The Last Cruise

A Novel

By: Kate Christensen

Narrated by: Rob Shapiro

From the acclaimed PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author of The Great Man comes a riveting high-seas adventure that combines Christensen's signature wit, irony, and humanity to create a striking and unforgettable vision of our times.

The 1950s vintage ocean liner Queen Isabella is making her final voyage before heading to the scrapyard. For the guests on board, among them Christine Thorne, a former journalist turned Maine farmer, it's a chance to experience the bygone mid-20th century era of decadent luxury cruising, complete with fine dining, classic highballs, string quartets, and sophisticated jazz. Smoking is allowed but not cell phones - or children, for that matter. The Isabella sets sail from Long Beach, California, into calm seas on a two-week retro cruise to Hawaii and back.

But this is the second decade of an uncertain new millennium, not the sunny, heedless '50s, and certain disquieting signs of strife and malfunction above and below decks intrude on the festivities. Down in the main galley, Mick Szabo, a battle-weary Hungarian executive sous-chef, watches escalating tensions among the crew. Meanwhile, Miriam Koslow, an elderly Israeli violinist with the Sabra Quartet, becomes increasingly aware of the age-related vulnerabilities of the ship herself and the cynical corners cut by the cruise ship company, Cabaret.

When a time of crisis begins, Christine, Mick, and Miriam find themselves facing the unknown together in an unexpected and startling test of their characters.

©2018 Kate Christensen (P)2018 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Entertaining and elegantly written.... Kate Christensen demonstrates there's life to be found in what may appear to be the creakiest of fictional premises.... [She] is a sharp observer, not only of the layered social world of the Queen Isabella but of the shifting relationships between her characters...I kept thinking of Barbara Pym, another novelist who wrote astute novels about contained worlds. Like Pym - who has been described as the most under-rated writer of the 20th century - Christensen is easy to misjudge, but, as she demonstrates in The Last Cruise she's quite capable of navigating deep waters." (Maureen Corrigan, NPR)

“A smart, fast-paced adventure story, two poignant love stories, and a shrewd and chilling warning to us all. What is not to love about The Last Cruise?” (Lily King, author of Euphoria)

"Christensen is a master at drawing us into the interior lives of her characters, toeing the line between satire and sympathy...comedy and humiliation.... Having gathered these disparate people together, Christensen gently rolls and pitches the stage, dislodging stones of sadness that had been safely stuck in the crevices of their everyday lives. That discombobulation is the key to the story's appeal, its unstable mix of romantic comedy, class oppression and spiritual angst - as though Cynthia Ozick wrote an episode of 'The Love Boat.' Christensen also deconstructs the aura of the cruise ship.... Mysterious and existential.... She’s interested in the most intimate and profound changes we’re willing to make only when tossed by the tempest of life." (Ron Charles, The Washington Post)

Loved it!

Did not want it to end. Loved all the well developed characters! The
Narrator was excellent.

Creative writing textbook?

This could be a textbook in a college writing class where students get the opportunity to take developed characters and from a dramatic moment, write the denouement. It could be really fun.

I enjoyed the story and was excited to hear where the interesting characters ended their journeys but the story did not give us that. Everything had been pretty well thought out and progressions from scene to scene flowed well.

What’s with the abrupt ending!?!

I loved this book up until the ending left me hanging and I shouted, “WHAT!?!?!?!” I needed so much more. Some of the resolutions were beautiful and the characters deep and complex like real humans.

Luxury's sharp edge plus even sharper love stories

Such a compelling portrait of beautiful, brutal America! What would happen if you got to luxuriate in a one-percenter's little folly, but weren't one of them? Who do you, and your integrity, become when something goes wrong? The newest novel from the fiercely intelligent Kate Christensen (one of this country's most consistently interesting writers) gives us several unlikely heroes who are just like us: smart, talented women and men struggling to survive in the new America and the turbulent wake of international corporate power.

The turquoise waters are delightful, but like anything in excess they also hide danger and despair. The tension here is not mortal: it is, like all of Christensen's books, moral. And so wonderfully complex. She refuses to deal in easy stereotypes: no one is simply good or bad. She lures us into this cruise with a delightfully stylish premise, all exquisite food and glamorous settings and vivid characters. Then she turns it all on its head to follow the money. And while chaos threatens, she deftly develops two of the most memorable romances I've ever enjoyed.



The narrator is very good, for male voices. I've given only 4 stars simply because there were so many interesting female characters, of all ages, that I found myself longing for a female voice, or at least a less rumbly male voice.

The last cruise

If your a cruiser, you will enjoy this book . There is a storyline involving a few passengers , but the bulk of the story is about the food and entertainment departments and all the issues they face in serving the public . I enjoyed all the character development and the way things work behind the scenes when trouble occurs and the crew still has to do their job .
Barbara C

Great story

Well written characters and plot. The narrator did an excellent job. He made me feel everything they were going through

Good story, excellent characters, but … the ending…….

I enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed it up until the end. The descriptions of the ship and the characters are all compelling. The story foretells something strange and terrible. There is a huge build up. And then…I feel like the author couldn’t find the right ending, so left it to the reader. Disappointing.

WTF ending ...

Great narrator. Story was slow in parts. Ending was cheesy and abrupt.
Could’ve been so much better

Are you kidding me ???

The story was good but a bit draggy . The narration was good too but the ending ???? Seriously ? How could the author do that to leave you hanging like that? I mean that blew it . So only three stars .

A truly great novel.

This book so consumed me, that I feel lost having finished it. The depth of characters, the nuance and texture of scene and experience became more real than my own existence. Life aboard the ship is richly explored, in its claustrophobic social hierarchy. Ultimately this “Upstairs/Downstairs” explodes, and the denizens of the ship find themselves in a floating dystopia, which encapsulates in miniature all the grievances, desires, essential needs, and limited resources of our entire planet. This novel is profound without being preachy. One is drawn right in by the engaging characters and the immediacy of the action. The dialogue and action play out like a good movie; and the narration is excellent.