Review: The End We Start From

Title: The End We Start From
Author: Megan Hunter
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: November 7, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

An indelible and elemental debut–a lyrical vision of the strangeness and beauty of new motherhood, and a tale of endurance in the face of unimaginable change. In the midst of a mysterious environmental crisis, as London is submerged below flood waters, a woman gives birth to her first child, Z. Days later, the family is forced to leave their home in search of safety. As they move from place to place, shelter to shelter, their journey traces both fear and wonder as Z’s small fists grasp at the things he sees, as he grows and stretches, thriving and content against all the odds. This is a story of new motherhood in a terrifying setting: a familiar world made dangerous and unstable, its people forced to become refugees. Startlingly beautiful, Megan Hunter’s The End We Start From is a gripping novel that paints an imagined future as realistic as it is frightening. And yet, though the country is falling apart around them, this family’s world—of new life and new hope—sings with love.

Review:

I read many good reviews for this book on other book blogs, so I wanted to read it too. It is a very original story.

It reminded me a lot of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. The world is in an unidentified crisis. The narrator’s house has been flooded and supplies are limited. There is no more internet. Everything in the world unravels around her but she stays grounded through her son.

I like how the story shows the woman’s tough journey through motherhood that coincides with this new world. Though she is always comparing things to what she used to know, her son, Z, will only know this new world.

This story has a beautiful lyrical quality to it. The narrator’s voice is interspersed with excerpts of human origin stories from mythology or religion. It reflects the way that this is her son’s own origin story, in this new world.

I really enjoyed this story. I recommend it if you want to read something short and poetic.

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett