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Barbara B. (Evansville, IN)
Unexpected Events at Assisted Living
Dotted with lighthearted laughter and serious moments, Carl and Duffy reign supreme at the Centennial Assisted Living home where they are roommates. Their lives change suddenly when Carl's granddaughter climbs through the window into their room. Josie has no other place to go, so she begins her slightly unwelcome hideaway at the assisted living facility. The novel quickly becomes realistic, and the characters all mesh as the 5-day encounter makes everyone value life tremendously. The author does an excellent job of storytelling from Duffy's 88-year-old point of view. The happy banter is ongoing, although the
…more heart crushing grief of life and loss occurs just as often. (less)
Becky H. (Chicago, IL)
sympathetic to the plight of older persons
Duffey, the unrepentant reprobate, and his side kick, Carl, are roommates at the "nice" assisted living home. They live in fear of being tossed out and forced to move to the "hellhole" of the only full nursing home in the area. Nora is the nurse who makes life bearable. Anderson is the aide who aids and abets Duffey and Carl and all the other inmates at the 20 bed Centennial Assisted Living Home.
The activities mentioned all ring true as do the shenanigans the inmates get up to. Told in spare and occasionally uncomfortable prose, the tale is filled with gentle humor and lots of empathetic sympathy. The senior
…more citizens are never disparaged except by the home's kill joy and money mad proprietor. When 19 year old Josie enters their life needing a place to stay and help with her life choices, the fun begins and doesn't end until the Big Finish.
Lots to think about and discuss in book groups, especially ones that have a few older members or members with loved ones in assisted living or nursing homes. The importance of hope, honesty, friendship, and sympathetic attention is laid forth with good natured respect. (less)Brooke Fossey has set her debut novel, Big Finish, in an assisted living home whose director is eager to move residents out as soon as they begin to need more assistance in order to bring in more lucrative guests. Duffy, who tells us this story, is a man whose life has been spent with alcohol, drugs and quick sex. He is not a man to go gentle into that good night. Now in his late 80's with no family and only one friend - his roommate Carl - he is faced with a situation where he might achieve redemption - if he only has the strength and will to make it happen. Duffy is an amusing curmudgeon when he isn't being an
…more angry one but this book does a great job of looking at how difficult aging can be and how limited life is when someone else controls every activity. There is light at the end of this tunnel and a hopeful - if not totally happy - ending when several of the residents and staff come together for a BIG FINISH. I enjoyed this book and think it will appeal to readers who liked A Man Called Ove. (less)As an 87 year old woman I really appreciated this book. I could relate to the elderly in assisted living because that may be next on my agenda. Read it and laugh or read it and weep. Or both.
Melinda H. (Cornelius, NC)
Cute
This is a cute, albeit predictable story. Although I enjoyed the book somewhat, I never connected with the characters in a way that made me say "you must meet my new friends". The summary on the back of the book tells you everything you need to know, and it's not hard to fill in the gaps, or see the ending. Unfortunately, this is a story that has been done all too often in the recent past. I gave it a three because the writing is engaging and believable.
Debra S. (Thurmont, MD)
Not my cup of tea
Just not for me.
Elizabeth D. (Apple Valley, MN)
Didn't click for me
I went into this book with certain expectations, so should not fault anyone but myself when they weren't met. I thought this book would be warm and funny, perhaps even inspirational. Instead, it made me a little anxious (lots of logistics of hiding someone in a confined building, for example). The writing was fine, and as someone with a parent in a memory care unit, the overall setting of the assisted living facility rang true, especially the discordance between the protected world of the home/facility and the daily life that goes on outside its walls. I also thought the friendship between Carl and Duffy was
…more realistic.
I didn't think the book flap description of Duffy as curmudgeonly was accurate - instead, he and his friend Carl seemed to be the stars of the assisted living facility, according the description at the beginning. I never really connected to Josie as a character - I couldn't really get a read on anything about her, other than that she drank. Why did people like Alice, like her? I have no idea. I didn't even feel like I had a clear picture of her age or appearance, perhaps in part because some of the older residents referred to her as a young girl, which is not what I would call a young woman in her early twenties. I have no idea what was important to her, what her motivation was for getting clean, etc.
One final nit is with the cover, as it shows a scene that never happens in the book. Yes, Duffy does go for a ride, but not with Josie, so I'm not sure why that is depicted.
Overall, not a favorite of mine, but I appreciate the chance to have read it, so many thanks for Bookbrowse and Penguin Random House for the opportunity! (less)It seems we have a new sub-genre of books featuring the social commingling of young people (often troubled young women) with octogenarians for an outcome that solves problems for both ends of the age spectrum, e.g. "The Story of Arthur Truluv" and "A Man Called Ove". This is the basic formula for "The Big Finish" by Brooke Fossey. I really wanted to like this book, especially since the first impressions made by the cover art looked like there would be a clever treat in store. But I just couldn't engage my temporary suspension of disbelief to buy the premise that a house full of elderly folks and one uber-
…more attractive chef would be able to help a young woman deep in the throes of alcoholism complete enough of a detox in a couple of days, thereby enabling a dramatic personality makeover. And while the old folks were endearing in a "Cocoon" sort of way, the references to shaky hands, walkers and other nursing home type trappings became a little tired about mid-way through the book. "The Big Finish" tried to offset the hardship of aging with humor, but I found one of the more compelling themes to be the very real worry of many of Centennial's (the name of the nursing home) residents that their lifespans would outpace their financial resources. All in all, I enjoyed "The Big Finish" but felt that some of its predecessors achieved more success with the formula. (less)
