The Last War: A Novel

by: Ana Menéndez

Published by: HarperCollins

Reviewed by Beth Cummings

In the Last War, Ana Menéndez has written an intriguing story filled with love and hate, excitement and depression, beauty and devastation.

Her main character, known to her friends and co-workers as Flash, is a photographer who travels to war zones with her husband – a war correspondent. During the first few years of their marriage they lived and recorded in Sri Lanka, Kashmir and Afghanistan.

The novel begins in the fall of 2002 and he has gone to Baghdad. Flash is living in Istanbul, waiting for her paperwork to be complete so that she can join her husband. Except, this time she is not sure she wants to go. During her time in Afghanistan she had seen more of war than she could comfortably process. She stalls and then gets a peculiar letter from an unknown person – claiming her husband was having an affair. At about the same time, an old friend from their time in Afghanistan, Alexandra, shows up in Istanbul. She is also stalling – but why?

The plot and subplots of this book cover Flash’s inner turmoil as she tries to live alone in Turkey. She knows neither the language nor the culture well. It also travels back to the time she spent in Afghanistan and her inability to really understand the culture while she is photographing horrendous scenes.

Ana Menéndez, a Cuban-American, has lived in India, Istanbul and Cairo and does a wonderful job of presenting both Istanbul and Afghanistan in this book. It would be a great book group discussion choice. I enjoyed it very much.

Armchair Interviews says: A 5-star novel well worth your time.