* INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Amazon Editors’ Pick for Best Book of the Year in Fiction “Visceral and haunting” (New York Times Book Review) · “Hopeful” (Washington Post) · “Powerful” (Los Angeles Times) · “Thrilling” (TIME) · “Tantalizingly beautiful” (Elle) · “Suspenseful, atmospheric” (Vogue) · “Aching and poignant” (Guardian) · “Gripping” (The Economist) Franny Stone has always been … poignant” (Guardian) · “Gripping” (The Economist)
Franny Stone has always been the kind of woman who is able to love but unable to stay. Leaving behind everything but her research gear, she arrives in Greenland with a singular purpose: to follow the last Arctic terns in the world on what might be their final migration to Antarctica. Franny talks her way onto a fishing boat, and she and the crew set sail, traveling ever further from shore and safety. But as Franny’s history begins to unspool–a passionate love affair, an absent family, a devastating crime–it becomes clear that she is chasing more than just the birds. When Franny’s dark secrets catch up with her, how much is she willing to risk for one more chance at redemption?
Epic and intimate, heartbreaking and galvanizing, Charlotte McConaghy’s Migrations is an ode to a disappearing world and a breathtaking page-turner about the possibility of hope against all odds.
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I’m pretty mixed on this book – it is, at times, beautiful and uncertain and quiet. It talks about birds in a way that makes me want to jump on a boat and sail halfway across the world to find them. But it’s also an unbearably bleak book that is never quite certain what it wants to be: part climate change dystopia, part literary thriller, part contemporary fiction. It skips through time the way it skips through genres, and the characters are as hard to grasp as the various threads of plot. Even the narrator is uneven and unstable. It wasn’t my favorite read, but it’s such an interesting premise I think I would recommend it anyway.
This was my favorite book of the year. It was mesmerizing, intelligent, eye-opening and moving. The audio performance pulled me in immediately, and never let me go. I had no idea I could love a book about climate change. I highly recommend it.
Spectacular!
An emotional ride; soaked in the all-too-real tragedy of our times. Deeply sad, but inspirational. An important book. See my review: https://www.caitlinhicks.com/wordpress/migrations-by-charlotte-mcconaghy/
Best book I’ve read in a long time. Unique and powerful.
This is not the book you want to read when the world is burning down in the west and drowning in the east. But it’s a taut thriller set in the worst environmental crisis. It was good, but disturbing.
Absolutely stunning and utterly original. The writing is impeccable, taking the reader from the heart of the arctic in a remarkable sea journey aboard a fishing boat. This is the perfect blend of environmental fiction, character studies, thriller, and mystery.
Haunting and sorrowful, but full of gratitude. A story of a world with very few animals left. Soul-crushing passages about an all too possible world without the diversity and enormity of the animal kingdom. This world is the setting for the slowly rolled-out mysteries of the main character and an exploration of whether or not we can truly change our nature or if instead we should embrace who we are, no matter how destructive.
Gorgeous, haunting novel about what the world could be … and a cautionary tale of what could happen if we don’t take better care of the planet:
https://www.ecolitbooks.com/2021/01/11/book-review-migrations-by-charlotte-mcconaghy/
Charlotte McConaghy is a fabulous writer. I listened to this book on audio (fabulous narration). So much depth. So many thought-provoking and exquisite passages. I was drawn in to this unique story and could hardly wait for each time I got to listen. Charlotte McConaghy wrote characters that I could easily imagine and wrote about place magnificently. This is a book that can’t help but leave the reader pondering for a while. I will read her next book. My only “dislike” was the profanity, which is the only reason for the 4 stars vs 5. I almost quit reading a few times because of that. While realistic for the characters and industry, the story would have been just as impactful without that.
Haunting and beautifully written. A page-turner I couldn’t put down.
What an incredible epic! I knew this book would be special – I received it as a gift for Christmas but saved it for when I knew I would be on vacation and be able to read uninterrupted. I’m so glad I did because once I started reading, it was impossible to put down.
The story is about as unique as you can get – a woman obsessed with saving the last of the arctic terns as a last hurrah before she ends her life – and the journey that she encounters along the way, and the people who help her.
At it’s core, this is a love story – as tender and fragile as a baby bird’s egg. But that bit sneaks up on you, building in these tiny little snippets interspersed through the main storyline of Franny chasing the terns to Antarctica on a fishing vessel, until the end when it becomes clear and you’re bawling in bed at 1:00 am.
I will likely never forget about this book and about Franny’s torment and the hope she found in the end. A truly incredible literary yet intensely suspenseful story.
This is one of those books that will be with me for a very long time. One of the most unique and wonderfully written books ever – and that’s staying a lot from me. I read this literary thriller in about 24 hours. I couldn’t put it down and didn’t want to. Though there’s a lot of very depressing content about extinct animals and a dying planet, the book is so well-crafted, with such complex and interesting characters, that you can’t help but keep reading, reading, reading and hoping. The main character, Franny, is so mentally unbalanced but also painfully aware of her torment, which makes her one of the most endearing characters I’ve come to love. I was definitely worried about the ending – the author takes us to an incredible and very unlikely-of-success climax, but it was perfect. Don’t be put out by the heavy themes of climate change and its consequences, because this is a rare literary gem of a book, spun by a masterful storyteller that will keep you reading well into the night.
Did I like this book, yes, but some things were not believable. I did not read this book for facts, so some may not be true, I’m okay with that. Migrations takes place in the future and the past. Can I see some of the things in this book happen I most certainly can. In my opinion this book is a journey of grief, guilt, love and coming to terms with what has happened. I found myself rooting for Franny even though there were things very unlikable about her. In my opinion the mystery of the thing was pretty good. Charlotte McConaghy did throw a twist I didn’t see coming. My biggest complaint is it is a very slow moving book. I personally liked the book. I don’t think it’s for everybody. I read from Broward County Library.
What a powerful read! The haunting text drew me in and the further the story led, the deeper I realized I was sinking. Brilliantly written.
Gorgeous cover and gorgeous book. Full of heartbreak but balances out equally with a lot of hope.
I will admit, I bought this book because I loved the cover. There was no other reason. I don’t think the description is really all that compelling either, so I was making a gamble and putting my faith in the generally favorable reviews.
Thank god that paid off.
This book is beautiful with pages of poignant and inspired prose. The main character with her vagabond heart was so endearing, and I was deeply invested in both the story of her past and her journey in the present. I was even surprised by that, because at times her motivations and internal conflicts are very Romantic which… well, it’s not that I don’t like Romantic characters, but I tend to make fun of them a lot… They’re easy targets. I don’t know what to say. Regardless, those qualities work really well here and build up to a stunning and satisfying journey that left me feeling warm and hopeful.
Added points for being one of those rare books that made me tear up. This lady ain’t a crier, so props.
An entrancing mix of climate-change fiction with a poignant study of a damaged and beautiful woman’s journey of survival. A bird-lover’s book of wonder and pain.
WOW, just wow! Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy is profoundly moving. It’s a story about the search for the meaning in life, of love and of loss. The writing is achingly beautiful- the characters are flawed but realistically drawn and ultimately human. The environment and our impact on it is at center stage, a character all its own and it is heartbreakingly powerful. The story is sad, devastatingly so, but I can’t recommend this book enough. Just stunning. It is a must read!
For the first three-quarters of this book, I only liked it and probably would have given it three stars. But that last quarter made the entire read worthwhile.
It’s a post-apocalyptic novel (not one of my favorite genres, especially having just completed 2020) where more pronounced global warming has propelled humans further down their selfish path of disregarding earth’s other species. At the start of the book, protagonist Franny Stone is someone with strong wanderlust but little interest in living. With so many bird species already extinct, she is desperate to get aboard a fishing vessel in Greenland, hoping to follow the migratory path of the few remaining Arctic terns. Deeply damaged by her past and desperately missing her husband — Franny nevertheless feels compelled to make this journey. She finally convinces a fishing boat captain to take her along, promising him that the terns will lead them all to a bountiful catch.
As the journey progresses, readers slowly discover Franny’s own story. Her intense relationship with her mother, an absent father, a grandmother in Australia who appeared to care little for her, and the strange story of how she meets her husband Niall. There’s also the unfolding story of Franny’s relationships with the others on the fishing boat — all of whom initially resent her presence.
Over time, relationships change, secrets are revealed (including a prison sentence) and multiple deaths occur. It also turns out that following migrating terns is NOT Franny’s true reason for making this trip. And along the way, she comes to understand deep truths about herself, and learns more about the nature of love, friendship, and sacrifice. Until finally discovering that, despite many losses, there are still reasons to live.
Migrations or as it’s known in Australia, The Last Migration is an incredibly moving novel.
The world’s animal species have plummeted dramatically and Franny, a young woman is intent on tracking the last of the Artic Terns from the Arctic to the Antarctica, possibly the last of the birds’ harrowing migration. Along the way, Franny convinces a gnarly fishing Captain with promises of fish if he takes her along to follow the bird. Fishing has all but died and fishermen will do anything to keep their livelihood going despite the fact that most of the sea has been fished out. The journey is tough and Franny’s own search for a missing mother and the unfolding story of her life is emotional and touching.
The journey of the Artic tern said to be the longest migration of any species in the world was made the more fascinating when I took a trip myself. Imagine my surprise when I visited a wildlife reserve on Phillip Island, an hour and half south of Melbourne and saw a sign telling me about the breeding grounds of Artic Terns. There were none there when I visited so I guess, they’re still on the homeward stretch although there were plenty of other birds. And somehow this book seemed extra special to me after seeing where their journey will end.
‘I’m not sure when I first started dreaming of the passage, or when it became as much a part of me as the instinct for breath. I haven’t cultivated it myself; it swallowed me whole. At first an impossible, foolish fantasy: the notion of securing a place on a fishing vessel and having its captain carry me as far south as he is able; the idea of following the migration of a bird, the longest natural migration of any living creature. But a will is a powerful thing, and mine has been called terrible.’
And while the bird’s migration and the world which the author has foreseen is fascinating, the story of Franny, her mother, her loss, her husband and how she dealt with trauma was so incredibly well done. The water, the cold, the desolation was beautifully depicted. Each character, including each crew member of the boat was well drawn but Franny a complex character was the one who I was with the whole way.
‘I asked Niall once what he thought happened to us after we die, and he said nothing, only decomposition, only evaporation. I asked him what he thought it meant for our lives, for how we spend them, for what they mean. He said our lives mean nothing except as a cycle of regeneration, that we are incomprehensively brief sparks, just as the animals are, that we are no more important that they are, no more worthy of life than any living creature. That in our self-importance, in our search for meaning, we have forgotten how to share the planet that gave us life.’
Themes of love, loss, survival and hope are compelling and bit by bit a moving yet gripping story slowly emerges to climax with an incredible ending.
Yes! This one I really, really loved. I think you might too.