In a Nutshell: Cant reveal much without spoiling the story, but you’ll get just a cryptic clue: it’s dystopian, but it’s not dystopian. Intelligent writing, innovative plotline, impactful characters. Definitely worth a read, even if you aren’t a fan of the dystopian genre.

Story Synopsis:
November 2035. Fiction has been banned since 5 years, and fiction authors have been asked to stay isolated and under the radar. Fifty-two-year-old Fern Dalrymple is one such ex-fiction-author who currently works as a cleaner at minimum wage. But Fern is no pushover, and she doesn’t want to extinguish her love of writing. So she has found a creative way of going against the ban: she is writing about her routine life in her notepad. That’s not fiction, is it? Moreover, she joins a secret group that narrates bedtime stories to sleep-deprived children over the phone. However, the random visits from government officials unnerve her, and now Fern wonders if her secret is out. Is Fern at risk?
The story comes to us mostly through Fern’s notepad scrawls written in first person.

This is the kind of story that is very easy to mess up with spoilers, so I will be very vague in my feedback.

Where the book worked for me:
😍 “If you tell a story well enough, it’s true.” – Fern’s catchphrase in the book that works on so many levels despite its obvious simplicity.
😍 Fern’s being a fiction author automatically means that her journal entries ought to display her prowess in writing. They do! The little comments about non sequitur characters and character backstories and so on were intelligently done.
😍 The book is written in five parts, each named after the five stages of grief. You will find Fern’s thoughts aligning with the specific grief stage perfectly without going too far. (And when it does become farfetched, you’ll know the reason for it later.)
😍 I had a long list of plot holes written in my draft review as I proceeded with the audio. Questions about Fern’s odd behaviour, about some weird people and some random events. Every single loophole was fixed in the final quarter.
😍 The plot became weirder and creepier as it moved ahead. I kept wondering how the author was going to resolve this nightmare of a situation. My rating too kept dipping in sync with my progress. And then… **something happened**….and zhoooop!!! (That was the sound of my rating shooting up to the top once again!)
😍 The writing – sheer brilliance. Beautiful, impactful, thoughtful.
😍 The descriptions are so vivid! No matter what scene, I could visualise it clearly in my mind.
😍 As a fiction lover, I found this book a nightmare. Oh, to picture a world without fiction – what a tragedy! I loved how it stressed on the importance of fiction (and I did get some heebie-jeebies at the way fiction was treated.)
😍 You will find some events seemingly inspired from dystopian classics such as Fahrenheit 451 and 1984. Keep your patience. There’s a reason behind every such reference.
😍 The title is perfect for the book in more ways than you can realise now.
😍 Despite being slow-paced, the story had enough going on to keep me hooked. (It is literary fiction and thus heavily character-oriented. So the slow pace is to be expected.)
😍 I had requested this book mainly on seeing the part about the ban on fiction. But the book spoke not just to the bibliophile in me but also to the woman and the mother in me. I hadn’t expected such an emotional impact.

Where the book could have worked better for me:
😒 A few of the dystopian scenes were too graphic for me. This might not be a problem for all readers.
(If you do feel uncomfortable at those scenes, do not give up on the book. I can’t tell you why. Just trust me on this.)
😒 Some part of the final reveal feels a bit dragged, though I do see why they were necessary in the broader sense. I guess I was just impatient to find out more as soon as possible!

The audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at 12 hours, is narrated by Sophie Bentinck. Just one word for her performance: WOW!! She suited Fern in age and emotions. Her voices for the other characters too were mostly on track. If you are an audiobook lover, I would definitely recommend you try this on audio.

Note: The chapter endings in the initial half or so are quite abrupt. Don’t assume that this is a defect in your audio/digital/print copy. It is a deliberate writing choice, and you will get the reason for it if you stay patient.

I am not a dystopian fiction lover, especially one set in the real world. I feel very uncomfortable and claustrophobic when I read scenes that might just happen in reality. This book took made me very anxious in between. However, as it proceeded to an ending that proceeds so well from the main plot, I couldn’t help but admire the brilliance of the author. (I am SO going to look up more of her works!!!))
What I am trying to say is, this book isn’t only for dystopian fiction fans. So don’t disregard the book by its genre even if you don’t read dystopian works. (In fact, a part of me feels it will not work as well for dystopian book lovers.)
Strongly recommended to all literary fiction readers. Pick it up when you can focus on it, because it is not to be speed-read – every chapter contains many clues that you will require as you move ahead. This is easily going to be one of my top adult fiction reads for the year.

4.5 stars.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “End of Story”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

A seriously cleverly weaved together story - yes, I did do that. End of Story showcases Louise’s skill and imagination superbly. I can’t give too much away but the layering is a masterclass. 👏

I absolutely loved the plot , it felt different than anything I've read before and it had me hooked as I genuinely didn't know how it would end . The story had a dystopian feel to it which I loved and a real fear of an unknown possible future. End of story is about a well known author and a future of fiction books banned from our shelves and library's . It's the stuff of nightmares .

Genuinely upsetting throughout, a new 1984 that terrified and had me in constant tears.

2035. Five years ago the UK government banned fiction. Writers are by law prohibited from writing novels. You can only buy factual books. Children are not allowed a bedtime story to help them get to sleep.

Fern Dostoy is one of the writers caught up and spat out by this draconian sea change, and through her secret diary, hidden from the government agents who check in on her regularly, we learn of how the country forced through the laws and why, what the world is now like for her and just how society might cope with this kind of ban.

Fern is childless, and wrote a bestselling novel that catapulted her to the heights of literary stardom after losing her husband to COVID in 2020 and using her grief to write a powerful satire that was one of those heralding the start of sweeping reforms.

Now her weekly spiky doorstop meetings with the Tea Man are some of her only interactions with other people. Until she becomes involved with an underground group that run a phoneline for sleep-deprived children to call in on and hear a bedtime story. One child in particular captures Fern.

And this is where the story 'got' me. I hadn't realised until I read this just how engrained fiction is in my own life and that of my children. To even consider losing it upset me so profoundly that I spent half the running length in tears, for Fern and Hunter's losses, for what it means for a society. I'm glad this was an audiobook as I'd have wept all over the pages otherwise.

Then later on, Swanson got me again. I can't express how powerful this novel was, and how clever, how many questions you ask then answers you find, the layers and unravellings and stories she's created. As a parent of readers, as a lifelong reader and a mother of boys, this was painful in the extreme in more than one way. I hope I've managed to convey that without giving anything away.

An early contender for my book of the year. Dark and distressing but rewarding. Beautiful writing. And so well read as an audio by one voice, the narrator did a marvellous job of conveying Fern and several other very real characters. Very easy to track and I loved the accents she gave Fern and Hunter in particular.

Please read this. And then make sure you go out and read other books. And that your children do. This will remind you why.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample audio copy.

Fern Dostoy was a best-selling author and had not long since been named the children's fiction laureate, when the world changed. Writing and reading fictional stories is now banned and she is working as a cleaner. All authors are being watched and with severe punishments being given out for being caught writing, they are all trying to keep a low-profile. That is until they are given an opportunity that Fern cannot turn down.

This is another emotive and heartfelt read by this author, even in their 'Swanson' disguise! Starting off as a relatively regular dystopian tale (as regular as they can be!), it evolves into something much more and I highly recomend it if you are in the mood for a fresh and interesting take on a dystopia story. I was lucky enough to get an advance of the audiobook and the narration was excellent.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this book. I am a huge dystopian fan so was really looking forward to this one. This book completely blew me away. I don’t want to give any spoilers away so all I will say is, completely unexpected! The twist was amazing and I was sobbing by the end. Beautiful ending. Very impressed by this book and definitely recommend. Massive 5 stars from me.

It’s difficult to review this cracker of a book without revealing anything. So I’ll keep it brief. I was luckily enough to have both the Kindle and audiobook, and ended up listening to it. Firstly, Louise Swanson is a brilliant writer. The story totally swept me along, involving me totally in writer Fern Dostoy’s dystopian world in which — horror of horrors — books are banned. The year is 2035 and Fern lives in a world in which no fiction is allowed. This, for her, a former writer of award-winning books, is even more horrific than the increasing heat, authoritarianism, and inhumane laws of her new world. I absolutely adored the idea of Bedtime Stories, run by a group of dissidents who were determined that children needed stories. I particularly loved reading about the relationship between Fern and Hunter, a young boy that Fern is drawn to, and who refers to her as ‘crazy lady’. And then there’s the Fine-Fayre tea man, at first a huge irritant in Fern’s life. I loved their growing relationship, and wasn’t surprised to find out that he was based on a real-life character (although I cannot find where I heard that, so maybe I’m making it up 😊). I’m not going to say more except to recommend this clever, surprising, wonderfully tender and at times desperately sad book. It is stunningly narrated by Sophie Bentinck, which is part of the reason the book has stayed in my head…

Warning! Be careful of your heart when you read this book!

End of story, sneaks up on you, it starts out as a distopian world set in 2035 where all fiction is banned and reading bedtime stories is punishable by law, then it turns and you may or may not see the turn coming but even if you do it matters not a jot, you’re hooked now, you’re in it for the journey. And what a journey that is.

Fern Dostoy is, or was, a best selling author, not now of course, not now that all Fiction is banned - now she works as a cleaner, has been removed from her beautiful home and lives alone. She cannot meet up with any other writers and has been instructed to keep a low profile. And she is, she is doing everything right to fit into this new reality, that is until she gets the opportunity to join a group who are secretly reading bedtime stories to children who cannot sleep. Then she follows her heart.

‘If you tell a story well enough, it’s true’, well ‘End of Story’ is certainly written well enough, it’s a grim, evocative, emotive, immersive and just plain amazing read. Ms Swanson I am so sorry for whatever pain you are writing through because the bruised and raw quality of your writing certainly smacks of truth but thank-you for sharing it with us through End of Story.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing! I love dystopian fiction so a book about a world with no more fiction was one I HAD to pick up and I am so pleased I did.

The world this book is set in is so sinister I had chills at times reading it. I loved the diary format style of the writing and was immersed in Fern's life and all of the people she came into contact with.

Hurtling towards what felt like an inevitable ending I was shocked by the turn events took. This book was excellently written and the audiobook is fantastically narrated too.

I was recommending this book to friends by the half way point and will continue to recommend it to as many people who will listen.

I had the audio and ebook for this one.
This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2023. I loved the premise. Books, particularly fiction, are everything to me, and I couldn't imagine a world where they were banned.
The protaganist was a clearly troubled woman, but was so passionate about her writing and her revolt against the government for their campaign against fiction. I loved the chapters with Hunter and 'Crazy Lady'.
I really enjoyed it, the pacing could have been faster for me, but I took it as more of a literary fiction novel, so it wasn't as necessary.
Definitely worth a read, and will keep you thinking about it weeks after finishing.

A deeply unsettling story set in a dystopian near-future, 'End of Story' mainly takes the form of a diary. The narrator is Fern, once a best-selling author, now a cleaner since an authoritarian government banned all fiction. Despite regular intimidating visits from sinister government agents to check up on her, Fern decides to take a risk and write a diary, since that is non-fiction and theoretically allowed (although she goes to great pains to keep it hidden). The life Fern describes is lonely and lived in fear. But odd things keep happening to her, gradually becoming more and more surreal. When she joins a group rebelling against the fiction ban by reading bedtime stories to children over the telephone, Fern's life becomes increasingly bizarre and dangerous.

Swanson is a very good writer - in a book about writers and writing, you inevitably notice the style of the author more. Swanson gives Fern a distinct voice that is believable as a top novelist writing a true account. It's a fascinating book that draws you in, but it is does get very surreal. As a reader you feel constantly wrong footed. You don't know if Fern is being untruthful, or is mentally disturbed, or if all the strange things will somehow have a logical explanation, or if there is a supernatural explanation, or if you will get no explanation at all and just have to accept it as being surreal. This is a clever technique as it gives the reader more empathy for Fern, and it certainly keeps you guessing. Some readers will like it more than others - I'm not a person who likes uncertainty much and I usually prefer to know the 'rules' of what I'm reading before I start. It does redeem itself somewhat by at least making everything clear by the end.

The dystopian concept is an interesting one - the idea that fiction could be banned because the government sees it as disruptive and dangerous, putting ideas into people's heads that they'd rather weren't put there. Even a few years ago I'd have laughed it off as far fetched but my concept of what is and isn't credible has shifted in recent times - I now think you probably could get a British government insane enough to ban fiction and the population go along with it - perhaps not enthusiastically, but if put in fear of their lives people will give up a lot more than just fiction.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers and don't mind a bit of surrealism, you should enjoy this. It's a clever and original idea, well executed. I hovered between giving four and five stars but went for four in the end because of the surreal elements and because I think the transition into the final quarter of the book could have been done better. I can't explain more without spoiling the plot and I don't want to do that as it is worth reading - and the only way to find out is to read it yourself.

As an audiobook, it works well - the story is easy to follow in audio. The narrator read very well indeed, with really good expression and timing. One of the best audiobook narrations I've heard in a while. It's a good choice to listen to for these reasons.

Well colour me shocked! Haven’t I just been after whining that I’m always guessing the ending these days? Not this time. Not even close. Hurrah!

I’m going to keep my review really brief to try extra hard not to add spoilers. In fact I’d suggest that if you go into this a bit like I did you’ll probably get the most out of it. I had requested it some time ago and had forgotten even the blurb by the time I started to read.

There is no fiction, I cannot even begin to tell you how horrific that sounds to me. Our children can’t be read to and authors are kept prisoner and surveyed by the state, the laws that have been imposed are horrific. The year is 2035………

“If you tell a story well enough it is true”
My goodness this was a story well told!

The narration was stunning. A huge 5 stars all round.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to listen to this audio book in return for an honest review. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton Audio for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

End of Story was such an interesting concept, it was giving Orwellian vibes whilst also presenting a unique story that I've never seen before. The twist in this book truly is worth the wait and I'm so glad I decided to read this book, as had it not been available to me as an arc it wouldn't have been the usual type of book I pick up.

End of Story is set in the future where fiction books are banned as they may give people the wrong ideas about things and cause trouble for the Government. The protagonist Fern used to be a fiction author but now she's a cleaner in a hospital who is being monitored by Government Officials. She still secretly writes in a notepad that she keeps hidden and gets herself involved in a secret group of like minded people who run an anonymous telephone service where children can ring at bedtime and have a story read to them.
Each chapter ends part way through a sentence which at first is really intriguing as it creates a tense paranoid feeling and I was left wondering if someone had interrupted her or something had happened to make her panic and hide the notebook away suddenly. However, as the book continues this technique becomes very annoying as most of the time a sudden stop doesn't fit what's going on and the reason why she stops isn't explained in the next chapter. I started to become really frustrated by it. It is sort of explained towards the end of the book during the 'big reveal' of what is happening but I just felt like it wasn't enough justification and didn't reduce those feelings of being annoyed.
The main twist in the book was one I've really enjoyed in the past but I think that by the time all was revealed I'd gone too far in to being annoyed for it to be enjoyable.
The audiobook narrator did a great job and her voice really fit with the character.
I think this is going to be a marmite book, some people will love it and some will hate it.

End of Story is an extremely clever, moving and fresh dystopian thriller. A really brilliant idea well executed, with a memorable and highly empathetic narrator. Highly recommended for those who don't usually go in for dystopian stories, such as myself

I listened to hear how Sophie narrated this book, and she was just stunning. Thank you. She gave the right emotion where it was required, and delivered menace with such ease. I felt like I was listening to an altogether different tale to the one on the page, which was magic. Five stars.

this book was so different from the usual genre that I love reading!
It took a while to understand what was happening and eventually I guessed the bit about the boy Hunter - but it didn't stop me from continuing to read this.
It's 2035, Fern Dostoy is living her life working a minimum wage job, and she gets invited to be part of a group who are reading bedtime stories to kids. She starts talking to a boy called Hunter and reads him stories called "what happened to all the bloody books". Things take a huge turn when one of Fern's friends gets attacked by government agents and they begin to spiral down so fast!

Long time ago Fern used to a successful author whose 2 books were a great hit and was in demand by her agent for a 3rd book. But post covid pandemic the government makes a new rule and bans all fiction books!

This story had sadness, edge of the seat kind of feeling in some places.

Thanks to netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton Audio, Hodder & Stoughton as well as the author Louise Swanson for approving the ARC and the audiobook in exchange for an unbiased review.
Though a bit slow in the beginning this book is totally worth it!

This is one future I never want to see happen, just the thought of it alone is a very bleak, unbearably sad way of life. The complete and utter ban on everything fictional. A life with no books, not even children’s books.

All are banned, with all books from before burnt to ashes, destroyed, never to be seen or read ever again.

Most of us are lucky enough to have been read to as a child, building inside us a love of stories and books that have stayed with us through to adulthood.

My Nan encouraged my love of books, reading to me on every weekend visit and even though I was young, I still remember the complete joy I would get from just sitting on her lap, or next to her at her kitchen table, listening to her tell me stories and it is a memory I will always treasure. That, and as I got older I would sneak into the living room and read the books on her shelf that I wasn’t deemed old enough for, such as James Herbert, which started my love of horror stories!

So to take that away from a child is criminal, let alone adults! Thank god this book is just fictional!

Just from reading part one of this book it had already fired me up! And I am pretty sure this book is going to hit plenty more than just me in the ‘feels’ department!

Ok, so now I have now finished all of the book after stopping at the end of part one to have my rant about a future with no fiction, and I’m pretty sure I won’t be the only one left feeling like that! And be warned, this book hits you with several powerful emotions on top of that one!

Is it to early in the year to put a book forward for ‘Book of the Year’? I have a really strong feeling this book will at the very least be a top contender! Described on Amazon as “The most original thriller you’ll read this year with a twist you won’t see coming”, they’vecertainlysummed it up extremely well, because boy-oh-boy is the twist one you will never see coming but it will also blow you away.

It’s one of the best twists in a book I’ve truly and utterly been surprised by for a very long time!

End of Story is due to be published on the 23 Mar 2023 and it is available to preorder now from your local bookstore or from the link below

A huge thank you to the author Louise Swanson, publishers Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for my digital and audio advance copy of this book.

Sometimes you read a story and it just connects with you, transfixes you, becomes real and true and holds you in its grasp.

End Of Story is a highly original psychological / speculative thriller set in 2035. The government have banned fiction books. Fern Dostoy was a successful author, now criminalised, this is her story, remembering the last years of fiction from the new world without it.

Fern mourns the passing of fiction, and life as an author. It is poignant and moving. The vivid picture of 2035 has some dark themes, not least the authoritarian policing ensuring authors won't try to write again. A secret underground phone line exists to keep bedtime stories alive for children whose parents aren't allowed to own story books to read to them.

'If you tell a story well enough it's true' is a line that Fern uses to motivate her writing, and the balance of the dystopian vision with the author's need to create and the reader's need to escape in fiction is a truly beautiful thing.

It would be easy to call this 'Fahrenheit 451' for a post-pandemic Britain, but for me it's so much more than that.

A lot of conceptual thrillers run out of ideas with the big twist, not this one. No spoilers but as we near the end, the true depth, poignancy and multilayering of this novel is revealed.

I usually only listen to audiobooks on my drive to work each day, an hour each way, those two hours spent in 2035 became the highlight of each day. This is the first audiobook I've made time to sit down and immerse myself in at home.

The narration by Sophie Bentinck is very good, fuss free and clear, it's not a book that demands a thousand voices and vocal acrobatics.

This is a book that will stick with me. There is a truth at the heart of this book, the human need for stories, for authors to create, for readers to read, for parents to read their children bedtime stories.

This is the first book by Louise Swanson (Louise Beech) that I've read. This is a book that makes me want to rush off and binge read her other books and I'll start another one tomorrow.

Definitely recommended.

To quote one of the characters from the book:
'Where are all the bloody books? Crazy lady!'

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton and Louise Swanson for writing this book, so deep, powerful and true.

What if the government decided that fiction was too dangerous and banned all fiction books? That is what author Fern Dostoy faces in the year 2035. She is thrown out of her house, loses her livelihood and all her friends and is subject to spot checks of her house to make sure she is no longer reading or writing fiction. If she fails to comply with the government sanctions, she will suffer a fate worse than death. But can a writer ever really stop writing, even when the worst has happened to them?

Thank you to Louise Swanson, Hodder and Stoughton Audio and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook.

What a clever and terrifying idea for a book. I was disturbed and intrigued in equal measures as I explored the dystopian world that Fern has to live in. As in all good books, it made me think - what would I do if I were no longer allowed to read fiction? How would my favourite authors react if they were forced to stop writing? I enjoyed speculating about which would resist and how. It had a big impact on me as I listened to this audiobook. The narrator was excellent, both in the way they brought each character to life, and capturing the horror of Fern's world.

I felt I lived through everything with Fern, I was even put off by milk! I was charmed and moved by the stealth bedtime stories and tense about the risks she took. I do have to admit to getting irritated when every diary entry ended mid sentence and sometimes mid word but I understand why that was necessary for the plot. The ending is clever and interesting but I preferred the main body of the book to the end. I can't say much more without massive spoilers so perhaps I should just be inspired by Fern and end my review in the middle of the senta