Book Review: The End We Start From by Megan Hunter

A sparse, emotional, poetic novella contrasting the devastation from climate change with the promise of new life.

This was a strange little book and an odd reading experience. Set in the present day, an unnamed narrator has just given birth as London is experiencing catastrophic flooding. Conditions become increasingly dire and she, her husband R and baby Z are forced to evacuate their apartment. (One of the first oddities about this novel is that all the characters are only identified by their first initial.) They live in their car, then a refugee camp, and the sense of panic and despair is palpable. All the while, Z continues to grow and meet all of his developmental milestones.

The contrast between the utter loss of life and the growth and promise of a new one is well done, as are the themes of self-reliance and community. Hunter's writing is sparse, emotional, and poetic. There's a detachment from the characters (maybe because of only knowing their first initials) but you do care about them and what happens to them.

At only 136 pages, this is definitely a book that can be read in one sitting. I would not recommend audio. I started it on audio but the narrator speaks in a bit of a monotone —probably to reflect the shell-shocked nature of the fictional narrator, which makes sense—but it was hard to follow. Print was better and helped me get more into the story.

It's hard to rate this. On one hand, I really didn't like not knowing the characters' full names. That was a bit annoying. And sometimes the prose would feel a little lofty. But the story itself was extremely relatable and very timely given climate change and all that we've gone through with the pandemic. I really liked Megan Hunter's novel, The Harpy (published in 2020) and think she is a writer to watch. 3.5 of 5 stars.

The End We Start From by Megan Hunter
Grove Atlantic
2017