Migrations ~ Charlotte McConaghy (48 of 2024)

 

There is nothing so disturbing as a creature born to flight being bound to dull lifelessness.

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A nameless sadness, the fading away of the birds. The fading away of the animals. How lonely it will be here, when it’s just us.

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.

This dystopian story spans Australia, Ireland, Antarctica, and all realms of the heart in between. The main character, Franny, seems to unravel as the pages go on. Her tale is told in real time and in flashbacks. Her marriage to Niall is heartbreaking, with one of the central dichotomies being loving, wandering, and leaving. There are truly unexpected twists and turns that left me breathless. It's wrenching to read but ultimately cathartic and triumphant.

She’s frozen and her tent has blown away but after six days Fran has finally banded her third. Her intention is to follow the migration of Arctic terns as they flee their breeding ground in Greenland and head to their winter quarters in the Antarctic Circle. These birds complete the longest migration of any animal and they complete it twice each year, as they’ll head back again in around six months. Their annual milage is calculated to be in excess of forty thousand miles and it can take up to three months to complete each journey. Fran plans to track them on her laptop.  An arctic expedition and a murder mystery too. Exquisite writing and brilliant plot all in 272 pages.