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allthatissim 's review for:
The End We Start from
by Megan Hunter
Full review on: FLIPPING THROUGH THE PAGES
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
I read this book last month and still can't decide exactly how I feel about this book. It was confusing, weird and yet something different. There were some hidden things behind the story.
I certainly liked the style in which the story was presented. It was something different that I had never seen. I read Letter From Skye last year and quite loved it, partially because of its format. The whole book was in letters. However, [b:The End We Start From|33858905|The End We Start From|Megan Hunter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484434655s/33858905.jpg|53628450] was quite different. It was more like personal notes.. broken in between. It seems to be a unique idea but sometimes it just felt weird to read.
This story is about a dystopian era where London is suddenly submerged in water. The story is from the perspective of a young mother. She is thirty-nine weeks pregnant when she has to run to save her family from the havoc that has grasped London. She shares the experience of giving birth to her son "Z". The characters are not named in this, rather has been called just by their initials.
After the birth of Z, she flees with her husband R and takes refuge with R's parents. Even there, they are not safe and are constantly in fear about the dreaded. While the whole world seems uncertain and R is behaving all strange, the woman is all lost in her motherly feelings and busy in nourishing his son. She has been constantly shown amazed by the miracle that she has created.
When they move to camp later, where most of the refugees were staying, R panicked and he left the camp and went to find a better shelter for his family. During this time, the woman is forced to move to another camp and there she made friends and embraced her motherhood while waiting for R to return.
[a:Megan Hunter|16188062|Megan Hunter|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1486153877p2/16188062.jpg] words sounded lyrical and as if she has chosen them carefully. What I feel is, she wanted to give a different kind of experience to her readers. Though I appreciate this prose-like writing, the story itself was lacking the plot. There could have been so much more in the story but I felt as if the main focus was on the woman itself and her motherhood.
Being a dystopian novel I think the story should have been somewhat focused on that situation in which London was at that time. The narration was definitely weak. Also, I am not that much happy with the way the characters names were given. Though it was an interesting idea, I struggled to remember the names and the relationships. Most of the time I kept wondering what will happen if all the letters of the alphabet are used :D It constantly bugged with throughout the story, making it more confusing.
I guess [a:Megan Hunter|16188062|Megan Hunter|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1486153877p2/16188062.jpg] wanted to depict some important issues of the society like environmental changes and its effect on humans, but in my opinion, telling the story in this manner definitely failed that aspect.
The thing that I am certain that I liked about this book, is the depiction of feelings of a new mother. Though out of context, those proses were beautiful. The feeling of holding your son for the first time in your arms, his first laugh, his first word.. all these moments were captured beautifully.
Though this book didn't work for me in the way I expected it to be (from the cover), I am sure that many will like this unique manner of writing. The story had so much potential but I feel that execution was not done well.
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I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest and unbiased review
I read this book last month and still can't decide exactly how I feel about this book. It was confusing, weird and yet something different. There were some hidden things behind the story.
I certainly liked the style in which the story was presented. It was something different that I had never seen. I read Letter From Skye last year and quite loved it, partially because of its format. The whole book was in letters. However, [b:The End We Start From|33858905|The End We Start From|Megan Hunter|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1484434655s/33858905.jpg|53628450] was quite different. It was more like personal notes.. broken in between. It seems to be a unique idea but sometimes it just felt weird to read.
This story is about a dystopian era where London is suddenly submerged in water. The story is from the perspective of a young mother. She is thirty-nine weeks pregnant when she has to run to save her family from the havoc that has grasped London. She shares the experience of giving birth to her son "Z". The characters are not named in this, rather has been called just by their initials.
After the birth of Z, she flees with her husband R and takes refuge with R's parents. Even there, they are not safe and are constantly in fear about the dreaded. While the whole world seems uncertain and R is behaving all strange, the woman is all lost in her motherly feelings and busy in nourishing his son. She has been constantly shown amazed by the miracle that she has created.
When they move to camp later, where most of the refugees were staying, R panicked and he left the camp and went to find a better shelter for his family. During this time, the woman is forced to move to another camp and there she made friends and embraced her motherhood while waiting for R to return.
[a:Megan Hunter|16188062|Megan Hunter|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1486153877p2/16188062.jpg] words sounded lyrical and as if she has chosen them carefully. What I feel is, she wanted to give a different kind of experience to her readers. Though I appreciate this prose-like writing, the story itself was lacking the plot. There could have been so much more in the story but I felt as if the main focus was on the woman itself and her motherhood.
Being a dystopian novel I think the story should have been somewhat focused on that situation in which London was at that time. The narration was definitely weak. Also, I am not that much happy with the way the characters names were given. Though it was an interesting idea, I struggled to remember the names and the relationships. Most of the time I kept wondering what will happen if all the letters of the alphabet are used :D It constantly bugged with throughout the story, making it more confusing.
I guess [a:Megan Hunter|16188062|Megan Hunter|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1486153877p2/16188062.jpg] wanted to depict some important issues of the society like environmental changes and its effect on humans, but in my opinion, telling the story in this manner definitely failed that aspect.
The thing that I am certain that I liked about this book, is the depiction of feelings of a new mother. Though out of context, those proses were beautiful. The feeling of holding your son for the first time in your arms, his first laugh, his first word.. all these moments were captured beautifully.
Though this book didn't work for me in the way I expected it to be (from the cover), I am sure that many will like this unique manner of writing. The story had so much potential but I feel that execution was not done well.
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