Franny Stone is a woman with an obsession that she will follow to the death.

When we meet her she is in windswept Greenland during nesting season, braving the elements to tag birds, Arctic terns. She manages to tag three. She wants to follow them, on what might be their last migration, in a world where so many other species have already disappeared.

She is looking for a boat and a crew she can influence, to follow the birds, because they will lead these fishermen to where the fish are -they are also disappearing and this profession is in danger, both from humans wanting to stop them and by governments who want to ban their activities. Frannie doesn’t support them, but she needs them, so compromises her beliefs to pursue her obsession.

His vessel is one of the last legally certified to fish for Atlantic herring, and he does so with a crew of seven.

As they journey following the red dot tracker of the bird, her own story, character and the mystery surrounding her is slowly revealed.

I decided to follow a bird over an ocean. Maybe I was hoping it would lead me to where they’d all fled, all those of its kind, all the creatures we thought we’d killed. Maybe I thought I’d discover whatever cruel thing drove me to leave people and places and everything, always. Or maybe I was just hoping the bird’s final migration would show me a place to belong.

Chapters flick back and forward between places she has inhabited, people she has known: Ireland with her mother, Australia with an unloving grandmother, jail time, a box that reveals information about her father, letters to her husband Niall, a man we don’t know what happened to. Clues are dropped throughout the narrative, as she continues a dangerous journey.

After nearly losing one crew member they pull in to port for medical help, met by angry protestors. It is unsure whether they can continue on their mission.

I admit I found it difficult to believe that a young woman could convince the tough crew of one of the last fishing boats to accept her suggestion to follow the blinking light of a few birds, over the knowledge and intentions of an experienced captain.

It was difficult to suspend belief, particularly as the more we come to know about her as a character, the less it seemed she was capable was influencing their decisions.

It becomes clear that she is chasing more than just a flight path, as her dark secrets are revealed.

Speculative Eco Fiction
It has been described as a hybrid novel, ‘both an adventure story and a piece of speculative climate fiction’, personally I’d call it mystery and adventure set in a not too distant future, when more species are extinct and there is a greater sense of urgency and violent activism to prevent those seen as contributing towards it.

Asked about the inspiration for writing the novel, Charlotte McConaghy said:

Toni Morrison said ‘If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.’ And this book was like that for me. It just felt necessary for me to engage with this climate crisis in a personal, intimate way, to write about something that’s breaking my heart.

I enjoyed it, though it wasn’t a stand out novel for me.

Any book that comes with a recommendation from Emily St John Mandel goes straight to the top of my TBR pile & this was another utterly brilliant read. Wrenchingly beautiful & completely haunting, this book left me gasping for breath. The MC is complicated, flawed & unreliable in all the best ways. A vivid, thought-provoking work - read it!

Set in a future where humans have not been able to stop mass extinction of countless species of animals, Franny sets out to follow the last migration of arctic terns. The story is told on different time levels but it’s easy to follow how they interlock.

Franny is a woman with a complicated and untold history. A history of restlessness, the need to wander and connect, the need to find her missing mother and the need to follow the migration pattern of the birds who fascinate her so much.

This is a story of being lost, about finding, about love, passion, wandering, friendship and most of all about the need to protect our planet and all the creatures we share it with.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book- so much, in fact, that I bought the already released US print ahead of the UK publication. This is a book of its time and has made me think a lot about conservation efforts, and climate change.

And I’m beyond happy to read that the book will be adapted for the screen!

Franny Stone has just caught and tagged three Artic Terns. They are believed to be nearly extinct, along with most of the birds in the world. Her hope is to find a fishing boat who will allow her to track these birds on their migration to their Antarctica feeding ground. With the waters all nearly fished out, she has one hope of a skipper who might just be happy to follow them and have the golden haul of fish when they reach their destination.
The above paragraph is a very simplistic description of this book but it is just so much more that I can not begin to describe.
It’s about a woman lost and running from and to something. A woman who has experienced great love and sadness and the world on the brink of environmental wildlife disaster and yet this book has so much hope.....
Told in past and present terms, I found it very melancholic, yet wonderfully uplifting and hopeful.
It is a wake up call for the world we live in.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy to read, although I chose to listen to the audiobook via my library.

Absolutely stunning novel. A deeply complex character within a melancholic but also hopeful story of a woman's journey. This is without a doubt the book of the year for me and I will try to recommend it to anyone who loves great writing.

What a great find! I loved this book and it was completely my cup of tea in terms of fiction dealing with conservation issues. It is like nothing I have read before. I was instantly hooked and it is a real page turner. I found the writing a little clunky at times though - it could have perhaps done with another edit. But it didn't matter because the characters and plot were spellbinding. It was very well researched - I highlighted several notes of personal interest. I will purchase a physical copy so I can reread it! I can't wait to see it published and hope it sells well :)

Set in the not-too-distant future, The Last Migration explores a world in which climate change has done irreparable damage and driven many animal populations across the globe to near or absolute extinction. The novel’s protagonist, Franny, haunted by a mysterious, dark past and driven by the search for her missing mother, is determined to follow what could be the final migration of the last living Arctic Terns.

Over the course of this story, the reader is transported from Greenland, across the crashing Atlantic Ocean to the diminishing ice of the Antarctic. Charlotte expertly crafts each location with descriptions so vivid you can practically feel the sharp sting of each splash of frigid seawater, the bite of the cold against your fingertips and nose.

Just as cutting is the raw emotion with which Franny’s story unfolds. There’s no doubt that she’s a complicated, disturbed individual. There are gnarled scars from childhood and fresher wounds that haven’t fully healed that drive Franny forward on her dangerous mission and will make your heart ache for her. Her personal torment is interwoven with the tragedy of a dying planet and mass extinction to tell a truly engrossing, thought provoking tale of desperation and despair.

I was incredibly impressed by Charlotte’s debut adult literary fiction title and would love to read more from her in the future.

Such an unusual and beautiful novel.
The writing is luscious - both raw and haunting.
Franny is on a quest to follow the Arctic terns on their migration. She must persuade a ship’s captain - Ennis - to allow her to join the crew in their pursuit (they want the fish that the terns will lead them to).
But Franny is a damaged and wandering spirit with a fractured past that we come to know as the novel criss-crosses past and present.
This felt a little disjointed at first, but if you go with it, you’ll be hooked.
Beautifully conceived and written. Highly recommended.

This is a story about the extreme precariousness and preciousness of life and the damage man inflicts on the natural world and its life forms. Impressive and thought-proking.

My thanks to Netgalley and Chatto & Windus, Random House UK, Vintage Publishing for the ARC.

Charlotte McConaghy writes a phenomenal, unmissable, and original novel, emotionally charged, tragic, harrowing, haunting, an ode to the wonders of our natural world, set in the near future, an environment devastated and degraded by the impact of climate change, the mass animal kingdom extinctions and the hugely depleted seas and oceans. It charts the flawed and damaged Franny Stone's epic journey following the last migration of the Arctic terns to the Antarctic. Franny was born with wanderlust running through her veins, an ancient inheritance, that takes her to Tasiilaq in Greenland persuading a fishing vessel Captain Ennis Malone to let her travel on the Saghani with him and his broken and vulnerable crew. Malone is a desperate man, embarking on one last fishing mission for a elusive fishing catch before fishing is banned.

Arctic terns are known for their abilities to seek out large fish shoals, and it is for this reason that Franny is allowed to board the boat, to begin the most dangerous and perilous of journeys. The narrative goes back and forth in time in what seems like a chaotic, non-linear manner, slowly revealing Franny's traumatic personal history at various periods of her life, from childhood, being abandoned, to her marriage to ornithologist, Niall Lynch, burdened by the secrets buried deep within her, the sorrows, the tricky nature of love, and her passion for the sea. Additionally, we learn of the backstories of the crew members, with whom Franny forms close bonds after initial problems. In this story of survival, we learn the truth of Fran, an incredibly complex character, unreliable, vulnerable, fragile, plagued by insomnia and nightmares, writing letters she never posts, yet with a strong inner core of determination and courage.

McConaghy novel carries a melancholic, unvarnished and raw picture of a future that carries the grim horrors to come if the world ignores the warnings to be found in our contemporary realities and fails to act. The last migration of the Arctic terns, is echoed in a Fran and the past she carries within her and within the fractured, damaged and self destructive humanity that inhabits our planet. In this profoundly moving read, McConaghy's prose is lyrical, poetic and intensely atmospheric, and thankfully, concludes on a note of hope and resilience. This is a must read novel that I hope attracts the widest possible readership that it so deserves. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Random House Vintage for an ARC.

An emotionally intense book touching on both a physical and emotional journey and an evolution of spirit that is achingly raw, and breathtakingly relatable in places. Alien in others, which makes it all the better.
The book transcends description in places - an amazing read that I have to recommend to everyone.

This book has stayed with me long after reading, and I'll be discussing it in-depth on my blog later. I need to read it again. And will.

4.5
The Last Migration by Charlotte McConaghy is a book full of hope, hope of finding animal life and something to live for.
Reading this book is also a scary experience. It's scary to read about what we are doing to the animals and the world. Although I already knew the consequences of our actions, it was scary to read about them, because the story takes place in a near future where the majority of wild life is extinct.

I've read reviews stating the main character was unlikable and unrelatable, but I disagree. Her thoughts and actions may be hard for some readers to understand, but those thoughts are related to mental health issues and the feeling of being traped and not belonging anywhere.

I loved this book because it discusses mental health in a different way and it makes me want to dive in the ocean and wander through mountains and forests. It also reminded me how every time I saw animals trapped in a cage I wanted to set them free.

Random House UK gifted me a digital copy of The Last Migration in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my goodness. My heart!

This book is simply phenomenal. A story of a woman coming to terms with her past, her future, the future of the earth - so many themes intertwined so beautifully.

Franny is a woman with an obsession about migratory birds and finding a way to keep them from extinction, a woman who has loved and lost so many times, most of all losing her own sense of self. She makes an agreement with a fishing boat captain and his crew to follow the terns which will lead them to the fish, gradually making friends and opening up her story to us on the way.

Honestly this book was just spectacular and I would recommend anyone who likes books with themes of loss and growth to read it. I know my review is not doing this book justice but I having just finished it, I am a little bit floored to be honest!

Thanks Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book. I'll definitely be keeping an out for other books from this author.

In a world where nearly all animals are extinct Franny Stone is on a mission to follow some of the few remaining Arctic tern on their annual migration south.

All told through Franny's eyes flits back and forth from Franny's journey and episodes in her past that bought her to wanting to take on this mission. And it is a mission, without a boat Franny needs to engage the help of Ennis and his crew who are sailing one of the last fishing trawlers who are scouring the ocean in search of the elusive 'golden catch'- the last of the fish in this world is a commodity as valuable as gold.

I found it a compelling read. Franny is a complex anti-hero surrounded by a cast of interesting characters and the scenes on the trawler are particularly strong. The idea of being out on the open sea is not an attractive prospect to me and I felt that McConaghy drew the claustrophobia and even the motion of that environment very realistically. I found the cast of characters in Franny's past less fleshed out and found it difficult to connect to the romance of her marriage; it was hard to believe in the depth of her attachment to Niall in relief to what was binding her to Ennis and Franny's history as an individual felt over complicated in many ways. All in all the past felt much less vivid to the present, even though were told in present tense. The descriptive language is where the book is at it's strongest though I wouldn't class the book as literary fiction as I felt it was a bit plot heavy with very little psychological insight into the characters, even though it is a first person narrative. This is impacted by some action being neither metaphorical nor realistic and although the book drew to a neat finish that made for a satisfying reading experience it felt that some of the threads that had been set up in the past were a little too neatly tied up into that same bow without explanation.

Overall, I enjoyed the book as a page turner that explored a scary potential future and kept me hooked with some very evocative scenes and a plot which, though occasionally a bit far-fetched, was very entertaining. It would be a great book club read as there is much that encourages discussion. Any fiction that makes people consider what more we need to do to conserve our planet is important fiction in my book.

A beautiful but heartbreaking story about the lengths one woman goes to for love -- in this case literally to the ends of the earth.

While this sounds from the above that this might be corny it's the absolute opposite; while it is at it's heart a love story between two people and the impact this has on one of them and their life, it's also a story of obsession and nature.

It's one where I think it's better to know relatively little before diving in but a brief synopsis: Franny Stone is an Australian-Irish woman who grew up near Galway, however the novel opens with her in Greenland tracking Arctic terns. The birds are a dying species and Franny is determined to follow them on their "last migration".

The prose is clear and not a word is spared, with stunning descriptions of nature and an unsentimental portrayal of a relationship that shapes an entire life. Highly recommended, and I'll definitely be checking out the author's future work.

Set in the near future where more and more animals are becoming extinct, our protagonist Franny Stone, has tagged what might be the last of the Arctic terns, and is determined to follow them on what may be their final migration from Greenland to Antarctica . To do this she has to talk her way onto one of the few remaining fishing boats heading south – the Saghani (the Inuit word for Raven) and put herself in the hands of those who she see as being the part of the extinction problem, in particular the cause of fish extinction. To get their cooperation Franny has to persuade the captain, Ennis Malone, that the birds will lead the crew to fish, and maybe to a big haul.

As we journey south, and get to know the crew, Franny’s past is also slowly revealed to us in flashbacks. We are taken from Ireland to Australia and back as all her ghosts are laid bare. At the same time we see a pattern emerge of a restless wandering spirit who finds it hard to stay put in one place. Like the birds she is following, the urge to fly is one that exists at her core.

These revealed past memories and the ghosts attached to them explain, in part, her reasons for heading to the bottom of the world. “Because one way or another, when I reach Antartica and my migration is finished, I have decided to die”, she states.

What can I say about this novel? #TheLastMigration #NetGalley

This breathtakingly beautiful book is the most impressive work of fiction I have read in the last couple of years. I was moved, gripped and totally transfixed from the very first words to the end. I’m not usually that interested with books that take place at sea, but I found the scenes aboard the Saghani both psychologically gripping and believably tense: the tightness of the crew; their mistrust of Franny; their loyalty to the sea and captain. At times I was feeling every wave, almost tasting the salt in the air.

Of course this is not just a book of the sea, a book about evoking nature – indeed ,arguably most of the ‘action’ in the book happens on dry land – it is also a deeply personal and heart-breaking journey of redemption and self-love. Each flashback peels back another layer of the complex, strong willed character of Franny, someone who has become cocooned and defined by her past.

This is a book about life, compassion and the human condition, and how our failings and limitations can and will drown us if we let them. It is a book about love: love for our planet, love for oneself , and the enduring power and strength of love. And, it is a book about hope: – hope of the continued survival of species, hope of discovery and understanding, and hope of redemption.

Sadly, this book is not due to be published in the UK until early 2021. This would have been a Christmas present for a lot of people I know. Meanwhile this year’s Booker Prize Longlist will be announced in a couple of weeks. I would not be at all surprised to find Charlotte McConaghy’s book on next year’s list. It would certainly deserve to be. Book of the year.

Thanks to @netgalley and @vintagebooks for the eARC

The story starts with Franny Stone desperately trying to find a birth on a fishing boat in Greenland. She has tagged 3 birds and wants follow them across the ocean to see where they migrate each year.

Niall is a professor, Fanny is a cleaner at his university who sneaks into his lectures and becomes fascinated with his subject of birds, their migration and his belief that they will be the last living creatures to survive man’s total destruction of the habitat of all living creatures. They connect and quickly marry. The marriage is filled with love, but with Fanny longing for freedom.....Niall accepts this, let’s her go wandering knowing she will always come back.

The story flips back in years, and back again. I think dates would be easier to follow than 4 years earlier or 12 years earlier but the story moves along and is amazing in every section. I was sorry when it came to an end. A page turner for sure, I highly recommend reading it. I give it 4.5 stars

An impulsive, passionate marriage. A shocking crime. Haunted by love and violence, Franny must confront what she is really running towards – and from.
Tragic and utterly splendid, this is a novel full of passion.
Charlotte McConaghy's story is an investigation into the complex, remarkable natural world together with the humanity and compassion within human beings. This book is full of encouragement for a future that can still be restored with enough enthusiasm and mindfulness.
I want to thank Netgalley, Random HouseUK, Vintage Publishing and Charlotte McConaghy for a pre-publication copy to review.

This story is about a world which I hope we never see. Franny is living in a world where more and more animals are becoming extinct. This is a journey about personal discovery as well.. it is tragic and sad in places and beautifully written.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Dark and haunting, set in the near future and blurbed by Emily St John Mandel. Amazing. Almost perfect. Loved it.