Official Review: Late, Late in the Evening by Stephen Grant

[BruisedApricot999]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Late, Late in the Evening" by Stephen Grant.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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I was compelled to read Late, Late in the Evening by Stephen Grant from the moment I saw its title, as it is drawn from one of my all-time favorite poems, ‘As I Walked Out One Evening’ by W. H. Auden. The novel quickly pulled me into its fascinating dystopian world, one that is futuristic and yet startlingly believable in our current political and economic climate.

The novel takes place in the not-so-distant future, where the climate crisis has become a full-on disaster and advanced robot servants have put millions out of their jobs. In this state of global turmoil, the newly formed British Party, led by Neil Retallick, has risen to power in the UK, turning the country into a nationalist fascist state. Our reluctant hero is Gabriel Dorfman, a poet who has served the past three years in prison for writing verses critical of the regime. However, everything for Gabriel is about to change, as he is being set free as part of a brand new ‘reform program’, where he is to become the Duke of Arlingham’s personal chauffeur. He has a chance at a reasonably comfortable life, but what will he do when the Resistance calls upon him, imploring him to fulfil his pledge to the cause?

My absolute favorite aspect of Late, Late in the Evening is its intricate worldbuilding. Especially early in the novel, the chapters switch back and forth frequently between present-day and backstory. When writers employ this type of structure, it sometimes pulls me out of the story or feels clunky and out of place. However, in this novel, Grant balances these narratives perfectly, keeping me hooked the entire time. Not only is the worldbuilding well-integrated into the structure of the narrative, but it is also thorough, grounded, and eerily familiar in our current global landscape. Grant draws attention to some major issues of our time – climate change, nationalism, wealth inequality, discrimination – and explores them in a way that is both intelligent and engaging to read. I loved the exploration of Gabriel and other characters struggling to navigate in a world where, as Grant puts it, “sympathy and care have been subjugated in the name of surviving in a life stripped of compassion”.

My main disappointment regarding this book is that, in my opinion, it is just too short! Grant accomplishes a lot in the 130 (pdf) pages of this novel (the print version is 200 pages), but with so many different narrative and thematic threads to weave together, I would have appreciated just a few more pages to flesh them out more. For instance, building upon Gabriel’s relationships with the supporting characters or more chapters from the perspectives of Retallick and the Duke could have added even more emotional depth to the story.

All in all, Late, Late in the Evening by Stephen Grant was a thought-provoking and exciting read, with a good balance of political thrills, tense action, and sincere character moments. Although I found a few errors, they were relatively minor and thus I do believe the novel to be professionally edited. Overall, I feel very comfortable rating this book 4 out of 4 stars.

Given the language used and topics involved, this book is suitable for a mature adult audience. There are also themes of assault and discrimination, so I would suggest readers who are sensitive to these topics to proceed with caution. I happily recommend this novel to fans of political thrillers and speculative fiction in general.

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Late, Late in the Evening
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[Becca Olsson]

I love that the only problem was there wasn’t enough of the book. Thank you for the insightful review, I’ll definitely be adding this to my must-read

[Kavita Shah]

Late, Late in the evening is an interesting title. It will be a tough choice for Gabriel. Will it? Thank you for the review!

[Peace Odii]

The title is truly compelling. I would love to read it. Great review.