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Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

Migrations

A Novel

by Charlotte McConaghy
  • BookBrowse Review:
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Aug 4, 2020, 272 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Jul 2021, 288 pages
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Reviews

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There are currently 52 reader reviews for Migrations
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Penny P. (Santa Barbara, CA)

Migrations
I put off reading this book because of the uncertain times we are facing. Once I stated reading it I found it to be captivating. Very scary at time, as it addresses rel situations we are facing such as climate change and extinction of species.
Fanny was a modern day hero with issues in her own past. She dealt with her issues and tried to help others on a ship bound journey to follow the migration.
I found this to be a very interesting and informative book and I will recommend it to my book club.
Power Reviewer
Suzanne G. (Tucson, AZ)

Many migrations
This novel is one of the better books that I've read in a long time; it even may be a look into our environmental future. Franny with her migrations is moving from one interesting and eventful situation to another. Always there is a surprise when she reaches the ending of a migration. I'm hoping Migrations will receive many honors. It is a special book.
Melissa S. (Rowland, NC)

Migrations
I agree with one reviewer of Charlotte McConaghy's novel Migrations in that it is a "deeply moving and consistently unsettling novel, both personal and global." From the first page, Franny Stone reveals just enough about herself and the environment to know something is tragically wrong with both. Broken proves a dominant theme of this novel. Throughout Franny's mission to follow the migration of the world's last flock of Artic Terns, the reader discovers, bit by bit, Franny is a destroyer. She wrecks everything and everyone she touches. Franny romanticizes that her "wandering" nature is an inherent trait passed from her mother and her mother before that. However, when examined closer, one can see her wandering, and resulting emotional destruction, comes not from a gene passed through the generations, but rather a horrifically tragic event. Her life is one big lie, both to herself and those around her.

Even though McConaghy's novel is a page turner that kept me reading too late many nights, I found myself not liking Franny at all. I feel she is supposed to be the sympathetic victim we are to root for and fall in love with, but I'm not sold. In life, we are all responsible for our actions. No matter how horrible the cards we are dealt, we have a responsibility to protect others, even if it's from ourselves. I found irony in the fact that she felt so deeply about the animals going extinct, but did little to save the people she loved from herself. Now, I had moments of weakness when Franny was bluntly honest (in retrospect) and bared her soul to show the workings within. In those moments, my heart truly hurt for her. I could see her as a little injured bird, so fragile the slightest disruptions may end her life right then and there.

McConaghy's prose throughout the novel is as rhythmic as the ocean Franny sails, and Franny's emotions are as volatile as the storms that rage on that same sea. In many ways, the Terns and Franny live the same life and, in the end, the Terns bring her back.
Kay K. (Oshkosh, WI)

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
This may be my favorite book this year! Beautiful language describing hope and despair in a future world that has lost most of its wild life. As Franny navigates her own last migration following the last migratory bird, the Arctic Tern, her life and love unfolds through her letters to Niall and her relationship with the crew of the Saghani. Her journey is harrowing and heroic. Spirits in despair can find each other, form a bond and save each other.
Power Reviewer
Viqui G. (State College, PA)

Migrations
It has been awhile since I read a book that thoroughly captured me, but with "Migrations" I found that delight in reading again. The protagonist, Franny Stone, is intense, honest with herself and others and yet flawed in some ways. She is a very believable heroine. Her passion for all living things, especially birds, is all encompassing. However, her relationship with humans is complicated.

Franny's world is changing quickly; many of her beloved birds are becoming rapidly rare and even extinct. The reader follows Franny as she attempts to follow migrating terns to Antarctica. Along the way we learn about her past life and what made Franny the passionate and complicated woman that she is. If you want a great read with a lot of nuanced characters READ THIS NOVEL!
Gary R. (Bolingbrook, IL)

We are a plague on the world!
Wow! What a good read. At first I thought it would be a little bit depressing for these days: Mass extinction, climate disruption, the end of the wild. But no, not at all! The story of Franny and her search for the last of the arctic terns was engrossing. Had me hooked and wouldn't let go.Franny enlist the captain and crew of the Saghani to help her follow the migration of the last of the arctic terns. Franny has some motives of her own and a bit of a dark past, and I won't say any more you just have to read it! Another gem delivered by BookBrowse by a new author to me!
Mary H. (Ocala, FL)

Incredible!
In the not too distant future, all the wild animals are extinct, the oceans are overfished to depletion and only a few Arctic terns remain of the thousands of avian species that once flew in the skies over Planet Earth. This is the setting for Charlotte McConaghy's superb new novel Migrations.

We follow the main character, Franny Lynch, on her journey to track the last Arctic terns on their final migration. Franny is a memorable character--self-destructive and passionate with a genetic predisposition to wander. From the time she convinces a sea captain to use his fishing vessel to track the terns, Migrations quickly becomes a wild adventure story. Under that excitement, however, we hear the drumbeat of extinction--not only for the birds but for the entire planet and all its inhabitants.

This is a beautifully written novel. The author presents a clear vision of what we can expect when unlimited greed and total disregard for our universal interconnectedness are allowed free rein. Highly recommended.
Arlene I. (Johnston, RI)

Definitely a BookClub Read...
Perfect novel for today's discussions about climate control and wildlife extention. The characters were well-written and developed throughout the story. The main character, Franny, was obsessive and determined in her manipulation to achieve a tribute to her husband, Niall. Throughout her journey, she is haunted by her past traumas. The imagery was well-written and it made the reader feel they were actually on this ship journey with the crew experiencing the rough seas and human toll. The ending was a surprise for me. This is a book I would highly recommend and it is sure to be a bookclub favorite. So many facets for discussion.

Beyond the Book:
  The Arctic Tern

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