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One Last Song
A gentleman called Joan lands up in a care home, like a colourful, combustible cocktail… ticking. A gentleman called Jim doesn't know what's hit him… everything about his new neighbour is triggering. Battle begins. May the best man win. But beneath antics and antique armour plating, what are both hiding? Maybe they've more than a wall in common? Might they even be batting for the same team? An uproarious and uplifting romantic comedy about grey liberation.
"One Last Song is a necessary love story, both profoundly moving and profoundly optimistic. It will almost inevitably infiltrate your heart." – Martin Sherman
"An absolute delight. Touching, powerful, punchy, funny and sweet." – David Shannon
"One Last Song is a necessary love story, both profoundly moving and profoundly optimistic. It will almost inevitably infiltrate your heart." – Martin Sherman
"An absolute delight. Touching, powerful, punchy, funny and sweet." – David Shannon
162 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2024
6 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
August 13, 2024
What appears as a romcom about two elderly men turns into a very timely reflection on the legacy of queer militantism of the 1970s. I want to be Joan when I grow old(er).
January 28, 2024
AD/PR - Buy this. A million times for a million reasons, BUY THIS. Not only will you be supporting a new indie publisher committed to showcasing underrepresented voices, you’ll also get to meet two elderly gentlemen called Joan and Jim who will change your life in under 200 pages. One Last Song only took me a couple of hours to read but it will stay with me for a lifetime.
We meet Joan on the day he’s moving into a care home. He’s loud, proud, flamboyant and learned a long time ago that life’s too short to be anything but yourself. On his first day he ruffles every feather going in the home and meets Jim, a serious and rule abiding man so convinced his stay is temporary that he hasn’t unpacked his case. Despite getting off to a rocky start, the two embark on an unlikely friendship (and maybe more) that’s full of companionship, hilarity and heart. I can’t decide if I spent more time laughing or crying or both at the same time.
One Last Song is so profound. It reaffirmed my pride in our queer elderly generation and reminded me that they’re often forgotten but we owe them so much. The ones who fought, protested and refused to back down to blaze a trail for everyone to be free to love and be themselves. Through Joan and Jim we get a story so beautiful and heartfelt that it brought me to tears, and so funny that it had me snorting laughing. Joan’s one liners had me howling 😂😂 he is SO filthy and does not miss a single innuendo 👌🏻. The authentic depiction of care home living and the reality of loneliness and the fragility of life was brilliant. This proves that it’s never too late for love and you should always age as disgracefully as possible! By the end I was a blubbering mess of emotion. Thank you @nathanevansarts. What you’ve achieved with One Last Song is incredible!!
We meet Joan on the day he’s moving into a care home. He’s loud, proud, flamboyant and learned a long time ago that life’s too short to be anything but yourself. On his first day he ruffles every feather going in the home and meets Jim, a serious and rule abiding man so convinced his stay is temporary that he hasn’t unpacked his case. Despite getting off to a rocky start, the two embark on an unlikely friendship (and maybe more) that’s full of companionship, hilarity and heart. I can’t decide if I spent more time laughing or crying or both at the same time.
One Last Song is so profound. It reaffirmed my pride in our queer elderly generation and reminded me that they’re often forgotten but we owe them so much. The ones who fought, protested and refused to back down to blaze a trail for everyone to be free to love and be themselves. Through Joan and Jim we get a story so beautiful and heartfelt that it brought me to tears, and so funny that it had me snorting laughing. Joan’s one liners had me howling 😂😂 he is SO filthy and does not miss a single innuendo 👌🏻. The authentic depiction of care home living and the reality of loneliness and the fragility of life was brilliant. This proves that it’s never too late for love and you should always age as disgracefully as possible! By the end I was a blubbering mess of emotion. Thank you @nathanevansarts. What you’ve achieved with One Last Song is incredible!!
August 21, 2024
’Everyone. I would like to introduce our new resident.’
The woman-in-purple sits up in her chair, checks her hair. It is thinning, her roots re-growing. She is cooing and fluttering in anticipation of a new man. Another figure steps into focus beside boss-woman. It cannot be described as a man. Or a woman. The figure does not appear to conform to either gender. It is wearing one of those hats—floral, full-brimmed—like Jim’s mother used to wear to weddings. It is wearing pearlescent earrings. It is wearing lipstick. Crimson. It is wearing stubble upon its chin. And a ghastly confection of clothing, masculine and feminine. It is called John.
‘Joan, please.’
Its voice is sibilant. Its wrist is limp. Boss-woman laughs canned laughter at the correction, like she’s in some old sitcom. The woman-in-purple shrinks back in her chair, like she’s in a horror. ‘This is Eileen.’ Boss-woman works in a clockwise direction. ‘And that is Mary, knitting.’ The woman-in-dressing-gown is openly staring; her needles have ceased clicking. ‘Anya, in the corner.’ She points to where the woman-who-never-speaks sits, toes knotted like tree roots in the foot spa beneath her. ‘Jim, over there.’ He uses his book for cover. ‘And Harold, here.’ The other man—Nigerian or Jamaican—sucks his teeth loudly, deliberately.
One Last Song by Nathan Evans is published by Inkandescent:
The publisher bills it as a romantic comedy about grey liberation - which sets the scene nicely for a story that is both conventional and yet subversive.
Joan is an elderly gentlemen, a theatre designer and a veteran of the struggle for gay liberation, flamboyant in his dress sense, his manner and proclamation of his sexuality. But when he has one accident too many (falling asleep smoking a joint leads to a fire), he is sent by the council to a care home, where his arrival, as per the scene above, disrupts the cosy order of the residents.
The person who takes most against him initially is Jim, not because (unlike some others) he disapproves of Joan’s homosexuality but rather because of the challenge to his own identity and indeed his sense of decorum. Jim is, or was (but he thinks he still is) a civil engineer, a one-man-man having lived for many year with his companion Dickie:
When he had found himself in this—he will not use the word home —in this place, he found certain assumptions had been made about him. He had not seen occasion to challenge them. Assumptions had often been made about his ‘wife’ at home. His mother had gone to her grave believing Dickie lodged in the spare room. Of course, close friends had known.
The narrations alternates between the first person of Joan and the close third person of Jim, which works neatly to represent the different filtering in the way in which they engage with the world.
The tone of the novel is beautifully judged, gently comic with touch of the tragic, engaging the reader’s emotion, as well as their sense of humour, without descending too far into pathos, and the blurbs from figures ranging from Stephen Fry to Joelle Taylor, author of Night Alphabet, the UK’s best literary novel of 2024 speak to the wide audience to which this will appeal.
The woman-in-purple sits up in her chair, checks her hair. It is thinning, her roots re-growing. She is cooing and fluttering in anticipation of a new man. Another figure steps into focus beside boss-woman. It cannot be described as a man. Or a woman. The figure does not appear to conform to either gender. It is wearing one of those hats—floral, full-brimmed—like Jim’s mother used to wear to weddings. It is wearing pearlescent earrings. It is wearing lipstick. Crimson. It is wearing stubble upon its chin. And a ghastly confection of clothing, masculine and feminine. It is called John.
‘Joan, please.’
Its voice is sibilant. Its wrist is limp. Boss-woman laughs canned laughter at the correction, like she’s in some old sitcom. The woman-in-purple shrinks back in her chair, like she’s in a horror. ‘This is Eileen.’ Boss-woman works in a clockwise direction. ‘And that is Mary, knitting.’ The woman-in-dressing-gown is openly staring; her needles have ceased clicking. ‘Anya, in the corner.’ She points to where the woman-who-never-speaks sits, toes knotted like tree roots in the foot spa beneath her. ‘Jim, over there.’ He uses his book for cover. ‘And Harold, here.’ The other man—Nigerian or Jamaican—sucks his teeth loudly, deliberately.
One Last Song by Nathan Evans is published by Inkandescent:
INKANDESCENT is a publishing venture by Justin David and Nathan Evans with a commitment to ideas, subjects and voices underrepresented by mainstream publishing, we hope to discover and celebrate original, diverse and transgressive literature and art, to challenge the status quo.
The publisher bills it as a romantic comedy about grey liberation - which sets the scene nicely for a story that is both conventional and yet subversive.
Joan is an elderly gentlemen, a theatre designer and a veteran of the struggle for gay liberation, flamboyant in his dress sense, his manner and proclamation of his sexuality. But when he has one accident too many (falling asleep smoking a joint leads to a fire), he is sent by the council to a care home, where his arrival, as per the scene above, disrupts the cosy order of the residents.
The person who takes most against him initially is Jim, not because (unlike some others) he disapproves of Joan’s homosexuality but rather because of the challenge to his own identity and indeed his sense of decorum. Jim is, or was (but he thinks he still is) a civil engineer, a one-man-man having lived for many year with his companion Dickie:
When he had found himself in this—he will not use the word home —in this place, he found certain assumptions had been made about him. He had not seen occasion to challenge them. Assumptions had often been made about his ‘wife’ at home. His mother had gone to her grave believing Dickie lodged in the spare room. Of course, close friends had known.
The narrations alternates between the first person of Joan and the close third person of Jim, which works neatly to represent the different filtering in the way in which they engage with the world.
The tone of the novel is beautifully judged, gently comic with touch of the tragic, engaging the reader’s emotion, as well as their sense of humour, without descending too far into pathos, and the blurbs from figures ranging from Stephen Fry to Joelle Taylor, author of Night Alphabet, the UK’s best literary novel of 2024 speak to the wide audience to which this will appeal.
March 22, 2024
I wouldn't have even thought to read a genre like this book, but I've recently joined a book club, and this is the one we'll be discussing next week!
I loved it. Joan is my favourite character. I felt that the story was quite short, but then so was Joan and Jim's relationship, but both the story and their relationship had so much in it, that the length of the book felt enough.
Joan brought out a side to Jim he was, perhaps unaware, he had, and Jim brought out something in Joan that let him feel enough as he was.
I think I'll be checking out more from the author :)
I loved it. Joan is my favourite character. I felt that the story was quite short, but then so was Joan and Jim's relationship, but both the story and their relationship had so much in it, that the length of the book felt enough.
Joan brought out a side to Jim he was, perhaps unaware, he had, and Jim brought out something in Joan that let him feel enough as he was.
I think I'll be checking out more from the author :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2025
In need of a palate cleanser, I picked this up and didn't put it down until I'd finished it 2 hours later. A delightful story that deal with the serious subject of how to be gay in a care home with humour, energy, determination and pride. I loved the contrast between an out flamboyant gay activist and a more reserved/closeted gay man who reflects on his 30 year relationship with tenderness. I loved the way they managed the prejudice they experienced within the home. A book that gives you hope, (although there is some sadness), especially as an assumed lesbian then also moves in!! Wonderful.
January 10, 2025
What a beautiful story.
I really REALLY struggled with the writing style so was frequently confused and felt frustrated that I was regularly "missing the point" but the important parts got through.
I really REALLY struggled with the writing style so was frequently confused and felt frustrated that I was regularly "missing the point" but the important parts got through.
June 9, 2025
*3.5
December 27, 2024
A beautiful, touching story. One Last Song is rarely surprising, but that's largely a good thing. It's a book that has confidence in the beauty of its central romance and does little to complicate it, only fleshing out its main actors Joan and Jim without letting their respective baggage overwhelm the narrative. You know exactly how the book will end just from looking at the cover, but that didn't stop every moment making my heart alternately swell and break. Some clunky prose aside, One Last Song is magnificent and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending it.
January 28, 2025
Clever use of dual narrative here means the reader sort of inhabits each of the characters in the way they engage with the world, in particular with this new care home situation they have found themselves in. Sad, hopeful, at times funny, this is a love story, but also a story of resilience and empathy, about who we think we are and how we choose to be seen in the world.
January 31, 2024
Joan is going into an old person’s home.
What a fabulous novella! Nathan Evan’s writes with warmth and incisive wit so that meeting Joan and Jim is a real pleasure. I just loved One Last Song.
I think what works so effectively is the concept that it doesn’t matter how we identify sexually, what we wear or how we behave, essentially what each and every one of us needs is a little human understanding, compassion, kindness and connection. And in One Last Song, writing with all those features, Nathan Evans illustrates that difference can actually be the glue that unites us.
It is through Joan particularly that Nathan Evan’s explores humanity so evocatively and affectingly. Joan is sharp, sassy and more than able to deal with those who might be a threat to him. But under that acerbic wit is also a troubled mind as he thinks about those who have passed through his life, and a vulnerability that is, at times, heart-breaking. Joan’s developing relationship with Jim and both their past triumphs and regrets are achingly well presented. I thought the way they grew together and were able to anchor one another in the present and in positivity was a universal message we’d all benefit from embracing. Certainly Nathan Evans’s style can be occasionally explicit, but there is never a moment when compassion doesn’t underpin every description, every memory and every interaction between characters – even when they are battling one another.
I found Harry’s initial attitude so thought provoking. He illustrates the unthinking prejudice so many have towards others not conventionally fitting into society and through him I wondered how frequently I might have made ignorant assumptions about others – indeed, reading One Last Song made me consider how many of those in my life who are older and have lived through negative attitudes towards homosexuality and queerness might have had to live their whole lives as a lie. One Last Song might be witty, engaging and entertaining, but it also has a profound depth.
The plot is a relatively gentle one as Joan and Jim’s relationship develops over time in the care home, but that aspect underpins all the more perfectly the depth of emotion presented by Nathan Evans. I was completely affected by these two men, their memories, their dreams, regrets and triumphs. In fact, I was reduced to tears when one last song was played.
I thought One Last Song was a beautiful book. It shows how far society has come in accepting others who do not necessarily conform to accepted expectations, but equally it illustrates how far we still have to go. It’s also a book that I keep returning to in my mind. One Last Song may be a short novella, but both Jean and Jim pack an emotional punch that has me thinking about them frequently and it’s not until the book is finished that these two men’s lives impact fully. One Last Song is a special book.
What a fabulous novella! Nathan Evan’s writes with warmth and incisive wit so that meeting Joan and Jim is a real pleasure. I just loved One Last Song.
I think what works so effectively is the concept that it doesn’t matter how we identify sexually, what we wear or how we behave, essentially what each and every one of us needs is a little human understanding, compassion, kindness and connection. And in One Last Song, writing with all those features, Nathan Evans illustrates that difference can actually be the glue that unites us.
It is through Joan particularly that Nathan Evan’s explores humanity so evocatively and affectingly. Joan is sharp, sassy and more than able to deal with those who might be a threat to him. But under that acerbic wit is also a troubled mind as he thinks about those who have passed through his life, and a vulnerability that is, at times, heart-breaking. Joan’s developing relationship with Jim and both their past triumphs and regrets are achingly well presented. I thought the way they grew together and were able to anchor one another in the present and in positivity was a universal message we’d all benefit from embracing. Certainly Nathan Evans’s style can be occasionally explicit, but there is never a moment when compassion doesn’t underpin every description, every memory and every interaction between characters – even when they are battling one another.
I found Harry’s initial attitude so thought provoking. He illustrates the unthinking prejudice so many have towards others not conventionally fitting into society and through him I wondered how frequently I might have made ignorant assumptions about others – indeed, reading One Last Song made me consider how many of those in my life who are older and have lived through negative attitudes towards homosexuality and queerness might have had to live their whole lives as a lie. One Last Song might be witty, engaging and entertaining, but it also has a profound depth.
The plot is a relatively gentle one as Joan and Jim’s relationship develops over time in the care home, but that aspect underpins all the more perfectly the depth of emotion presented by Nathan Evans. I was completely affected by these two men, their memories, their dreams, regrets and triumphs. In fact, I was reduced to tears when one last song was played.
I thought One Last Song was a beautiful book. It shows how far society has come in accepting others who do not necessarily conform to accepted expectations, but equally it illustrates how far we still have to go. It’s also a book that I keep returning to in my mind. One Last Song may be a short novella, but both Jean and Jim pack an emotional punch that has me thinking about them frequently and it’s not until the book is finished that these two men’s lives impact fully. One Last Song is a special book.
February 26, 2025
Beautifully written, and with extremely vivid imagery. The descriptions read like poetry.
It was also emotionally devastating.
Joan an out, loud, proud, and combative senior is forced to move in to a new elder care facility. He is not received with kindness by most of the current staff or residents.
Some of this is for the reasons you'd expect about Joan being flamboyant, and loud. For others, it's about personal choice or insecurities.
For Jim, it's some of both.
The story of these 2 is wonderful and full of so many messages of living presently, and allowing yourself to grow beyond what or who you think you should be.
It's also about grief and loss and about the fear of growing older without our closest family or friends.
It was also emotionally devastating.
Joan an out, loud, proud, and combative senior is forced to move in to a new elder care facility. He is not received with kindness by most of the current staff or residents.
Some of this is for the reasons you'd expect about Joan being flamboyant, and loud. For others, it's about personal choice or insecurities.
For Jim, it's some of both.
The story of these 2 is wonderful and full of so many messages of living presently, and allowing yourself to grow beyond what or who you think you should be.
It's also about grief and loss and about the fear of growing older without our closest family or friends.
July 13, 2024
4⭐
This is a romance between two elderly men, but it's not your average romance novel. The emphasis is on growing old and LGBT+ rights. But it's very personal, intimate and as much about the everyday as it is about the larger changes for the queer community.
Joan is as unapologetically flamboyant as one can get, and Jim is a very straight-laced person who's only out on need-to-know basis. Initially they clash but soon find a friendship and more.
This wasn't quite the funny enemies-to-lovers I might have been expecting, but I wasn't disappointed by that. It's a humorous and touching novella. The setting is an old folks home, so be prepared for tears as some residents depart.
This is a romance between two elderly men, but it's not your average romance novel. The emphasis is on growing old and LGBT+ rights. But it's very personal, intimate and as much about the everyday as it is about the larger changes for the queer community.
Joan is as unapologetically flamboyant as one can get, and Jim is a very straight-laced person who's only out on need-to-know basis. Initially they clash but soon find a friendship and more.
This wasn't quite the funny enemies-to-lovers I might have been expecting, but I wasn't disappointed by that. It's a humorous and touching novella. The setting is an old folks home, so be prepared for tears as some residents depart.
April 20, 2024
Absolutely delightful story of LGBTQ elders, and finding love no matter how old. The light touch look at LGBTQ+ history in Britain was impressively done.
Note: this is a love story, not a romance.
It also contains difficult themes, including LGBTQ history, homophobia and homophobic attacks, dementia, grief, and family estrangement of elders.
I would have loved it to have been older so we could have explored both the MCs backgrounds and the wonderful secondary characters we just got a glimpse of, a bit more.
Note: this is a love story, not a romance.
It also contains difficult themes, including LGBTQ history, homophobia and homophobic attacks, dementia, grief, and family estrangement of elders.
I would have loved it to have been older so we could have explored both the MCs backgrounds and the wonderful secondary characters we just got a glimpse of, a bit more.
July 18, 2024
I got this a Instagram recommended from my favourite author Matt Cain and it certainly didn’t disappoint. This was a mostly fun and fast paced read that I enjoyed and would recommend.
The book is dual POV following two elderly men in a care home on the day Joan (an old queen, sure of himself and outspoken proud gay man) moves in and Jim (much more deserved who’s hidden parts of himself). Somewhat at the centre of the novel is a hate to friendship to more between these two but there is more to it. I really loved the way it shows how these men have their own lives and pasts, exploring the many decades of changing societal views of gayness, how they lived though the AIDS crisis and the lack of elderly queer men due to this. There’s notions of the good v bad gay and following of the ‘straight path’ in how the men present themselves but also their previous lives with Joan still fighting for what’s right in the modern day against a quieter Jim. Joan is hilarious at times with his quick wit and often filthy remarks, I just adored how he never backed down and highlighted the importance of the past, often forgotten, queers who did the right and scary thing to get us to the place we are to today. Talk on loneliness and they way we live(d) our lives was also emotional at times. We also get to know who the men are now in terms of their health conditions, dementia and grief which is quite upsetting. To combat this, the love is rather cute and it’s nice to see these elderly men still living. The cast of characters at the home are well realised, it could’ve done more and some parts weren’t fully to my liking but on the whole this was a decent read.
The book is dual POV following two elderly men in a care home on the day Joan (an old queen, sure of himself and outspoken proud gay man) moves in and Jim (much more deserved who’s hidden parts of himself). Somewhat at the centre of the novel is a hate to friendship to more between these two but there is more to it. I really loved the way it shows how these men have their own lives and pasts, exploring the many decades of changing societal views of gayness, how they lived though the AIDS crisis and the lack of elderly queer men due to this. There’s notions of the good v bad gay and following of the ‘straight path’ in how the men present themselves but also their previous lives with Joan still fighting for what’s right in the modern day against a quieter Jim. Joan is hilarious at times with his quick wit and often filthy remarks, I just adored how he never backed down and highlighted the importance of the past, often forgotten, queers who did the right and scary thing to get us to the place we are to today. Talk on loneliness and they way we live(d) our lives was also emotional at times. We also get to know who the men are now in terms of their health conditions, dementia and grief which is quite upsetting. To combat this, the love is rather cute and it’s nice to see these elderly men still living. The cast of characters at the home are well realised, it could’ve done more and some parts weren’t fully to my liking but on the whole this was a decent read.
July 28, 2024
Started out a bit peculiar with unfolding the setting, but in the end it was a beautiful story of loss, hope, fighting for what you want, acceptance and love.
It makes you think about becoming older and letting go...
It makes you think about becoming older and letting go...
July 28, 2024
3.5 stars.
I am not sure the writing style was for me, it felt a bit too much like telling the romance instead of showing it, and it could have used a bit more breathing space, but the characters gripped me, especially Joan. I have the feeling I will be thinking about this book for a while.
I am not sure the writing style was for me, it felt a bit too much like telling the romance instead of showing it, and it could have used a bit more breathing space, but the characters gripped me, especially Joan. I have the feeling I will be thinking about this book for a while.
July 31, 2024
I loved this book ! Important themes, love the phrase ‘grey liberation’. I’ve worked with older LGBTQ+ people and those affected by dementia and this does depict it well without being insensitive, would recommended, is emotional but also has a sense of realism
August 4, 2024
One of the most beautiful books I’ve read in ages. Funny and poignant in turns Jim and Joan are brilliantly wrought characters - caught in their pasts but pushing towards a different version of themselves. I really loved this.
November 11, 2024
This refers to the audio version.
Brilliant! Funny! Heartwarming! Heartbreakingly real. A triumph.
Read this please. Joan and Jim will stay with you for a long time. You will not regret it.
Read with such love by the author Nathan Evans.
Brilliant! Funny! Heartwarming! Heartbreakingly real. A triumph.
Read this please. Joan and Jim will stay with you for a long time. You will not regret it.
Read with such love by the author Nathan Evans.
December 24, 2024
1.5/5. I think the idea was great. Unfortunately, I had a deep dislike for both main characters. Given we're spending most of the book with them and sometimes, maybe, a side character or two, it was hard for me to enjoy this.
April 16, 2025
why can’t they just have a happy ending. death was always part of the story, but stealing life from them right away felt like a weird literary grab that just left a bad taste in my mouth. like if one of them didn’t die it wouldn’t be a “real book.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2025
Grey liberation - great description A lovely gentle read with so many messages
I picked it up in my way out of the library and showed through the pages
I loved all the characters, and Evans has a way with words which makes you inhabit each one
A delight
I picked it up in my way out of the library and showed through the pages
I loved all the characters, and Evans has a way with words which makes you inhabit each one
A delight
October 8, 2025
This was a really lovely story. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it but once it got going it was really good! The way it was written was just lovely, the fact that Jim has some form of, I’m assuming, dementia, so it’s all written in the first person. So clever! Just lovely.
May 1, 2024
Stunning. Bawling my eyes out now.
June 15, 2024
DNF 37%. Nothing personal just disliked the writing style. It's just not for me but loved the concept. I was disappointed I couldn't get into it
June 19, 2024
Such a sweet little novel. I found Joan’s character to be very believable and i enjoyed its uplifting tone throughout 😃
July 28, 2024
An unexpected and touching story. The ending left me bereft. Very thought provoking, highly recommended.
August 25, 2024
A fun romance with a unique backdrop.
First half was a little slow but the second half really made up for it.
First half was a little slow but the second half really made up for it.
September 25, 2024
Poignant and funny tale about two dramatically different queer elders who share a party wall and then much more.
December 27, 2024
I was not prepared for how beautiful and sweet this story was. More queer literature written like this please!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews