I was ecstatic when I was approved for Maja Lunde’s The End of the Ocean on NetGalley. (Thanks, HarperCollins!) Aside from having a gorgeous cover, the description was so intriguing — especially for a greenie like myself. (NOTE: My understanding is this book is #2 in Maja Lunde’s Climate Quartet series.)

The journeys of Signe and David are split between 2017 and 2041; furthermore, during two very different points in each of their lives. Signe is in her late 60s, having lived a rather single life as an eco-activist/journalist, and David is a newly single father holding out hope to be reunited with his wife and baby son while caring for a young daughter during a horrific drought. The two timelines themselves are a chilling prospect considering 2041 is really not such a far way off. As an Environmental Management major, Lunde’s novel spoke deeply to my heart.

I believe this is an important novel for the times with likable characters, an intriguing plot, and well worth a read when it is published. For both Signe’s and David’s stories, you wonder, how did they get there? Likewise, it forces you to consider, how can we keep ourselves from getting to that point, as well?

This book uses duelling timelines to emphasize the significance water plays in our lives and how we take it for granted. In 2019 we meet Signe who relives and confronts her past that was spent among the fjords and glaciers of Norway until urban development changed everything. In an apocalyptic 2041 David and his daughter Lou are refugees trying to find a place that still has water but instead finds the boat that gives them hope and connects them all through time. 

I really enjoyed that this book was set in the present and near future. It makes you stop and think about how seemingly ordinary and insignificant things we are doing now are going to affect the next generation. I do think that the story could benefit from more background information in David's parts as there is never any real explanation as to how things got so bad. I kept expecting some kind of connection between the company who destroyed Signe's town and the apocalyptic drought conditions to be revealed but nothing ever came of it. David's character was also pretty one dimensional and I never formed any sort of connection to him even though I felt his storyline had more potential. 

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book.

This is a heartbreaking work that, while fiction, is all too relevant in current times with discussions of climate chance. Which is part of what makes it so important.

The story takes place in two different times - 2017 and 2041, and in 2041, the man and his daughter who are the main characters in that portion of the story are without true rain for a number of years, and are climate refugees. I enjoyed reading about all of the different relationships in this story, and I would recommend it, even if it only partially sparks an interest. I do not want to give too much away, but I will say she has a strong grasp on storytelling and language, both of which elevate and make more enjoyable this difficult topic. This book has made me want to go out in search of her first book, which I have seen in bookshops but have not yet read.

On a superficial note, the cover that appears on this e-Galley is beautiful, too.

Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the chance to read this book!

The End of The Ocean was so intriguing on netgalley that I prayed I was granted an ARC.  I doubt I will explain  the premise succinctly so please read the official blurb.  .  This book deals with such serious issues that will cause you to be forever changed after reading it.  You will feel despair and hopelessness on how the earth is being treated and destroyed.  This is not a fairytale; it is foreshadowing on what will happen if we don’t change how we treat our planet.  It will destroy any preconceived notions you have about climate change, the destruction the earth is facing and the repercussions humans will face sometime in the not far future.  Yes, it is a work of fiction but you will read it as non-fiction and even a biography of Signe and David.  You will feel their despair and loss in your soul.  I feel like everyone should read this book since climate change is one of the most important sociopolitical issues in the world right now.  This book will open your eyes and heart...and maybe light a spark of action to anyone who reads it. I was granted an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.