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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The storytelling feels like one of those bittersweet, philosophic, meandering conversations with a friend while drunk on sleep and the sound of the sea. Fugue-like and surreal, it dances between past and present, set in a dreary world that’s lost half its ecosystem to global warming and man-made disasters. The writing is compelling because of how it blends genres and moods — climate-fiction, academia, poeticism, mystery, thrill.
I do, however, fear this is one of those cases where the prose carried me through, while the plot was neglected for the aesthetic. As many others point out, the narrator, Franny, is totally obscure, wandering wherever the waters take her just because it’s “in her nature,” and revealing herself to us in vague bits in pieces. I appreciate how her aimlessness mirrors the migrations the book is named for — it’s wonderfully thematic. Yet it also causes the plot to drag, withholding critical information about her character from us until the very end, making the journey unnecessarily tedious.
The novel has environmental themes, but it’s clearly intended to be about its characters. Franny spends the book on a commercial fishing boat, humanizing the fishermen even as they carelessly chase the “golden catch” among the last of the fish. Sadly, I really felt that these relationships lacked substance, and it’s a shame we didn’t get to know Franny beyond her self-destructive tendencies. Her constant bleariness and non-commitment detracted from the landscape, adding an artificial edginess and a series of questionable plot points to a landscape that could have mesmerized and chilled readers on its own.
In all, “Migrations” is a haunting ode to life and existentialism, supported by its striking prose. I would’ve loved for the book to discuss more about the ecological impact and social consequence of the mass extinctions, but the real story here is Franny’s chaotic slice of life, centered on deep-seated trauma and generational woes.
Book breakdown 📖
• CHARACTER - 2.0 - Lacks substance and clarity until the book’s end
• PLOT - 3.0 - Intriguing premise, but unreliable narration used too heavily for shock value
• SETTING - 3.5 - Environment feels inconsequential, still has a poignant ambiance
• STYLE - 5.0 - Thoughtful, striking, poetic; prose carries the story
• THEME - 4.0 - Cyclical migration patterns, wanderlust, love of the sea
I do, however, fear this is one of those cases where the prose carried me through, while the plot was neglected for the aesthetic. As many others point out, the narrator, Franny, is totally obscure, wandering wherever the waters take her just because it’s “in her nature,” and revealing herself to us in vague bits in pieces. I appreciate how her aimlessness mirrors the migrations the book is named for — it’s wonderfully thematic. Yet it also causes the plot to drag, withholding critical information about her character from us until the very end, making the journey unnecessarily tedious.
The novel has environmental themes, but it’s clearly intended to be about its characters. Franny spends the book on a commercial fishing boat, humanizing the fishermen even as they carelessly chase the “golden catch” among the last of the fish. Sadly, I really felt that these relationships lacked substance, and it’s a shame we didn’t get to know Franny beyond her self-destructive tendencies. Her constant bleariness and non-commitment detracted from the landscape, adding an artificial edginess and a series of questionable plot points to a landscape that could have mesmerized and chilled readers on its own.
In all, “Migrations” is a haunting ode to life and existentialism, supported by its striking prose. I would’ve loved for the book to discuss more about the ecological impact and social consequence of the mass extinctions, but the real story here is Franny’s chaotic slice of life, centered on deep-seated trauma and generational woes.
Book breakdown 📖
• CHARACTER - 2.0 - Lacks substance and clarity until the book’s end
• PLOT - 3.0 - Intriguing premise, but unreliable narration used too heavily for shock value
• SETTING - 3.5 - Environment feels inconsequential, still has a poignant ambiance
• STYLE - 5.0 - Thoughtful, striking, poetic; prose carries the story
• THEME - 4.0 - Cyclical migration patterns, wanderlust, love of the sea
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
emotional
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So I think an important caveat is that this isn’t a book about climate change - the author does no worldbuilding to make any of the consequences of disappeared livestock, animals, etc real - instead it’s pretty much exactly like our world in a way that I think is a bit problematic if calling it a futuristic climate change impact type story.
Now - if you said it’s about a very unwell woman dealing with her own climates changing due to both internal and external forces, I think you’d be spot on.
The MC is wild. The plotting is messy and so unbelievable (yes, even in this dystopia type setting) that it’s hard to take her journey seriously. I didn’t feel the pain or sympathy I think we are meant to feel because it wasn’t til the last third you even get any idea of what exactly she’s grieving amidst the crumbs you are given in the jumping timeline.
But even with those big caveats - the writing is there, and the ride was entertaining enough in its twists and turns that I’m glad I picked this up.
Now - if you said it’s about a very unwell woman dealing with her own climates changing due to both internal and external forces, I think you’d be spot on.
The MC is wild. The plotting is messy and so unbelievable (yes, even in this dystopia type setting) that it’s hard to take her journey seriously. I didn’t feel the pain or sympathy I think we are meant to feel because it wasn’t til the last third you even get any idea of what exactly she’s grieving amidst the crumbs you are given in the jumping timeline.
But even with those big caveats - the writing is there, and the ride was entertaining enough in its twists and turns that I’m glad I picked this up.
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes