Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Unfortunately, this was a struggle to get through and if it wasn't something I had from NetGalley, I would have dnfed it.

From the title, marketing and cover you would expect the majority of these essays to focus on the environment, particularly the climate crisis. Though this was a feature of some of the essays, the main focus throughout was birds. I am interested in the natural world and wildlife, but travelling around the world in order to tick species off a list is not what I was expecting to read about.

Franzen himself comes across as extremely privileged but it's not something he addresses and he is often very judgemental of indigenous populations, criticising the way they interact with the natural world.

Overall, obviously, I would never recommend this. I think that there are probably better books out there about birding and conservation, and there are definitely better books about climate change and the natural world.

1 out of 5 stars!

The End of the End of the Earth by Jonathan Franzen is an uneven rather self-indulgent collection of essays.

This was a really interesting book of essays. I always knew Franzen as a literary writer but he is also a great essayist. The essays focus mainly on nature and wildlife but it also touches on literary topics. They were really interesting and I enjoyed the audiobook version for this as it had more of a personal element. I definitely would pick up another collection by Franzen.

I find reading a personal essay is rather like sitting listening to a well educated person share their knowledge and opinions on a particular subject and Franzen certainly approaches a broad range of topics in this collection. The information in a couple of these essays is sometimes overshadowed by the opinion but it is well worth the read. Thank you to HarperCollins UK, 4th Estate, William Collins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this title.

At its best, using birds as a lens to talk about climate change. At its worst, going on a diatribe about a long dead author. Be thinking about this for a while.

A great book by a great writer. This book is engaging, interesting, and a lot of food for thought.
A simple review is not enough as each part would require a long blog post.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to HarperCollins UK, 4th Estate, William Collins and Netgalley for this ARC

Jonathan Franzen essays always incite discussions sometimes anger but are always interesting intimate raw .Whatever topic from his life or literature he holds nothing back shares it all and it makes for a fascinating entertaining read,# netgalley# HarperCollins uk 4th estate,

"Meanwhile the personal essay itself - the formal apparatus of honest self-examination and sustained engagement with ideas, as developed by Montaigne and advanced by Emerson and Woolf and Baldwin - is in eclipse."

Franzen gets into line with the tradition of essayists that share both their ideas and experiences and does so impeccably.