Firstly, that cover is everything I want in a book. Instantly appealing. I really love stories about swimming and the sea, and The Last Wave promised much – a multi-generational family drama focused on one woman, Martha, and her attempts to swim the English Channel. Despite what’s happening in her life, Martha’s one constant is her relationship with the sea.

Where this book failed was in the descriptions of the sea – there was nothing new or evocative, nothing that had me re-reading passages. I wanted to understand why the English Channel was different to my swims on the Mornington Peninsula but apart from references to the cold, the descriptions were generic –

The water was so cold it burned. The sea was in motion. It was a living thing, she used to say. More alive than any of us.

What I knew was big and in constant motion, changing as and when its moods dictated. It was cold and wet and strong, a part of the world in a way that I was not…’

Perhaps I’m being overly critical but I have read passages about the sea in other books that have stayed with me for a long time (for example here and here). Unfortunately Best’s contribution didn’t hit the mark for me.

2/5 Disappointed (but it could be my favourite cover this year).

I received my copy of The Last Wave from the publisher, Freight Books, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely, heartbreaking, decades-long saga that follows a British woman and her relationship with the sea. The sea is truly a main character in this one and that was a huge part of its appeal for me. I was drawn by the character of Martha and her pioneering achievements, but I stayed because of the story and writing style.

The Last Wave could easily be titled 'The Old Woman and The Sea' as this is the story of Martha and her relationship with the sea/English Channel.

Following six decades, this book/story follows Martha and her family and friends and how everything is connected. The writing is beautiful and compelling but honestly, the first chapter was the best. It could have been a short story and I would have been satisfied with just that.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Two and a half stars
Intriguing cover, intriguing idea. Martha has had a lifelong love affair with the sea and has swum the channel several times. I just wasn't grabbed by this and it was confusing on an e-reader as each chapter jumped from different times and different people - certainly keeps you on your toes though. Sad to say I found all the main characters quite charmless and it was hard to see anything likeable in them. Sorry but this book never really got going for me.

An easy read about Martha and her family. The main topic of the story is Martha's compulsion to swim and her need to swim the English Channel. The book follows Martha's whole life from childhood to death.

I was immediately drawn to "The Last Wave" for several reasons:
....The title made me feel good
....The book cover made me feel good
and....
....I love the water, the beaches....the smells and sound at the beach... the sand. All those 'beach' feelings I get when just walking along the waters edge for miles alone, or the exuberant way my body feels when I swim in the ocean.
.....most: This book takes place in England...giving me a hunch the 'emphasis' would not be on 'grazin-in-the-sun', ice cream cones, or beach parties.

On one hand, this is a story that centers around Martha, her relationship with the sea, and her family. A tragic-comic story - spanning many years - (1940's to present days; interchanging narrators), with her husband John, who is crumbling with Alzheimer's, the children Harriet and Ian, each with their issues, Martha's parents, (they have issues) and close friends.

On the other hand it's a story that centers around the 'sea' and Martha's beach surroundings. the solitude...( an empty beach)....pebbles, stones, rocks, the surf.... shallow waves, large waves, white cliffs, black night sky, dark sea, and jet engine sounds coming from the sea. The water could be unpredictable and could change quickly.

The 'sea' became a main character for me. I could taste the salt, feel the chill in the air, and feel the power of the water. The sea had movement --currents changing.....we can't control what it's going to do. There are also many things in life we can't control ....so I was always looking at the family - the tragedies through the eyes of the sea. "It was a mackerel sky that evening. The clouds were lit from underneath in a blood red hue and the sun bloomed pink like my myrtle blossoms. I felt that somehow
the sea - my sea -knew about my diagnosis and was trying to console me".

It was the sea that gave Martha strength. When her body moved through the water, she let the water cradle her, and most she felt free....'freedom'.....swimming in the wide open ocean.

Martha went on the swim the English Channel ten times. She did die of cancer. Her husband John was disoriented, lonely, loss, and childlike. But author Gillian Best never
strayed into the sentiment. I laughed and smiled many times.

Lots of symbolism throughout the storytelling between the complexities of this family unit and the ocean. "I knew the tide was coming to greet me, as though I were a long last friend".

There's an elegance about this novel.... quiet, allowing for the waves to have a voice.

Thank You Freight Books, Netgalley, and Gillian Best

I gave up on this after reading about 10%. It just didn't hold my interest.