Review by Booklist Review
As with the previous two titles in Norwegian writer Lunde's highly acclaimed, loosely connected climate series, The History of Bees (2017) and The End of the Ocean (2020), this novel includes three distinct narratives united by a singular focus; this time, it is wild horses. In Heiane, Norway, in 2064, Eva is trying to raise her willful daughter and keep her wild horses alive on her semifunctional farm. Then, on a whim, she unsettles their isolated lives by picking up a wanderer. The second narrative, set in 1882, focuses on Mikhail, an unassuming assistant director of the St. Petersburg zoological society who is pulled into a treacherous and thrilling journey to capture and bring to Russia the fabled Przewalski horse. The third narrative follows Karin, a veterinarian from Berlin who in 1992 has dedicated her life to reintroducing wild horses to the Mongolian steppe. Each narrative suggests the unintended and often disastrous consequences of human interventions in nature. Seamlessly flowing between historical, travel, and dystopian fiction, this is another riveting, thrilling, and powerful installment from internationally renowned Lunde.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Like Lunde's The History of Bees, her stellar latest hinges on a threatened species, this time the takhi, a rare ancient breed of horses. In 1880 St. Petersburg, a colleague brings zoologist Mikhail Kovrov the skull and hide of what looks like a takhi, which is believed to be extinct. Kovrov leaves his comfortable urban life to travel with animal-capture expert Wilhelm Wolff to Mongolia, where the remains were found, with a plan to bring living takhis to Europe to preserve their bloodline. Though they succeed in capturing the horses, Kovrov's time with the passionate, fearless Wolff throws his beliefs about his identity and future into crisis. A century later, German veterinarian Karin realizes her longtime dream of flying a group of European-born takhis back to Mongolia to reestablish them in the wild. Joining her on the expedition is her son, Mathias, a heroin addict in unsteady recovery who hopes to win the love his mother has never seemed able to express. In 2064 Norway, Eve and her teenage daughter, Isa, inhabit the dystopia caused by climate change. Isa wants to join migrants seeking a more sustainable habitat, while Eve is determined to stay at the family's defunct wild animal park to take care of its takhi, one of the world's last, and her foal. Each of the segments are brilliantly complex, and they conclude with satisfying revelations. Throughout, Lunde delivers a perfect blend of gripping human stories, historical and scientific fact, and speculative elements. This standout should win her wider attention in the U.S. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Przewalski's horses, the last wild horses on Earth, are stocky in appearance, have 66 chromosomes instead of the 64 that domestic horses have, and are almost extinct. In her new novel, best-selling Norwegian author Lunde (The History of Bees) uses these rare horses to link three narratives. The book begins in 2064. Eva and her daughter live on the family farm near an abandoned town in Norway, and environmental disasters have forced most of the world's population to migrate north. However, to ensure the survival of the Przewalski's horses that live on her farm, Eva refuses to leave. The second narrative takes place in St. Petersburg in 1884 and focuses on a zoo's assistant director, Mikhail Alexandrovich Kovrov. After learning about the existence of the wild horses in Mongolia, Kovrov puts together an expedition and captures 16 horses for zoos in Europe. The last narrative describes the efforts of Karin, a German veterinarian who in 1992 brings several wild horses to Mongolia for the purpose of reintroducing them into the wild. VERDICT While Lunde's descriptions of a dystopian landscape destroyed by climate change are especially effective, the novel wraps up a little too neatly given the trauma suffered in trying to save the horses.--Jacqueline Snider
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