Endling Book Review

Am I no better than a snail, sniffing out the softest, most rotten part of a log to feast on? At least a snail digests the rot and excretes nutrients, useful.

Synopsis

In the absurdist literary tradition of George Saunders and Percival Everett comes a brilliant debut about a biologist in Ukraine battling to save the country’s snail species from the brink of extinction.

Ukraine, 2022. Yeva is a loner and a maverick scientist who lives out of her mobile lab. She scours the country’s forests and valleys, trying and failing to breed rare snails while her relatives urge her to give up, settle down and finally start a family of her own. What they don’t know: Yeva already dates plenty of men—not for love, but to fund her work—entertaining Westerners who come to Ukraine on guided romance tours believing they’ll find docile brides untainted by feminism and modernity.

Nastia and her sister, Solomiya, are also entangled in the booming marriage industry, posing as a hopeful bride and her translator while secretly searching for their missing mother—a flamboyant protestor who vanished after years of fierce activism against the romance tours.

So begins a journey of a lifetime across hundreds of miles: three angry women, a truckful of kidnapped bachelors, and Lefty, a last-of-his-kind snail with one final shot at perpetuating his species.

But their plans come to a screeching halt as Russia invades. In a stunningly ambitious and achingly raw metafictional spiral, Endling brilliantly balances horror and comedy, drawing on Reva’s own experiences as a Ukrainian expat tracking her family’s delicate dance of survival behind enemy lines. As fiction and reality collide on the page, Reva probes the hard truths of war: What stories must we tell ourselves to survive? To carry on with the routines of life under military occupation? And for those of us watching from overseas: can our sense of normalcy and security ever be restored, or have they always been a fragile illusion?

Endling is a tour de force from an author on the cutting edge of fiction,weaving a story of love, loss, humor, and devastation that only she can tell.

REVIEW

I never thought I’d rave about a book about snails (I’m only partially joking lol), but here we are…

Maria Reva’s Endling is a profound exploration of survival, identity, and the intricate dance between humanity and nature, set against the backdrop of contemporary Ukraine. At its heart is Yeva, a solitary biologist dedicated to preventing the extinction of rare snail species. Her unconventional methods of funding her research—engaging with Western men seeking traditional brides in Ukraine—serve as a poignant commentary on the commodification of culture and the lengths one goes to preserve what is precious.

Reva masterfully intertwines the personal and the political, digging into the lives of three women entangled in Ukraine’s booming marriage industry. As they navigate their personal quests amidst the looming threat of war, the narrative highlights themes of extinction, both ecological and cultural. The metafictional elements of the novel add depth, blurring the lines between reality and fiction, and prompting readers to reflect on the stories we tell ourselves and their power to shape our existence.

In a time when Ukraine faces great challenges, Endling resonates deeply, offering a lens into the resilience of its people and the complexities of their struggles. Reva’s narrative is both a tribute to the enduring human spirit and a stark reminder of the fragility of life, making it an essential read for those seeking to understand the multifaceted layers of contemporary Ukrainian society.

Thanks so much to Doubleday for the gifted copy!

Expected publication date is 3 June 2025.