The Things We Learn When We’re Dead by Charlie Laidlaw (Review)

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Format: eBook

Source: Sent to me by author

Publisher: Accent Press

Genres: Fiction

Publication Date: 26th January 2017

Synopsis/Blurb (taken from Goodreads)

“The Things We Learn When We’re Dead is about how small decisions can have profound and unintended consequences, but how we can sometimes get a second chance.

On the way home from a dinner party, Lorna Love steps into the path of an oncoming car. When she wakes up she is in what appears to be a hospital – but a hospital in which her nurse looks like a young Sean Connery, she is served wine for supper, and everyone avoids her questions.

It soon transpires that she is in Heaven, or on HVN, because HVN is a lost, dysfunctional spaceship, and God the aging hippy captain. She seems to be there by accident… or does God have a higher purpose after all?

Despite that, The Things We Learn When We’re Dead is neither sci-fi nor fantasy. It is a book about memory and how, if we could remember things slightly differently, would we also be changed?

In HVN, Lorna can at first remember nothing. But as her memories return – some good, some bad – she realises that she has decisions to make and that, maybe, she can find a way back home.”

My Thoughts & Review

Firstly, I would like to thank Charlie Laidlaw for sending me review copy of this book.

This is the second book I have read by Charlie and I have to say it I’m really enjoying the uniqueness of the individual books.

The Things We Learn When We’re was a creative and quirky read.  The concept of the Heaven or in this case HVN and the celebrity clones of the different characters that Lorna the main character meets through the book were fun and very interesting to read.

I thought this was a well written book. It’s told in first person perspective and alternates between past and present. This took a little getting used to at first as the change happened all of a sudden in the same chapter, but this once I got the hang of it I started to find it easier to follow.

The pacing was a little slow to begin with, but does pick up after, and everything starts to fall into place.

One thing I wasn’t too sure about was the ending. I felt the book ended a bit too abruptly without really tying up the book, and because of this it left me with a few questions. For instance, what happens to Lorna in the end? (I can’t say much more as it would lead to spoilers)

All in all, an enjoyable read that I would definitely recommend.

My Rating

💙💙💙1/2

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Share your thoughts in the comments and let’s get chatting.

Happy Reading Everyone!!!

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