Book Review: Last Act of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink

Review by Anna Simpson, Bookseller, The Grove Bookshop, Ilkley

Cathy and Matty Mintern have a perfect life. Brother and sister, but also best friends, they are talented, fun loving teenagers. Their charismatic parents own the most popular pub in Selby, where they work evenings behind the bar surrounded by friends: drinking, smoking and dancing to music from the 90s. Life promises them an exciting future together, full of opportunity.

But two weeks before he receives the best GCSE results in his school, Matty is knocked down in a horrific car accident, leaving him fighting for his life in Leeds General Infirmary. His sister Cathy and devoted parents are devastated by the tragedy, resolving to do everything in their power to keep Matty alive. However, as his condition worsens Matty slips into a coma and it becomes increasingly apparent that despite his miracle survival, it is highly unlikely he will ever wake up.

Written from his sister’s perspective, Cathy Rentzenbrink tells the true story of her long journey to accepting the loss of her brother, beginning with happy memories of the weeks prior to Matty’s accident and detailing her experience of his time in hospital. However, the book is mainly occupied with Cathy’s life after the accident. She writes about balancing her studies at Leeds University and in France, with feelings of grief, guilt and responsibility to her parents, who after equipping their house with every science and care technology available, continue to painstakingly look after Matty full-time.

Cathy comes to experience several significant romantic relationships in her adult life, which she writes about with total emotional honesty. She travels and works in different jobs, yet 8 years after the accident pass with no signs of significant improvement in Matty’s condition. Cathy and her parents decide to embark on a judicial battle, to legally withdraw Matty’s treatment and allow him to pass away: their last act of love. Having always been an avid reader, Rentzenbrink is inspired to write this book as a form of therapy, dealing with her grief publicly for the first time.

Whilst the family’s loss is a central focus in the book, other important themes are also addressed. Cathy for example describes how her working class background and strong Yorkshire accent proved a source of mild tension, between her family friends and more middle-class university friends/work colleagues – subtly yet effectively criticising notions of classed difference.

Despite the seriousness of its content, this memoir is an incredibly enjoyable and easy read. You wouldn't expect a book like this to make you laugh, but Cathy's natural wit and dry sense of humour is interjected throughout, which keeps the story uplifting in its darkest chapters.

The Last Act of Love is an inspirational and emotional read, as well as a devastating one. This memoir serves as a powerful testament to not only the impact of her brother's accident on her life, but also the ultimately triumphant love Cathy and her parents have for Matty, his memory and each other.

The Last Act of Love is published by Picador in hardback at £14.99.