The End and Everything Before It
Finegan Kruckemeyer
Emma watched her mother’s kayak disappear among icebergs in the Arctic Sea. Six years later, her brother, who had not spoken since their mother was lost, warns Emma of the curse of death that she brought to anyone who looked on her face—before tragedy befalls him too.
Emma consigns herself to a solitary life at sea, where she can do no more harm. After years alone, she is mysteriously drawn to land. And she docks at an island, afraid of what her arrival might mean for the welcoming man and his daughter waving from the jetty.
But who knows where our stories begin and end or how they are entwined? Who knows whether now, on the island, she begins a new tale—or takes a role in a story that began generations ago with a feast in the forest, or a chest of gold coins plunged into the sea, or an orphan in a bookshop beguiled by an elusive and troubled woman?
Finegan Kruckemeyer’s astonishing debut,The End and Everything Before It, is a sweeping, joyous novel about love, loss and the power of stories—an uplifting journey into our deepest humanity.
andThe End and Everything Before It
‘This magical book honours the miracle of how people make people who become precious just to their chosen kin, just for a little while—before life continues on and sweeps us all along in its wake. It’s filled with a gentle acknowledgement of how we each suffer alone, but is also suffused with hope at how even the worst kinds of grief can be survived through loving connections with others. Bursting with wisdom and poetry, this novel reminds us that storytelling is a moral force—and a salve to every lost soul.’
‘Hibernation is witty, intriguing, poetic and full of energising provocations. It refreshes our thinking.’
‘Tender, lyrical, funny, devastating, The End and Everything Before It is a map of the miracles great and small that make up our lives.’
‘Five stars. The writing is sharp, elegant, witty and world class…I was entertained, outraged, moved and provoked by this exciting new work by a playwright whose voice will echo around the world.’
‘Kruckemeyer creates a world that is almost hypnotic…At play’s end, the layered tales resolve and the work moves into the objective once more, tying up like a symphony.’
