We Begin at the End

thenextgoodbook.com
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
367 pages

What’s it about?
Duchess is a 13 year-old girl just trying to keep her mom (Star) and her brother (Robin) safe. Her only ally is a local sheriff named Walk. Walk grew up with Star and does his best to keep her sober and watch out for her two kids. When Star and Walk’s old friend Vincent is released from prison after 30 years everyone is put on edge. This whole story hinges on one question- is Vincent a good man?

What did it make me think about?
Justice.

Should I read it?
This was a plot driven thriller and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Set in both California and Montana this story has a western feel to it. Occasionally some of the sentences seemed a little stilted, but can you argue with being too poetic? Part hard luck story, part who-dun-it, but always full of heart. I highly recommend this book. One of my favorites this summer.

Quote-
“You’re like a kid. Better and worse. Bad and good. None of us are only one thing. We’re just a collection of the best and worst things we’ve done.”

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Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent
Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

This is a beautifully written, character driven novel. Very thought provoking.

One of my top 5 books in 2021. The final line had be sobbing for all the right reasons! Would 100% recommend.

It's not often that I find myself sitting back and really appreciating the beauty of the words in a novel. I tend to read mysteries and thrillers and true crime books which aren't generally known for gorgeous prose. I mean, it happens but it's not what I expect. But sitting back and appreciating the narrator perform We Begin at the End is exactly what I did.

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Walker, the sheriff of a small California town, and Duchess Day Radley, the 13 year-old daughter of one of Walk's childhood friends. Duchess is a tough young person who has become primary caretaker of her 6 year-old brother, Robin, and, with Walk's help, keeps her mother, Star, together, too. Star is a mess and the whole town appears to be aware of it since they see the ambulances called out for accidental overdoses...

I loved everything about this book. The story, the characters, the setting, the twists and turns, and the narrator. I was emotionally gut-punched a few times and nearly dropped a tear towards the end. I can see myself listening again. I'm sure there are bits here and there that would have new meaning now that I have all the information. I love that. There's so much to this book and all is not what it appears.

I'd recommend We Begin at the End to everyone. I don't recall anything particularly graphic or violent or sexual so it would be appropriate for teens and up. Of course, my memory is shit so I could be wrong...

Huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for hooking me up with the audiobook. I loved it.

If you look at reviews of this book, you see words like “gripping” and “powerful” showing up again and again. I’d like to read the book those people were reading. I found this one inconsistent and, honestly, a bit weak. The characters are pretty stereotypical. Most of the real action takes place off-page, in reminiscence, or both. The personal drama is the better part of the book, to be sure, but even that wasn’t consistently compelling. And the central “ticking clock” element—Darke’s pursuit of Duchess, to retrieve the security tape—was comically implausible. Are we really supposed to believe that an insurance company could avoid paying a claim simply because the criminal perpetrator had the presence of mind to remove video evidence of their misconduct? Then too, the twist of Vincent being the kids’ father is also pretty incredible. And unnecessary, frankly. I guess all in all, it was fine to read, but I will utterly forget it within a few months.