I'm really not sure what to say about this book. Don't get me wrong its incredibly well written, and given the way it ends I'm feeling oddly uplifted (which based on the epilogue possibly shouldn't be the case), but at the same time. I thought it was a book with its ups and downs.

I loved the beginning third, and the last quarter or so, but the section in the middle of the book, honestly just dragged for me, coupled with the in depth details of all the various symptoms the characters have, of their side affects from the medication, and I felt ill in parts just reading it.

For its a book that centres around a group of people who are facing their own impending mortality, all diagnosed with Cancer, and with limited amount of time left to live. They first meet in a support group to deal with this, but it progresses from there into so much more.

I loved seeing how the group came together and just what they were working on even if some of the Shakespeare quotes and references went over my head completely.

As warped as this may sound I kept reading to see just how many of the group would be alive by the end of the book and just how things would turn out in all of their lives. Such a varied group of people, and we get to also know their families too, it just shows that Cancer takes no prisoners, it's not selective and can affect anyone.

I really did care for some of the main people, and there were moments of light relief, bits to make you smile, as well as potentially be quite emotional.

Certainly a well written book that has crept under my skin more than I would have anticipated, even while reading it, and a change in direction from what I recall the authors previous books to be.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

This was a thought provoking and emotional read which took me by surprise. There is an element of black humour behind the story as most of the characters are faced by their mortality and the subject matter could be a trigger for some people. The people Andy meets are a richly varied bunch who all have a story to tell. However, it is Andy himself who takes centre stage and his relationship with his daughter and ex-partner is poignant and touching.

The group decide to put on a play based on a mash -up of deaths from Shakespeare plays. There are plenty of emotional moments and you can't help but empathise with the feelings of lost opportunities which Adam has to face up to. There is plenty to think about regarding what matters in life and the effect of terminal disease on the wider family and friends. This is an honest look at life which is raw at times but a rewarding read.

Thanks to the author for a copy of the book

One of the most engaging books I've read for ages! I particularly liked the graphic, tiny details that made the characters and their experiences seem completely realistic; the trials of chemo chemicals contaminating body fluids and the pumpkin scene being of particular note. It's emotionally challenging without being maudlin. It's a book about death that is filled, ultimately, with hope. I loved the interweaving of the disparate lives. I loved the fact that the characters had 'shades of grey'. And I loved the idea of hanging it all on Shakespeare.

The Last Act of Adam Campbell is equally as heart breaking as it is uplifting. I'm writing this review with tears in my eyes and a heavy feeling in my heart.
A beatiful story that follows a group of terminal cancer patients who meet up with Dr Sam to come to terms with their outcomes.
When Dr Sam himself dies, the group decide to continue their meetings themselves.
What follows is a beautifully tragic story about love, friendship, Shakespear and death.

A truly heartbreaking read that left me feeling mentally and emotionally drained.

From the offset the story is descriptive bringing you quickly up to speed so you can put yourself in Adam's mental space.

I enjoyed getting to know the other members of the group and what it means to each of them to be in a safe environment where they can talk honestly. The story starts mainly focused around Adam and his relationship with Mabel & Heather and as the story progresses we get to know the other members and their families better.

This book gives insight into the chemo regimes, side effects and the mental and physical impact. It focuses on the importance of making memories and keeping up the fight to make the most of the time you have. It frames death as something not to be feared with great references to Shakespeare's complete works.

A story about love life and vitality, I loved the idea behind the play and merging Shakespeare and comedy sketches. I found each death amongst the group more emotional as we knew them better and had tears in my eyes as I reached the end.

Another superb book by Andy Jones - 4.5*

I really loved reading The Last Act of Adam Campbell. It's written so intelligently, so sensitively and the way Andy Jones weaves multiple lives together into one story is wonderful.

The book has a good pace -neither too fast nor too slow, but the plot twists still take you by surprise. Often with books like this, one is able to guess what happens next but I found this one entirely unpredictable.

I loved the characters, the story, and the writing. I'd recommend this to everyone.

Yikes! I picked this book based on the cover and didn't realise what the subject matter was. More than a little confronting at times this book is also uplifting too. Recommended but with a warning: have the tissues on standby!

Pass the tissues, because this book had me ugly-crying from the mid-point onward. It’s poignant, bittersweet and also stuffed to the gills with characters you can’t help but love… who all have cancer.

Despite what you might think (bear with me!), it’s also a must-read, because above all it’s a book about hope.

The main character (as you may have guess) is Adam, who was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. He’s not living so much as existing, sleeping in the spare bedroom of the house his wife threw him out of before his diagnosis, spending time with his daughter Mabel, and trying to disguise just how sick he is. He’s angry, disillusioned and still grieving for his old life.

Then he meets a group of fellow cancer sufferers and they decide to put on a play. Specifically, a play based on all the great deaths from Shakespeare’s works. It’s full of gallows humour and they have just a few months in which to cheat death and perform it for their family and friends.

This isn’t a book that pulls punches. Andy Jones makes the realities of living with cancer plain: characters undergo all the horrible side-effects of chemotherapy, waste away, and die. But alongside that, he also dives into the lives of each one: angry teen Laura, who wants to go to university; ex-heroin addict Tom; Pat, the former nun who carries a secret flame for an old priest acquaintance; loving mother Erin; family man Vernon and Raymond, who isn’t quite as he seems. They’re all people who leap off the page and you come to love.

Their lives are what form the plot: specifically, the way in which humans act when they know that they’re going to die. Would you rage; would you try and reconnect with your family; would you create a bucket list and start ticking things off? Alongside all these things, the way in which performing the play gives their lives purpose and direction is heartwarming to see- and heartbreaking when, inevitably, the performers start succumbing to cancer. I may have ugly-cried a few times.

This is a little gem of a book. It’s raw and bold; it balances dark humour with the realities of living with a terminal illness and wrestling meaning from the life you have. It’s also extremely well-written and something that I devoured in two sittings. Whether you cry or laugh, you’ll certainly finish it seeing the world a little differently.

I didn’t know what to expect of this book, it’s a bit different to what I normally read. Adam has cancer, it’s terminal. His doctor recommends a support group to him and he think ‘what the hell’ and goes along- also not sure what to expect. The group changes the rest of his life, and brings friendship to him and the other members of the group. Support just when they all need it. Definitely one to keep a packet of tissues close by when you read it.

O how I loved this book . I loved the characters , Iaughed and I cried about their lives and their friendships. Having had family members in this situation, I could relate to some of the issues that they had and it gave me insight into some issues that I hadn't thought about.
This book is definitely not for the fainthearted, it gives you lots to think about and the subject matter is pretty serious( being about terminal cancer , death etc !). But it isn't depressing and isn't heavy going . I 'm still thinking about it day later and it is a book I would like to read again sometime in the future . I loved the end

I received anArc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Thankyou Andy Jones, Net Galley and the publishers for a fantastic read

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book but, oh my, what a beautiful, moving book it is! Full of poignant moments to bring a lump to your throat, it’s a story not only about death, but about life, love and everything in between. It’s about grabbing hold of life with both hands, no matter how long or short that life may be.

What would you do if you found out you only had a short time to live? Adam Campbell is about to find out the answer to that question. Determined to turn his life around before time runs out, Adam teams up with an unlikely group of people, all living on borrowed time. But all with one thing in common: to feel alive before their time is up.

If you struggle to cope with books about death and cancer, this book most likely won’t be for you. But even though cancer is something my own family is touched by at the moment, I simply adored it! It’s written with a raw honesty that took my breath away, full of a humour and poignancy that moved me to my core. I don’t want to go into too much detail, as this is a story that needs to be experienced without knowing too much about the individual stories that make up the whole, so all I will say is prepare to have your heart broken. The Last Act of Adam Campbell is not an easy read by any means, but it is a beautiful one that I’m so glad I read.

Andy Jones has written an astonishing account of what it must be like to know the end of your life is near. It’s filled to the brim with emotion, but is also full of humour and insight, taking you on a journey that isn’t only about death, but also about living your life to the full and making the most of every moment. It seems strange to say that a book that deals so eloquently with death is also one that left me with an overriding feeling of hope.

As difficult as some parts of this book was to read, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. As long as you go in prepared to have your heart broken, aware that it deals with the devastation that death and loss brings, I would say read and experience the beauty of this book for yourself. I know this is a story and characters that will stay with me for a long time to come. Andy Jones has written a moving, poignant and memorable book to be proud of.

Absolutely outstanding!
Gut-wrenching, heart-warming, life-affirming, sad, funny, profound and beautiful without ever being cheesy, or overly sentimental, or shallow and glossing over things - a fabulous story about a group of terminal cancer sufferers and the play they are putting on together.
I found this moving and full of lightness at the same time, and incredibly true to life - the characters will stay with me for a long time. Simply wonderful..

Fantastic!

Adam has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and has months to live. He joins a therapy group - calling themselves The Rude Mechanicals - who decide to organise a play based around Shakespeare and some of his more famous death scenes. The characters provide support for each other throughout their journeys leading to many touching, heart wrenching but also funny moments.

The book is wonderfully written and well-paced, so much so that I found it hard to put down. The author has a excellent style of writing and manages to take a harrowing subject and somehow make it heart warming with a good balance of humour and life affirming content. Heartbreaking but in the loveliest way.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the ARC.

Adam had it all. A good job, a happy marriage, a cracker of a daughter. But then he did something real dumb and his wife kicked him out. And then the devastating blow was dealt when he was given only a year to live, diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Ok so now I have mentioned the C word - this book is obviously centred around a group of cancer sufferers and, as such is a little brutal and dark - especially if you have personal experience of this most horrible disease. But, and I'm going to mention it here, it's also wonderful and uplifting and also, given my own experiences with a friend who is terminal, very true to life.
Back with the story and Adam reluctantly agrees to go to a support group. Long story short and they are left to their own devices and decide to put on a play - a hilights reel of Shakespeare's greatest death scenes - and set a date - the Ides of March obviously - for their big performance, in aid of the hospice.
Firstly, yes there's quite a bit of Shakespeare to be had throughout this book but it is also completely unnecessary to be familiar with the Bard and his obsessions with interesting deaths as what you need to know is well explained throughout and it's easy to see the connection with the Bard's work and the situations that our cast find themselves in throughout the book. All very clever stuff!
Obviously to remain true to life there are some very sad moments throughout the book. But they are offset by some of the most wonderfully uplifting parts which are inserted in exactly the right places so that the tone is kept on an even keel throughout and the book never gets too dark. That said, I would have a tissue or two handy, just in case.
It's definitely a tough book to get through and, even with the lighter moments, I did have to take a couple of time outs along the way. That said it's also one of the most uplifting books I have read in a long time. I mentioned my friend who is terminal. He's actually a work colleague too and, even with his diagnosis, he still comes to work when he can. Mostly for the normality we give him with the humour and banter that surrounds the office in which we work. Often dark humour, but at the same time, we're also there to listen. So there were parts of this book that I really connected with and which felt so real and true to life.
It's hard to say that I enjoyed this book, given the subject matter, but I did. It gave me so much understanding and also, more importantly, perspective. We have a tendency to worry and fret about stupid things in this life that really don't matter. If nothing else, this book has given me the chance to change my priorities and focus more on the things that really matter. And for that, I wholeheartedly thank the author.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Wow if this book doesn’t make you cry then I’m pretty sure nothing will. This is a book about a group of terminal ill cancer patients who all attend the same support group. This bunch of people who have been brought together during the worst time of their life decide to put on a play that is a mashup of the most depraved and crazy deaths from the penmanship of William Shakespeare, the question is will they live long enough to make the performance. This book is sad and brutally honest but also filled with love and fun and a story of friendship that changes every single one of their lives for the better. The ending is heartbreaking but beautiful.

Adam Campbell's time is running out. Can he be a better husband, father and friend in the short period before a terminal illness ends his life? An amateur dramatic group that rises from the ashes of a group-therapy session, inspired by death scenes in Shakespeare, may have an answer. A cross between The Fault in Our Stars and The Prince of West End Avenue, this is a worthwhile example of today's lad-lit, far more emotionally literate than the old-fashioned ideas about masculinity perpetrated by these books as recently as five or ten years ago. Given the subject matter it's hard to avoid the story becoming a bit mawkish sometimes, but Adam remains a recognizably human, flawed character and one that you end up rooting for. This novel is also distinguished by a terrific supporting cast - bright teenager Laura, former homeless addict Tom, and Pat, Vernon and Erin, all of whom end up mattering to you just as much as Adam.

I’m broken!! Completely and utterly broken!! Andy Jones what have you done to me?! This is a book I just wish I had the insightful and creative talent to have written myself as it just spoke to me in my language throughout. It’s a beautifully written tale that will evoke many emotions in you, a story of love, loss and regret that explores the complex relationship we have with death. There’s humour, there’s sadness, there is also anger but at the centre of it all there is friendship, kindness and hope. This is a book that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since I finished it and one I know will be hard to beat when it comes to my favourite books of the year list at the end of 2020 (and yes I do realise it’s only the second week of January!).

Adam is dying. He’s probably not handling this very well but no one knows how they are going to cope when they have to face their own death. Although it’s something that is inevitable, as a species we seem rather reluctant to accept it. Adam ends up going to group therapy with other terminally ill people and it’s here that he becomes involved with Pat, Tom and a colourful host of characters who end up putting on a play written by teenager Laura. My favourite characters were Tom and Laura and I loved all the Shakespeare references as their relationship changed and developed. But I also adored Adam, Heather and Mabel. When Adam chose to attend Parents Day at Mabels school I completely crumbled!! I loved how the author explored the similarities between physical and emotional pain and how we deal with these differently when staring down death. Nothing is swept under the carpet here, there’s no point when time takes on a life of its own, slowly absorbing and digesting your final weeks, days, hours…

I’ve probably made this wonderful book sound a bit depressing but it’s far from it! It’s a life affirming story, uplifting and funny but yes it is also tear jerking in it’s honesty. I liked the epilogue(s) which I felt were the perfect epitaphs to a wonderful book. I laughed, I cried, I planned the songs for my own cremation whilst in the zone and I gave thanks for everything I have. This thought provoking book is just stunning and I loved absolutely every single moment of reading it.

Very highly recommended by me!

This is a novel about a beautiful group of people with terminal cancer. Statistically 1 in 2 of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. This is obviously not an easy read especially if you have personal experience of the disease which many of us do. I’m a survivor as is my beloved sister, our mother and two of her brothers were not so lucky. Despite being an emotional mess at times, I cannot express how glad I am that I have read this book. I found it very cathartic and it made me feel very positive.

The central character, as the title suggests, is Adam. He is initially bewildered, tearful but then angry and this gives him strength. He is separated but reunites with his nearly wife Heather and they have an adorable daughter, Mabel. Everyone needs a Mabel. Through group therapy he meets a group of people, also with terminal cancer, who eventually decide to put on a Shakespeare based play about death because, let’s face it, old Will knew a thing or two about death. Many of Shakespeare’s characters meet untimely and dramatic ends (Exit pursued by bears) and the words in his plays and sonnets make you see that death is part of life and nothing to fear. Pat, Vernon, Raymond, Thomas, Erin under the guidance of gorgeous student Laura call themselves The Rude Mechanicals after the group led by Nick Bottom who perform the play within the play in Midsummer Nights Dream.

There is so much to admire in this thoughtful, thought provoking and very clever book. Andy Jones is a very good writer and I love that there is also humour (at times, inevitably a bit black but that’s ok), there’s joy and it’s very touching. The characters are so well portrayed and we see that they are flawed as many of us are but they can overcome that and face what future they have as boldly as they can. I really like the strength that the group give each other and the analogies they find to their situations in Shakespeare’s words. Pat’s prayer (she is an ex nun and the loveliest woman) is an adaptation of the Lords Prayer is brilliant, funny and apt. The many Shakespeare references are really enjoyable especially the Scottish Play and Macbeth’s speech just before Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane and as Lady Macbeth dies (Out out brief candle.....) is so appropriate. The scenes when they put on the play are tremendous. There is love, laughter, pride and inevitably some tears at what they have achieved.

Overall, yes I was mush at times but I do not regret reading it for one second. I thought of my mother as she accepted the fate that multiple myeloma had for her with quiet dignity. If she had the strength she would have been there with the Rude Mechanicals and have loved every minute of it. The book puts so many things into perspective, reminds you to embrace all that is good and live life to the full however long that is. Thank you to Andy Jones for writing it and to Mr W Shakespeare for his wisdom and wonderful words.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the ARC.