Here we are again, friends. Thanks for coming back! This week I have a special surprise for the review—my mom is helping! We didn’t even plan this because of Mother’s Day, it’s just a happy accident. So, happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and stay tuned for some of my mom’s comments later on. The book I’m reviewing this week is We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker. To accompany this novel I’ll be making a Bitter End cocktail. Enjoy!
Bitter End Recipe
Special note: There are tons of recipes online for the Bitter End and they vary greatly, but after much debate I decided on the one I thought I would like the best (so not the ones with absinthe or coffee). I’m also adding a variation for this cocktail, so you have some choices!
Option 1 is the “real” Bitter End and option 2 is my variation. I added the variation for people who prefer lighter beer and don’t love the bitterness of Campari (me). I chose a grapefruit Radler because a lot of other Bitter End recipes had grapefruit juice in them. And I chose Aperol because it actually adds the same orange-y flavour as Campari, but is sweeter. So, maybe my variation should be called a Bitter Sweet End?
Option 1:
1oz Campari
~12oz (or 1 can/bottle) IPA
1 twist Orange
1 slice Starfruit*
Option 2:
1oz Aperol
~12oz (or 1 can/bottle) Grapefruit Radler
1 twist Orange
1 slice Starfruit*
*Starfruit is an optional ingredient.
For both cocktails, add the liquor into a pint glass then pour the beer on top. Then, garnish with a twist of orange and a slice of starfruit to finish it off.
My special ingredient this week is starfruit. I chose this ingredient because of the character Star. While she’s not really a main character, her life and her decisions have a huge impact on this novel. So, I figured that incorporating her into the drink would be perfect. I also chose to just use it as a garnish since the flavours of this drink can’t be meddled with too much.
Moving on to taste, this drink is delicious. I actually ended up liking both options, but option 2 was my favourite. The Campari in option 1 made the beer a bit smoother and less hoppy. And, while it was subtle, the citrus taste worked well in the IPA. Option 2, on the other hand, was a bit sweeter and more citrusy. The grapefruit Radler and the orange Aperol worked perfectly together to give the beer a nice fruity flavour. I actually think this recipe would work with most beers, so feel free to try it with your favourite beer and let me know!
We Begin at the End Synopsis
(from book cover)
Walk has never left the coastal California town where he grew up. He may have become the chief of police, but he’s still trying to heal the wound of having given the testimony that sent his best friend, Vincent King, to prison decades before. Now, thirty years later, Vincent is being released.
Duchess is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Her mother, Star, grew up with Walk and Vincent. Walk is in overdrive trying to protect them but Vincent and Star seem bent on sliding deeper in self-destruction. Star always burned bright, but recently that light has dimmed, leaving Duchess to parent not only her mother but her five-year-old brother. At school the other kids make fun of Duchess—her clothes are torn, her hair a mess. But let them throw their sticks, because she’ll throw stones. Rules are for other people. She’s just trying to survive and keep her family together.
A fortysomething-year-old sheriff and a thirteen-year-old girl may not seem to have a lot in common. But both have come to expect that people will disappoint you, loved ones will leave you, and if you open your heart it will be broken. So when trouble arrives with Vincent King, Walk and Duchess find they will be unable to do anything but usher it in, arms wide closed.
Review
“None of us are any one thing. We’re just a collection of the best and worst things we’ve done.”
Friends, this book had me worried. I had heard so many amazing things about We Begin at the End and I had interacted with the author online, so I kept thinking “oh my gosh, I hope it lives up to the hype and I like it.” Well, I am very happy to report that it did live up to the hype! My mom also really enjoyed it, and somehow I finished reading it before her. She was not happy about that since she normally reads way faster than I do, but ya snooze ya lose Momma.
First things first, my mom and I both had comments about the writing style. Before I started reading, mom only said that she thought the writing style was unique. Then, as soon as I started reading, it hit me that this novel reads like a screenplay or movie. The way the narrative moves around made me imagine a panning camera. The vivid descriptions of the characters and scenes also gave off this movie vibe. It all makes this a very visual read in a way that isn’t typical of a novel.
Fun story, my mom didn’t really believe me at first about the screenplay/movie thing. But, I told her that all the allusions and references to movies couldn’t be a coincidence. I love allusions in any novel, but I really enjoyed these movie references. I know this is a mother-daughter post, but shout out to my dad who collects movies because I think he’d be proud of me for noticing so many! Also, my dad is a huge fan of westerns, so I’ve seen practically every western ever made and I really liked the modern twist on the genre that this novel offered. Plus, my dad’s favourite movie is The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, so I had to smile when that particular movie was mentioned!
Moving away from the movie thing, I want to talk about another key aspect of the writing—the dialogue. The dialogue was believable and natural for the most part. Although mom and I both didn’t love some of the things Duchess says, but that didn’t ruin it for us. The difficulty we had with the dialogue was that it was hard to follow. We both found ourselves having to go back and figure out who was saying what multiple times. There are very few dialogue tags in the novel, so, though it made the reading quick and impactful, it added some difficulty.
Our other problem with the writing was the interesting grammatical choices. As someone who studied editing, it was actually a bit frustrating reading the grammar in We Begin at the End. Sometimes there weren’t enough commas, other times there were comma splices, and frequently there were misplaced modifiers. I do want to note that I think the lack of commas in some areas may add to the movie thing of how the scene is “panning” and not pausing. Kind of a Faulkner-esque grammar choice that puts emphasis on the tone of the sentence. However, I’m not sure about the style reasoning behind the other grammatical choices.
These grammatical choices and the tagless dialogue made us both, again, have to go back and figure things out a lot. Early on, we thought We Begin at the End might be another “smart person book”. I’ve mentioned these in the past when I discussed The Prophets and I want to make clear that I’m not saying that I’m not smart, but rather that the writing is intended to make you work to understand it. Mom and I prefer when things are more straightforward so we aren’t taken out of the story while trying to follow what’s happening. However, this novel was the easier of the two to follow, even though we had to get adjusted to the writing before it really flowed.
The other big thing my mom and I talked about was the characters. My mom loved the characters in We Begin at the End. She commented specifically on how well-written the character development was. We also both felt a lot of compassion for each character, even the minor ones. They were all fleshed out and felt complete. They also didn’t seem too stereotypical as they all had many layers. And, because of these layers and the fantastic development of the characters, our ideas about the characters were constantly changing throughout the novel. We felt this most strongly in regard to the theme of good and bad, which we thought added some extra depth to the reading.
The character we discussed the most was Duchess. We both commented on how we just hated her at certain points in the novel, but also how we cared for her. The difficulty with Duchess is that you can’t help but have sympathy for the circumstances of her life, but she brings on a lot of the tragedy that she faces herself. It was saddening to read about a 13-year-old who holds so much anger towards the world. As an adult, it’s tragic to read because she acts exactly how a 13-year-old who thinks she’s an adult and knows everything acts. But really, she’s just a kid who doesn’t fully understand the consequences of her actions. And therein lies the tragedy of the novel—sometimes you’re really just being selfish when you think you’re doing what’s best.
An interesting thing to note before I’m done with the character discussion, is how differently my mom and I read this novel. I read We Begin at the End as a mystery and found the clues to solve it (unfortunately, I did figure out practically everything). My mom, on the other hand, read it as a tragedy and focused on the characters and character development. I also felt the tragedy when reading Duchess’ sections, but once back to Walk’s narrative I was in detective mode. So, it was really interesting how the novel played with genres, and how it can be approached differently depending on what you connect with. Also, the final thing I loved about the characters was their names. I know they’re a bit on the nose, but overly literal names make me think of westerns, so I thought this furthered the western motif in a fun way.
Another big topic of discussion for us was the ending of the novel. We both thought that the ending was practically perfect. My mom commented on how some novels wrap things up quickly and leave questions unanswered, but Whitaker did it just right. Everything came together at the right pace and suited the themes of the novel. To quote my mother, “[Whitaker] knows how to bring the story together and make it feel complete.”
Well, I feel like I’ve rambled on for quite a long time on this one (I’m going to blame that on the in-depth discussion with my mom), so I’ll wrap it up. All in all, we both really enjoyed We Begin at the End and agreed on the rating. We found the same small problems—namely, occasionally hating Duchess and the confusing grammar—but overall we thought it was a well-written and enticing novel. So, you have two stamps of recommendation on this one if you want to read it! And, even if you don’t, I’d love for you to try out my cocktail (I think it’ll be a perfect patio drink this summer). Thanks for reading and happy Mother’s Day!
My Rating:
Thanks for reading! And, if you read the book or try the cocktail let me know in a comment or on Instagram. Also, if you haven’t yet read my previous reviews, I recommend reading The Vanishing Half and Half, The Kindest LIE, and How the One-Armed Sister Clean Sweeps Her House if you liked this one!
Teghann
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