Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Audiobook Length: 13 hours and 59 minutes
First Published: 2021
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Rachael’s Review
One of the wealthiest women in the world, Dava Shastri is used to getting her way. When she is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Dava gathers her entire family to her private island, and then leeks an early press release announcing her death. Instead of accolades, Dava is stunned to see articles revealing hidden secrets, which she now must explain to her children and grandchildren.
Dava Shastri’s Last Day just didn’t strike the right cord with me. Although the premise is spectacular, the execution was so full of unlikeable characters that it was difficult to feel an emotional connection to the story. Dava, herself, was an intriguing character: selfish in her personal life yet truly invested in making a difference in the world. Dava’s obsession with her legacy made her a poor matriarch to the family, which showed in her four children who were extremely hard to like.
Publisher’s Description
Dava Shastri, one of the world’s wealthiest women, has always lived with her sterling reputation in mind. A brain cancer diagnosis at the age of seventy, however, changes everything, and Dava decides to take her death—like all matters of her life—into her own hands.
Summoning her four adult children to her private island, she discloses shocking news: in addition to having a terminal illness, she has arranged for the news of her death to break early, so she can read her obituaries.
As someone who dedicated her life to the arts and the empowerment of women, Dava expects to read articles lauding her philanthropic work. Instead, her “death” reveals two devastating secrets, truths she thought she had buried forever.
And now the whole world knows, including her children.
In the time she has left, Dava must come to terms with the decisions that have led to this moment—and make peace with those closest to her before it’s too late.
Compassionately written and chock-full of humor and heart, this powerful novel examines public versus private legacy, the complexities of love, and the never-ending joys—and frustrations—of family.
About Kirthana Ramisetti
Kirthana Ramisetti is a former entertainment reporter for Newsday and the New York Daily News and the author of Dava Shastri’s Last Day and Advika and the Hollywood Wives. Ramisetti currently lives in New York City. Visit the author’s website →
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