First things first, whoever put Sunset under the romance genre on the Foyles website, I hate you. It is not in any way a romance book!

I assumed it was a book about two sisters who fought over a guy or something and they didn’t speak to one another anymore and the other sister meets a man who is now always there for her. But no.

Sunset by Jessie Cave is a book about grief, about losing your big sister who was your person, who acted as your parent, and who truly cared for you. No romance but pure love.

Second, whoever put Sunset under the romance genre, I don’t really hate you. Sunset turned out to be a great book. It made me uncontrollably cry. I just wasn’t ready to read a fiction book about grief, about the guilt of living life again after the person you’re closest with dies.

Third, Hannah and Ruth remind me of Ingrid and Martha from Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason. These two sister duos make me want to read more fiction books starring sisters who are very close. Do you have any recommendations other than Little Women?

The Ending of Sunset by Jessie Cave

“I jump and follow.”

What does this mean? Did she commit suicide by jumping off the cliff?

I’m assuming Ruth didn’t commit suicide. I think she just “followed” Hannah’s ashes to the sea. I think Ruth jumping off the cliff in the end means she has finally accepted her sister’s death or finally learned how to live with it.

But what about Ruth not bringing a bag with her when she leaves the hotel room? Why does she let her Flip Flops fall off the cliff? What about her hotel key? Does this mean she doesn’t plan to go back to the hotel which means she’s really going to commit suicide?

It’s in Ruth’s character to forget hotel keys. It’s mentioned in chapter 17 (she lost it) and 21 (as usual forget it).

As for the flip flops, in chapter 77, Ruth said her flip flops need sellotape. This means that her flip flops are broken. I guess she kicks them off the cliff because what’s the point of keeping something that is broken? I guess this is symbolism.

Towards the end, Ruth is going back to herself again and actually is becoming a better version of herself for Hannah. Her mother giving her a new washing machine symbolizes that she’s not broken anymore. I think. I’m not a literature expert.

Words by Jessie Cave that Captured Grief

These words made me cry. I actually felt my heart become heavy as I was reading these words.

“But I like my washing machine being broken because I am broken too.“

“She disappears and the hair-product smell remains; it makes me want to cry.”

“It hits me that never again will anyone remark upon how similar Hannah and I look when we’re out together.”

“I want a new name, I should have a new name, for the new sister-less me. I could change it.”

“I don’t think I’m ever going to be OK again.“

“I want something awful to happen to one of them. Today. Even though that thought makes me feel so ashamed, because it’s so evil, that thought is there. I just need someone to know what this feels like, but no one ever could. Not even my parents. Mum’s pain, dad’s pain. Rowan’s pain. Leila’s pain. Sal’s pain. It’s all different. They could never know mine, and I could never know theirs. All I do know is that no one in this world had a sister like her.”

“My Cronut arrives but it can’t save me.”

“I found my mum on her bare knees, scrubbing my floor with a J-cloth, wearing one of Hannah’s big T-shirts and nothing else. She kept scrubbing harder and harder until she saw me. She was startled but tried to smile. I didn’t say anything, I just dropped down to my knees and hugged her. She began crying and crying and crying, like I’d never seen before.” (This is the scene that really made me cry.)

“I have to keep swallowing to stop myself from crying, as I realise he’s meeting a new person too – Ruth without Hannah.“

Where Can You Read a Sunset EPUB?

I’m currently not buying actual books. Everything is so expensive these days. I rather spend money on food because I need food for energy. Energy to read and do other stuff. So I finally paid for a Scribd subscription. That’s where I read the EPUB version of Jessie Cave’s Sunset. It’s more affordable than the actual book and I get to read more ebooks in one month.

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