I’m always buying books, and sometimes they get lost on my Kindle app. Recently I found one I’d bought back in December but hadn’t read. It was well worth the wait, but why not sooner? I have no good answer for that. I’m just glad I finally took the time to read it!
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy is an extraordinary debut novel about a woman with a passion for birds. Franny Stone is determined to follow the migration of the Arctic tern, a bird that flies from the north pole to the south every year, but which is endangered. She talks her way onto a fishing boat, promising that as she tracks the birds, she will find fish for the crew whose livelihood has been decimated by climate change. NOTE: The story is set sometime in the future, but close enough to present to be uncomfortable.
As the boat heads out to sea looking for fish, Franny’s background is carefully unspooled by the author. We learn about her marriage and her need to be on the run at all times, breaking the heart of her loyal husband who loves her exactly as she is. We learn she is a troubled soul with a startling past. And, at the end, we learn the real reason for her journey, not the one she states early on (which is troubled enough).
As I was reading, I thought I had it all figured out. I was wrong. Well, not totally. I guessed correctly at some of it, but the journey there brought me to an unexpected place.
Migrations is a haunting book that will stay with me for some time. Enjoy!
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Also, please consider purchasing one or more of my books. The Factory Girl and the Fey, a historical fantasy, is coming this fall, so stay tuned for more details! For more info on my contemporary women’s fiction, click here.