman who is entirely unprepared to face a future on her own.
Now, with only an abandoned golden retriever to keep her company, she must travel through burning cities, avoiding rotting corpses and ravenous rats on a final journey to discover if she really is the last surviving person on earth.
And with no one else to live for, who will she become now that she’s completely alone?
Well, dear readers, this was phenomenal. I genuinely cannot put into words how much I adored reading Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift, but as always, I’m certainly going to try my best. Fizzing with originality, an energetic spark, and Clift’s glorious humour amid even the darkest of days, this was an absolutely exquisite debut novel from Bethany, overflowing with honesty and emotion, and making me cry more than once. It was an emotional, bold and brave tale about how one woman handles the end of humanity, but how she also handles her mental health, her regrets, her losses and her grief, all the while doing her best to stay afloat in a very new, very terrifying world. I really didn’t expect to become so needy with this novel, and I certainly didn’t expect to find myself clinging to the heroine and her story of personal development as much as I did, but alas, I did. By the time I finished, I felt as though I’d made a dear friend who I genuinely cared about, and tottered alongside her as she’d ventured out into the unknown and fought for her survival with unknown dangers waiting around every corner. This is, at times, a harrowing and deeply troubling take on the wiping out of civilisation, but it is also amusing, charming, uplifting and warm. From one extreme to the next, touching upon all topics from masturbation to cocaine, Bethany Clift absolutely won my heart with Last One at the Party, and I am really, really excited to have discovered this author and her wonderful way with words, those of which truly lit this story alight.
It’s 2023, and the world has ended. The streets of London are empty. Shops, restaurants and cafes abandoned. Homes deathly silent. And the smell of rotting corpses can be caught in the air. Clift sets the scene perfectly for this devastating turn of events in an apocalyptic setting where there is no one left, except for our heroine. There is no government. No laws. No healthcare. The only things that remain are 6DM, the virus responsible for wiping out millions of lives, and T600, the drug provided to all who would rather end their lives quickly and painlessly, instead of going through the trauma of 6DM and its effect on the human body. Not a soul walks the streets, and nor does a sound fill them. It’s an empty, silent world, and it’s our heroine’s for the taking, if only she’d get out there and take it. The BBC’s last live broadcast invited any survivors to go there and put out a call, in the hopes that it would bring together and save the last remaining lives. Instead, our heroine has other plans and, although questionable, they prove to be the right steps she needs to take in order to discover not only more of the world she now inhabits, but more about herself, too. This is not just a apocalyptic survival novel, though it is a very good one. It’s a novel of self-discovery, of courage and realisation, of honesty and being frank, all set amongst a concrete wilderness, where there’s no one to go to for answers except oneself.
The setting of Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift was striking, in that I could picture it all so clearly in my mind. I think London is perhaps the perfect place to set a novel of this sort, simply because it provides the most powerful contrast when thought of as a before and after. To go from so much activity to simply nothing is the scariest type of comparison. The eeriness of it all, the lack of traffic on the roads, and the people on the streets. What made it feel all the more real for me was how Clift included all of the smaller details too, the stuff that I suppose you wouldn’t really think of, like how the bins would stop getting emptied because there were no bin-men to empty them, or how (and this part absolutely broke my heart), all of the animals in the zoos would go without, because there would be no zookeepers to feed or take care of them. All of these smaller details, these little things that all add up, that are the cogs in the wheel of every day life, ensured this novel had a greater, more profound effect on me. It was incredibly thought-provoking, and rather disturbing too, and there were numerous moments throughout my reading of this book where I’d stop and lose myself to my own imagination with the help of Clift’s descriptions and ideas, wondering what I would do, or how I would react.
Loneliness was another focus that I feel was done exceptionally well in this book, and the effect that being lonely can have on one’s mental health. Clift discussed both in a very frank and open way, and it certainly added a sense of realness and relatability to the plot. After all, I think it’s impossible to truly imagine what it would feel like to be one of the only people left on earth. The very idea of it is unthinkable. Perhaps it would take a while to sink in, but when it did, I think it would be very difficult to come to terms with and accept. Not hearing another person talk, or hearing your name being said aloud. It really is no wonder that our heroine feels herself beginning to spiral at numerous points within the plot, and I believe the same would happen to anyone in the same position. As well as mental health and loneliness, Clift writes openly about female masturbation, about drugs and finding release. I respect authors who leave no stone unturned when they write. I think it’s brave when these topics are approached, and again, it brings the world even more alive, even when its occupants are dead.
The structure of Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift was, again, wonderfully achieved. Not once did my interest in our heroine’s journey lessen. I found myself completely invested in her story and remained so right the way through to the end. Clift ensures the pacing remains tight and that our heroine is always working towards something, so that there is always a goal, or somewhere she needs to get to. Although her mission changes a few times, the ultimate aim remains the same. To survive. There is the ever-present risk of running out of medicine and food, and so that also adds another heap of responsibility to our heroine’s every day routine. From making the journey to see her loved ones, to reaching the BBC building, to finding shelter, to finding another survivor, to simply staying alive, every page of Last One at the Party saw our heroine tackling not only her own internal issues, but issues raised the outside world too. I also loved the trips back to pre-6DM life. I enjoyed learning of our heroine’s life before the virus struck. Her relationship with James, and her friendships too, her family life and working life. It seemed to make the present day all the more bittersweet, especially when I was able to share in her memories of her previous life with her, while traipsing through the virus-torn world she now lived in. It was excruciatingly emotional at times. Clift really brought the intricacies of human life and relationships to the surface and allowed me a tender look at the things our heroine had lost along the way. Lucky deserves an honourable mention also. He stole my heart and still has it now.
Although this novel felt hopeless and bleak at times, Clift seemed to come through with the promise of a new day. The reader is witness to a myriad of experiences and emotions throughout Last One at the Party, some challenging, some heart-breaking, some uplifting, and some tender. From one moment to the next, I could never quite decide whether our heroine was terrified, or determined, and I don’t think she could either. Clift writes a complex yet relatable woman who, it seems, has undergone an identity crisis throughout her life to date. It seems that only when there isn’t a single other soul alive, she is only then able to let her true self be revealed. I thought this was an amazing way to look at self-discovery, against such an empty world, where there is no judgement, no societal bar to measure oneself against. Although eerie, I couldn’t help but to marvel at the absolute freedom our heroine was granted by the devastating wipe-out of humanity. It was just a remarkable thing to consider, and I really love the author for this. It’s so different and standout.
Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift was an exceptional debut novel. I’ve not read something that touched me so deeply, or scared me in such a subtle way, for a long time. It’s a memorable, striking and honest novel, in which the author ensures the reader is taken on a journey that is both troubling and uplifting, and it will leave you changed and moved on an entirely new level. Vivid, mesmerising, and entirely addictive, I’m ready to read this all over again. Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift is an absolute must-read, and I recommend this to anyone who enjoys an epic journey, one that will remain in your head and mind for a long time after turning the final page. I’ve no doubt that this book will make an appearance in my top ten of 2021, and I’m excited to see what will be next from Bethany Clift. Bravo!
Title: Last One at the Party
Author: Bethany Clift
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Format: eBook
Pages: 331
Source: Purchased via Amazon UK
Publication Date: 14 – 2 – 2021
Bethany Clift is a graduate of the Northern Film School, the producer of low-budget British horror film Heretic, and the Director of her own production company, Saber Productions. Last One At The Party is her debut novel.
Bethany suffers from itchy feet. She travelled extensively when she was younger and once drove round America for a year, camping and living in her car because she couldn’t afford motels. Her itchy feet mean that, since leaving her childhood home, she has moved house a lot. She once moved house four times in a year. Bethany has now settled in Milton Keynes with her husband and two children and, luckily, she is a big fan of roundabouts.
Bethany has enjoyed many different careers including hairdresser, florist, karaoke bar singer, pork pie maker, barman, jeweller, fruit and veg seller, librarian and a season as an Elf. Bethany has spent the last eleven years working for the NHS and is a huge advocate for the organisation and the world-renowned service it provides.
Bethany is the producer of the low-budget horror movie, Heretic. Bethany produced the entire movie for less than £18k and secured it a UK cinema and DVD release earning the movie the number 3 spot in the DVD charts on the weekend of its release. Bethany was also the Production Manager for the 16-day film shoot for the movie and she did this six-weeks after giving birth to her first child and whilst still breast-feeding and surviving on about three hours sleep a night. She credits watching the Great British Bake Off as the reason for keeping her sanity, and her marriage, during those sixteen days.
Bethany loves reading and watching sci-fi; listening to American country and blues music; dancing to Northern Soul or old-school Hip-Hop and eating, well, pretty much anything. The movie WALL-E makes her cry, and her family and friends make her happy.
You can purchase your copy of Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift here.
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