'A debut novel from one of Australia's most internationally celebrated playwrights, The End and Everything Before It is a kaleidoscopic story about the way love and loss shape a community.
'Emma watched her mother's kayak disappear among icebergs in the Arctic Sea. Six years later, her brother, who had not spoken since their mother was lost, warns Emma of the curse of death that she brought to anyone who looked on her face-before tragedy befalls him too.
'Emma consigns herself to a solitary life at sea, where she can do no more harm. After years alone, she is mysteriously drawn to land. And she docks at an island, afraid of what her arrival might mean for the welcoming man and his daughter waving from the jetty.
'But who knows where our stories begin and end or how they are entwined? Who knows whether now, on the island, she begins a new tale-or takes a role in a story that began generations ago with a feast in the forest, or a chest of gold coins plunged into the sea, or an orphan in a bookshop beguiled by an elusive and troubled woman? (Publication summary)
'Finegan Kruckemeyer's astonishing debut, The End and Everything Before It, is a sweeping, joyous novel about love, loss and the power of stories-an uplifting journey into our deepest humanity.'
'Internationally celebrated Adelaide playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer brings his distinctive meld of wit, wisdom and whimsy to literary fiction with his debut novel – a potent modern fable of love, grief, community and the enduring power of story.' (Introduction)
'A locked chest sits at the end of a jetty in a small island town. The key to open it lies on a nearby bench. The town’s citizens believe the chest to be full of valuable coins. Should they open it? After deliberating, they come to the conclusion that the treasure would do them more harm than good. And so the chest remains untouched on the jetty until it is eventually pushed into the water.'
'Award-winning Australian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer’s debut novel, The End and Everything Before It, is inflected with whimsy and curiosity, characteristics the author has honed through his pedigree in writing children’s theatre. Kruckemeyer’s fable-like tale blooms on an unnamed island. We follow the island’s repeating seasons, learn its ecosystem and trace the interconnections between generations of the island’s citizens which, like a murmuration of birds, is “all those brains kindred – an infinite number, and at the same time a singularity”.' (Introduction)
'Award-winning Australian playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer’s debut novel, The End and Everything Before It, is inflected with whimsy and curiosity, characteristics the author has honed through his pedigree in writing children’s theatre. Kruckemeyer’s fable-like tale blooms on an unnamed island. We follow the island’s repeating seasons, learn its ecosystem and trace the interconnections between generations of the island’s citizens which, like a murmuration of birds, is “all those brains kindred – an infinite number, and at the same time a singularity”.' (Introduction)
'A locked chest sits at the end of a jetty in a small island town. The key to open it lies on a nearby bench. The town’s citizens believe the chest to be full of valuable coins. Should they open it? After deliberating, they come to the conclusion that the treasure would do them more harm than good. And so the chest remains untouched on the jetty until it is eventually pushed into the water.'
'Internationally celebrated Adelaide playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer brings his distinctive meld of wit, wisdom and whimsy to literary fiction with his debut novel – a potent modern fable of love, grief, community and the enduring power of story.' (Introduction)
