Gareth Crocker has a succinct, yet eloquent way of telling remarkable stories that will linger with readers forever. I'm not even kidding in that regard. If you have a sliver of a beating heart - black as night or not - somehow his words will crawl in and make you feel things that isn't often felt without visual confirmation. In my case, it's typically something along the lines of sympathy - other times it's empathy. It may sound ludicrous, but not very many authors are able to convey these feelings with nothing other than words, which is why I tend to praise Mr. Crocker so often. The Last Road Trip is yet another beautiful example of what he's capable of as a writer: life-altering, eye-opening, poignant-like-no-other.

The Last Road Trip follows the story of four retired friends whose lives are changed when a man they barely know dies, leaving behind a message that comes down to: have no regrets. This strikes a cord in all of them, and they begin a road trip across South Africa to right their wrongs. On their journey, they have adventures they never imagined having in their old age. They do things they never had the opportunity to do in their youth. They grow. They become more.

The Last Road Trip is beautiful and wonderful and its message is clear: have no regrets.

People who enjoy contemporary reads will devour this book in one sitting (I finished the novel within five hours). They will, most likely, re-read the book again and again. The writing is clean, the imagery is mind-blowing, and the characters are lovable. Definitely try to get your hands on it if you're in the mood for a good book you don't want to invest too much time in reading, but still want to mull over days/weeks/months afterwards.

Review originally posted on:
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Good premise for a book - four ageing friends set off on a 1000mile road trip across South Africa hoping to remake their lives. However I found it far too shmaltzy, everyone was too good to be true. Also, despite many references to real locations in SA, it had no feeling of the country about it. On the whole I was disappointed. ( )