Author: Kate Galley
The Last Laugh Club is a book about a group of former colleagues who go on a quest to fulfil a wish of their deceased friend and scatter his ashes in the most northern part of the UK, Shetland in Scotland. The colleagues did not always get along when they worked together, but now that they are retired and in their 70s, they suddenly find themselves travelling together and forced to spend some time together. None of them knew that they shared a friendship with Norman, an engineer who had a work-related disability that confined him to a wheelchair and turned him towards knitting, which resulted in a very successful YouTube channel and large Instagram following. Norman’s friends did not know about this online success either and found themselves in surprise to hear that Norman’s Instagram community is following his life to such an extent that they feel compelled to share their journey of going to Scotland and taking photos when visiting places Norman wanted them to visit ahead of scattering his ashes. However, once they arrive in Scotland, a further quest comes in finding Norman’s biological family to return the ring, which was a family heirloom given to Norman’s mother by his father he never met.
The story becomes a travel story of Scotland’s Shetland area, and I enjoyed these descriptions. I was born and raised on the coast and have always loved the sea and wind that has that particular smell that only the sea can create. The wind can be strong but empowering, and it makes one feel alive. I often miss living near the coast, but life keeps taking me to places with no beaches. However, these sea and wind experiences are described beautifully in the book, and I loved those parts of the book.
The Last Laugh Club also describes the guilt and an attempt to forgive yourself because all former colleagues feel guilty for Norman’s work accident and the lifetime disability that happened after. During the journey, they are forced to spend time together, and whilst they do not get along that well, as the book progresses, secrets get revealed, and we learn about each of their circumstances and life stories. I particularly enjoyed the cattiness between Bridget and Gloria, and there was a cultural aspect there because Gloria is American and Bridget often has an issue with directness in her communication and bluntness, which I was amused by. Indeed, if you want to live in the UK, you must start behaving like the British, or you will never get accepted. But then, on the other hand, if you copy the British, they accept you as your own, like no other nation in the world. I did not enjoy the stalker following colleagues around and the way that story developed. I can see how the author was going for excitement in the book, and trust that some readers will like that aspect. However, I like stories of common people and their conversations and landscape descriptions of the UK, so I enjoyed those parts, but the excitement, not so much.
The Last Laugh Club is a story of grief, guilt, and forgiveness. It is not what I usually read, and I misunderstood the title of the book, thinking it would be more like Judy Leigh’s style, and in a way, it was, because these are also seniors. But the story and its focus are totally different.
Thank you for reading!