Reviews

• “Two stories on the impact of climate change intersect in this thoughtful and suspenseful novel. /…/ Both halves of the story are convincingly detailed and quietly wrenching, and Lunde gradually and subtly draws them together to powerful effect.”

• “As the water crisis gets worse, the desperation echoes the extremities of Emily St. John Mandel’s postapocalyptic Station Eleven (2014). In a gripping narrative, Lunde portrays the profit-motivated decisions that created and are now exacerbating David’s horrific existence. This is another brilliant call to arms from a vital contemporary novelist.”

• “With small means Lunde achieves a simple, but well-executed reflection: the local cause that Signe is fighting an uphill battle for, gets different proportions in the future – it becomes something global that everyone is burdened by and suffering from. And through this clever dramaturgical device, the novel insists on the climate political necessity: to understand the local as something global, a pedagogical point that becomes neither too vague nor overly clear.”

• “It is refreshing to find a book like The End of the Ocean amongst the cultural offerings of today. (…) Maja Lunde aspires to something with her novel, she has a distinct political message and in addition to that she writes exceptionally well. /…/  [T]he story is beautifully written and told. Norwegian author Maja Lunde writes with conciseness and precision, instantly cutting straight to heart of the matter – and to the reader’s heart. And regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with Maja Lunde’s views on climate change, The End of the Ocean compels the reader to consider their own position.”

• “A compelling, interesting and frightening novel about climate change and its consequences. /…/ Maja Lunde achieves to portray just how vulnerable we become when we lack some of the most basic elements of our everyday lives.”

• “A poignant and tough story, written incredibly beautifully.”

• “A gifted storyteller.”

• “The End of the Ocean can sail just as far as The History of Bees. Maybe to Hollywood?”

• “The End of the Ocean is solid and impressive (…). The novel is written with a richness, visual sense and ability to follow up a clear idea, which makes it a very well-rounded novel. /…/ The End of the Ocean strengthens Lunde’s position as a devoted and trusted author.”

• “With The End of the Ocean, Maja Lunde demonstrates what a great and captivating author she can be when she’s at her best.”

• “The End of the Ocean is intriguing. It is also based on knowledge and great commitment. This will surely bring the novel many readers and maybe even inspire action.”

• “Maja Lunde turns environmental protection and climate crisis into great entertainment.”

• “The first pages of Maja Lunde’s novel The End of the Ocean may be the most beautiful thing I have read this year. But not only the most beautiful; it also shows a vast ability to turn a mountain, a glacier, a river, into something deeply touching, to write human beings into nature and turn them both into one unit. /…/ The most vivid thing in this novel is big, true, and angry in a way that you can’t help but love.”

• “Lunde’s solid knowledge in the area and the pressing relevance of the theme is enough to make this novel a reading experience in itself.”

• “Maja Lunde paints scary scenarios which unfortunately are all but fantasies.”

• “Lunde is a fine storyteller with the ability to find a human nerve even in an idea-based plot like this.”

• “A burning dystopia about a chillingly near future. Maja Lunde has written a new harrowing dystopia that feels like an instant classic.”

• “The indignation vibrates in plain view here and in takes a climate denier of a certain calibre to not feel the gravity that these scenes convey.”

• “Maja Lunde writes vividly about the consequences of climate disaster.”

• “The End of the Ocean is a thrilling novel that I cruise through. (…) The narrative keeps a good tempo, has a clever intrigue and I’m kept on my toes almost the whole way throughout. /…/ [Lunde] does achieve what seems to be her intent; to in a page turner-friendly and credible way examine and discuss the the threats against the water’s path into the future.”