The Migration

by Helen Marshall

Paperback, 304 pages

English language

Published March 5, 2019 by Random House Canada.

ISBN:: 978-0-7352-7262-0
ASIN:: 073527262X

(3 reviews)

When I was younger I didn't know a thing about death. I thought it meant stillness, a body gone limp. A marionette with its strings cut. Death was like a long vacation--a going away.

Storms and flooding are worsening around the world, and a mysterious immune disorder has begun to afflict the young. Sophie Perella is about to begin her senior year of high school in Toronto when her little sister, Kira, is diagnosed. Their parents' marriage falters under the strain, and Sophie's mother takes the girls to Oxford, England, to live with their Aunt Irene. An Oxford University professor and historical epidemiologist obsessed with relics of the Black Death, Irene works with a centre that specializes in treating people with the illness. She is a friend to Sophie, and offers a window into a strange and ancient history of human plague and recovery. Sophie just wants to understand what's happening now; but as mortality rates climb, and reports emerge of bodily tremors in the deceased, it becomes clear there is nothing normal about this condition--and that the dead aren't staying dead. When Kira succumbs, Sophie faces an unimaginable choice: let go of the sister she knows, or take action to embrace something terrifying and new.

2 editions

Hilo reviewed The Migration by Helen Marshall

Review of 'The Migration' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Finde die Plotidee echt gut, auch wie sie geschichtlich und biologisch begründet wird (der Teil gefiel mir am Besten), aber ich bin überhaupt nicht warm geworden mit der Protagonistin, fand ihre Trauer nicht überzeugend (vielleicht weil die betrauerte Person so ungreifbar war als Persönlichkeit), die Sprache zu überladen und mochte auch nicht die Idee, dass die Evolution für uns ätherische Flügelwesen bereithält, ,,mit goldenen Augen", von denen man nichtmal weiß, wie sie sich ernähren oder äh leben, da hätte mir irgendeine absurde hässliche Zombiemutation schon eher gefallen.

patchworkbunny reviewed Migration by Helen Marshall

Review of 'Migration' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Review copy provided by publisher

Sophie's little sister Kira was one of the first to become ill. A simple case of the chicken pox, then complications, leaving her with what was to become known as Juvenile Idiopathic Immunodeficiency Syndrome. The family travels to Oxford in the hope the research being done there can help Kira's new condition.

The Migration ticked all my boxes, I love stories about climate and diseases, plus it was beautifully written with a very human story at the heart.
Helen Marshall specialises in the study of the Black Death, and that does feel like the basis for this story. The period of the plague coincided with extreme weather, some think that the storms pushed the black rats north into Britain. In her novel, she explores the connection between climate change and disease, and ponders if our very DNA will adapt to survive these threats.

It also explores the generational divide to a lesser extent. It's only children getting ill, and in one scene and adult confronts Sophie, telling her she is to blame. Just as many people like to blame younger generations for matters out of their control.

I wonder if reading Origins earlier in the year put me in the right frame of mind for this. Life has always found a way to survive through apocalypse, species adapt, evolve, become something new. Even if the ages of humans is coming to an end, the Earth will cleanse itself and start again.

A lot of these types of books can leave you with a feeling of despair but The Migration served up a portion of hope. I loved this book so much, and I have highlighted a huge amount of quotes. I highly recommend you read this if like cli-fi or thoughtful stories.

Replica

rated it

Jan. 1, 2020

Subjects

Fiction
Fantasy
Science Fiction
Speculative Fiction
Apocalyptic
Young Adult