The Changing Landscape of Interiority: Reflecting on Charlotte McConaghy's "Migrations"
“It isn’t fair to be the kind of creature who is able to love but unable to stay.”
When thinking of Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy, the first word that immediately comes to mind is “beautiful”. Beautifully written and beautifully painful—reading this book is the type of experience that stays with you long after you’ve read the last page. It is the kind of book that is difficult for me to describe for fear of underplaying how sincerely it affected me as a reader. I knew I wanted to write a review of this book the second I finished reading it, but it has taken me months to build up the courage to start the process of doing so. I still do not yet know if I’m capable of capturing how stunning, how mesmerizing, how truly immersive this book is, but I want to give it a try anyway.
Migrations tells the tale of Franny Stone, a wandering woman seeking answers, and hope, by following the migration of the last group of arctic terns known to mankind. The story takes place in the not-so-distant future where climate change has devastated the Earth and left many animal species extinct. Part climate fiction, part mystery, part fictive imagining, Migrations artfully tells Franny’s story of personal loss alongside the story of loss ravaging the world. It is this coupling of tales that ultimately makes the book uniquely successful. Where other writers may overreach in terms of metaphor and comparison, Charlotte strikes the perfect balance. You understand the grief that Franny feels for the life she has lost while simultaneously feeling the weight of the loss experienced in the disappearance of these gorgeous creatures. My heart ached at every page, but in the most devastating, profound, transformative way.
It is difficult to capture the plot of Migrations without spoiling key elements, so I wanted my review to focus instead on the way the book made me feel. You’ll see for yourself when you start reading, but much of the story revolves around Franny’s mysterious past. A woman as wild as the world around her, Franny has a restless spirit that drives her to run at a moment’s notice. What compels Franny to make this choice? Is it as inherent to her lifesblood as the words on her tongue? The thoughts in her head? The deeper into Franny’s story I went, the more I wanted to reach down into the pages of the book and pull her up into my own world, to protect her, to help her find the clues she had been silently searching for all along.
I think the thing that struck me the most about Migrations was how incredibly real everything felt. The way that Charlotte McConaghy chose to write this book is undeniably important. As the reader, you feel completely involved in everything that transpires. From the events of the past to the trek of the arctic terns in the present, you feel as though you’ve become a character in the book yourself, and that you are sailing along with the crew of the Saghani, a wonderful cast of characters who are facing their own demons and demands. I loved each character, each development in the story, each new location on the map, every single revealed secret and heart-stopping moment of uncertainty. To put it frankly, I never wanted this book to end. I wanted to sail endlessly beside Franny, watching for the arctic terns on the horizon, running away from the desolation of the past and toward the hope of everything that might still be possible in the future.
Migrations is scientific without being preachy. It provides a very stark explanation of what will happen to the animals on our planet if we continue on this path of destruction. But even more than that, Charlotte McConaghy shows in such magnificent clarity what will happen to all of us once we realize we share the world only with one another. She captures the grief accompanying the absence of birdsong in the morning. The strained difficulty of having enough to eat when the ocean is devoid of fish. She shows the unyielding impact of climate change on our daily existence in a way that is as unignorable as the facts themselves. Read this book. Read it again. Suggest it to friends and family members. Give it as a gift. The messages that Franny Stone uncovers are integral to who we are as human beings. This is not just a reading experience—it is a learning experience, and one that I will carry with me everywhere I go.
Migrations
By Charlotte McConaghy
272 pages. 2020.
About Sam Cohen
Sam Cohen is a writer and editor based in New England. She lives with her wonderful partner Caleb, and enjoys learning new languages, drinking lattes, and spending time with her loved ones. Sam is an avid reader who practices yoga and tries to laugh as often as possible. She hopes to be a published author one day. She can be found on Twitter and Instagram.