A review by silverliningsandpages
The Stranding by Kate Sawyer

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s a satisfying, brave ‘End of Days’ debut about a young teacher with a controlling partner who quits it all to work with whales in New Zealand.  When she arrives at the other side of the world, she is forced to pay attention to unfolding catastrophic global news, and when faced with death herself, climbs into the mouth of a beached whale with a stranger for survival.  The story is told in dual timeframes, starting with “After”, and “The Before” is delicately, masterfully weaved in.

What I like about this is that it’s not an epic, sweeping story, and there are no aggrandising heroics.  It’s really rather quiet but profound in that it focuses on finding resilience, second love, self-worth and meaning when all material things are stripped away. It has the sense of a parable that digs deep to reflect on the best of humanity, the people and things we carry in our hearts, the power of storytelling and a deep rooted appreciation of nature.  As with many ‘End of Days’ books, this is an ecological call to consider what we have and what we could lose.  

4/5 🌟 - a unique, memorable story told with warmth and optimism.