From the author of the number one international bestseller The History of Bees, a captivating new novel about the threat of a worldwide water shortage as seen through the eyes of a father and daughter.
In 2019, seventy-year-old Signe sets out on a hazardous voyage to cross an entire ocean in only a sailboat. She is haunted by the loss of the love of her life, and is driven by a singular and all-consuming mission to make it back to him.
In 2041, David flees with his young daughter, Lou, from a war-torn Southern Europe plagued by drought. They have been separated from their rest of their family and are on a desperate search to reunite with them once again, when they find Signeâs abandoned sailboat in a parched French garden, miles away from the nearest shore.
As David and Lou discover personal effects from Signeâs travels, their journey of survival and hope weaves together with Signeâs, forming a heartbreaking, inspiring story about the power of nature and the human spirit in this second novel from the author of the âspectacular and deeply movingâ (New York Times bestselling author Lisa See) The History of Bees.
Praise for The History of Bees:
âFans of Cloud Atlas and Never Let Me Go will love The History of Beesâ Good Housekeeping
âDystopian and electric, this book is set to blow minds everywhere' Stylist
'Haunting and poignant ... an important and wonderful book' Dave Goulson, bestselling author of Bee Quest
âSpectacular and deeply moving. Lunde has elegantly woven together a tale of science and science fiction, dystopia and hope, and the trials of the individual and the strengths of familyâ Lisa See, New York Times bestselling author
âSuch is the genius of debut novelist Maja Lunde that her tale of three erasâthe long past, the tenuous present and the biologically damned futureâis strung on the fragile hope of the survival of beesâ Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author
âAs a lover of honeybees and a fan of speculative fiction, I was doubly smitten by The History of Bees. Maja Lundeâs novel is an urgent reminder of how much our survival depends on those remarkable insects. It is also a gripping account of howâdespite the cruelest lossesâhumanity may abide and individual families can healâ Jean Hegland, author of Into the Forest
âBy turns devastating and hopeful, The History of Beesresonates powerfully with our most pressing environmental concerns. Following three separate but interconnected timelines, Lunde shows us the past, the present, and a terrifying future in a riveting story as complex as a honeycombâ Bryn Greenwood, New York Times bestselling author
âHere is a story that is sweeping in scope but intimate in detailâ Laura McBride, author of We Are Called to Rise