Endling by Maria Reva
Sôffi has a new Book of the Year contender in Maria Yeva’s Endling, and is now snail obsessed (as you can see from the crochet snail kindly gifted by Katrina).
“A meta-fictional novel about mating snails, romance industry brides, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine may sound like it won’t work, but in Maria Reva’s hands, it really, really does.
Yeva, a Ukrainian malacologist (snail scientist to you and me), is on a mission to save endlings, the last known members of species on the brink of extinction. An endling of sorts by her own definition, Yeva reluctantly dates western men to fund her work who have come to Ukraine on romance tours, men who desire women who are not ‘tainted’ by western feminist ideals.
On the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Yeva teams up with two sisters posing as brides-to-be, who want to make a global statement, and find their disappeared activist mother in the process. So ensues a story of kidnap, lonely snails and war.
And there’s more. Maria Reva inserts herself into the novel, a puppeteer of sorts, breaking the fourth (and fifth, and sixth) wall on multiple occasions. This novel is self-conscious about the human urge to create art during war, and the ethics of profiting off conflict.
Full of science, wonder, adventure, anger, grief, empathy and humour, Endling defies simple definition. It is a smart, surprising novel that has so much to say about a world where the natural balance is out of kilter, in so many different ways.” – Sôffi
Let’s Make a Scene & Book Boyfriend
Hannah on Let’s Make a Scene by Laura Wood: “Fake dating – check! Enemies to lovers – check! Found family – check! Secluded setting – check! Dual timeline + perspective – check and check! Laura Wood’s new adult romance is everything you want it to be and more!”
Liv on Book Boyfriend by Lucy Vine: “Two sisters fall hard for men they’ve never met – but can either relationship survive the real world? Funny and heartfelt, Book Boyfriend perfectly captures that dreamy feeling of losing yourself fully to a great story – and of not always wanting to come back to reality! Totally joyous and loads of fun.”
*Don’t miss our event with Laura and Lucy on Tuesday!*