Description

An exhilarating, wildly inventive tour de force, of love, humanity and the end of the world as we know it.

Two women, one raised in near solitude in a research pod in the depths of the ocean and one a luxury-resort bartender who may or may not be a robot, fall in love, cross deserts, gaze at the stars – and try not only to hold onto one another but together, possibly, salvage some trace of planet Earth.

Heartbreaking, mind-expanding, soaring with beauty, Earth 7 is at once a love letter to the world and a portrait of its slow disappearance. It’s about love and grief, microbiology and astrophysics, robots and planet Mars, and humanity in all its greatness, absurdity and distress. Welding the deeply human to the thrillingly strange, fizzing with intelligence and profoundly moving, it is the novel we need right now, and for all times.

Publisher Review

‘Remarkable . . . Unferth shines in her ability to craft relatable characters in extraordinary circumstances, and the novel remains accessible even as it explores deep ontological questions about the nature of life. This is profound.’ Publishers Weekly, (starred review)

‘A crystalline, poetic, witty, and haunting post-depopulation tale of loss, adaptation, unexpected beauty, and surpassing love. Every moment is enrapturing, every twist heart-seizing in this keenly imagined, ravishing, and profound celebration of life in extremis.’ Booklist (starred review)

‘Unfold[s] over vast vistas of time and space, profound, funny, alarming, and imbued with love and sorrow for our lost world. A quirky, bold, and endearing masterpiece of climate fiction.’ Kirkus (starred review)

‘Knocked me out of kilter in all sorts of strange and haunting and wonderful ways. A work of desperate and loving imagination . . . Terrifying and life-affirming all at the same dizzying time. Throw yourself into Deb Olin Unferth’s world; you won’t regret it.’ Jon McGregor

‘Super smart, deeply human, uplifting and devastating in equal measure.’ Elizabeth Lovatt

‘To read Deb Olin Unferth is to marvel at every page . . . she is the master of the exacting and luminous. Earth 7 is the friend you want after the end of the world. It will reinvigorate your love for our planet.’ Marie-Helene Bertino

‘What a remarkable book! . . . Her story enfolds the reader like a dream – so much beauty, so much wisdom, such feats of imagination. I am in awe.’ Karen Joy Fowler

‘An elegy to the world we have now, already disappearing, and at the same time, it’s a message in a bottle, an offering of hope for some far-off future. Intimate and wistful and hypnotic, full of rich detail and beautiful writing.’ Charles Yu

‘I adore this book. Everyone who lives on planet Earth should read it.’ Rita Bullwinkel

‘Like no other book you’ve ever read, by a writer like no other.’ Elizabeth McCracken

‘A brilliant feast of wisdom and imagination, viruosic and urgent, full of humour and love.’ Brandon Hobson

‘An unexpectedly rollicking and heartbreaking post-apocalyptic coming-of-age tale meets love story unlike any other.’ Rachel Khong

‘Electric, hilarious, and harrowing . . . This kaleidoscopic cli-fi begs us to ask: when Earth goes, where goes all the love?’ Jessica Anthony