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Start giftingMigrations
A Novel
Bookseller recommendation
“Set in an all-too-plausible near future dealing with the devastation of Anthropocene extinction, Migrations follows Franny as she talks her way on to a fishing vessel, set on tracking the last Arctic terns on their final migration to the Antarctic. McConaghy’s prose is icy and beautiful, cutting through the North Atlantic as well as Franny’s troubling past. This book is gorgeous!”
— Julia • Boulder Book Store
Bookseller recommendation
“Franny Stone is a broken person and a wanderer, haunted by her past in a near future world experiencing the sixth extinction. A lover of birds, she sets out to follow some of the last arctic terns on what is likely their last migration, gaining passage on a fishing boat searching for one more harvest. The eclectic crew is weary at first but takes Franny and her mission on, following the path of the birds and learning more of her past and secrets on their journey south. An atmospheric novel on climate, this will appeal to lovers of internal struggles reflected in the natural world.”
— Rachel • Brilliant Books Audio
Bookseller recommendation
“Franny has always longed to be like a bird—free, wandering wherever she likes. In a future world where most animal species have become extinct, her last wish is to follow a flock of Arctic Terns along their last migration—from North Pole to South. She talks her way onto a commercial fishing boat named for the Raven and faces a treacherous journey alongside the crew. But while the sailors aim to take more than their share of the ocean’s remaining fish, all Franny wants is to give—to the nature that has sustained her, to the nature that has died at human hands. A heart-wrenching tale, Migrations roars like the reckless waves of the sea.”
— Mary • Raven Book Store
Bookseller recommendation
“Migrations is an unusual and amazing story – a bit of a modern Moby Dick. Franny is broken and adrift after years of searching for a sense of her troubled life and hope for our planet. Animals are extinct, except possibly a few Arctic Terns who Franny is determined to follow. The crew on the Saghani adds great depth to the story. Lovely prose especially of nature and expertly placed flashbacks of Franny’s past troubles adds just the right amount of suspense and insight to Franny’s determination. Don’t peak, but…the ending is perfect.”
— Karin • Bookworm of Edwards
Bookseller recommendation
“Imagine a world where almost all the animals have disappeared. Imagine a love strong enough to believe it can make a difference. In a fragile, near-future world, author Charlotte McConaghy gives us Franny Stone, a character as wild and broken as the few remaining Arctic terns she is determined to follow on what will most likely be their last migration. Franny’s quest is as epic as Captain Ahab’s, and while it leaves much destruction in its wake, it is ultimately a quest toward life. Migrations is a book so beautiful it will leave you breathless. Breathless with cold despair, and breathless with pulsating life and hope. This is a truly stunning debut.”
— Lisa Swayze • Buffalo Street Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Set in a world that is possibly our near future, where animals, birds and fish have been driven to extinction by global warming and human consumption, Franny Stone is desperate to follow the last migration of Arctic terns as they head south from Greenland. She persuades the captain of a small fishing boat to take her on as a crew member, convincing him that the terns will lead them to the elusive fish he’s hunting. She must reject her own morals about fishing to follow the terns. And along the way, her past is uncovered and the crew put to risk; they themselves become the hunted. There is something haunting in this story, something unforgettable. This comes from the beauty of the language in opposition to the stark realities of a world where so much of what we love is simply gone. Franny speaks for many of us. What might we do to escape our past? And, more importantly, can we find a way to keep love alive in the face of tragedy?”
— Sarah • Loganberry Books
"Seasoned narrator Kreinik showcases her prowess as a dialect coach as she embodies McConaghy’s vast cast...With deft agility, Kreinik guides McConaghy’s spectacular Moby Dick-esque journey towards an all-too imminent dystopia in which humanity faces a future alone." -- Booklist, starred review
* INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER *
"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)
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.
A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books
"Migrations is a nervy and well-crafted novel, one that lingers long after its voyage is over. It’s a story about our mingling sorrows, both personal and global, and the survivor’s guilt that will be left in their wake." - New York Times Book Review
"True and affecting, elegiac and imminent...The fractured timeline fills each chapter with suspense and surprises, parceled out so tantalizingly that it took disciplined willpower to keep from skipping down each page to see what happens...Ultimately hopeful." - The Washington Post
“Thrilling…In piecing together who this mysterious protagonist really is, McConaghy creates a detailed portrait of a woman on the cusp of collapse, consumed with a world that is every bit as broken as she is.” - TIME
Charlotte McConaghy is the New York Times bestselling author of Once There Were Wolves and Migrations, which are being translated into more than twenty languages. She is based in Sydney, Australia.
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