Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

 

Franny Stone is a wanderer.  She was born in Ireland and grew up in Australia.  Her mother was a wanderer as well.  Franny needs the ocean and swims in it every day, winter or not.  She emphasizes with the birds and other wildlife and they are more important to her than most people.  While working as a cleaner at a university, saving money to take off again, Franny meets Niall who is a professor of environmental science.  They quickly fall in love and marry but Franny cannot keep her feet from wandering.

Now she is in the Arctic, looking for a sea captain who will buy into her dreams.  Most of the wildlife is gone by now and fish are not an exception.  The profession of fisherman is dying and they are treated as criminals by many.  Franny wants to follow the last of the sea terns from the Arctic to the Antarctic.  She tells the captain she finds that the terns will find the fish for his last big fishing haul.

As the crew and captain start the journey, Franny is considered a liability.  She knows nothing of working on a ship and is considered bad luck and a burden.  As the days go by though, she gains the crew's friendship and loyalty by her ability to work along with them.  She is a sad person, separated from Niall and her daughter by miles and her nature.  We also learn she has been in prison.  Will the ship and Franny find the last big catch?  Will the sea terns make their last migration?

This is McConaghy's debut novel and it gained a lot of praise, both here and abroad.  She has a real feeling for the environment, wildlife and those who work to save it before it is all extinct.  Franny is a mystery and the reader can tell she is driven by secrets which are slowly revealed.  Those who meet her are never the same and she inspires loyalty wherever she goes.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.