Here we are at the end by Sara Barnard

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️¼ — 4.25/5

Here We Are at the End is a beautiful, tenderhearted novel about the end of the world—and somehow, that description doesn’t capture what this book really is at all.

Grace and Ben have gathered on an island for their destination wedding, surrounded by their families, bridesmaids, photographer, and the people they’ve chosen to share this moment with. Then they lose connectivity with the outside world. Eventually, they learn why: a meteor is coming, there is no way off the island, and these are the people with whom they will spend their final hours.

Yes, it’s devastating. But Sara Barnard is far less interested in the science of an impending apocalypse than she is in what happens when everything we normally worry about suddenly becomes irrelevant. Who do we reach for? What do we regret? What do we want the people we love to know? What does a life look like when you can finally see its ending?

I’ve seen this categorized as science fiction, but I wouldn’t necessarily describe it that way. There’s very little interest in explaining the meteor or the mechanics of what is happening. This is much more of a literary, character-driven novel about connection, legacy, grief, love, and ultimately acceptance.

It reminded me quite a bit of TJ Klune’s We Burned So Bright in the way it approaches mortality with an enormous amount of tenderness.

There are twelve people on the island, so this is a large and occasionally messy ensemble. We don’t get an enormous amount of time with any one character, but I was impressed by how distinctly Barnard was able to draw them within such limited space. Their relationships—with one another and with the lives they know they are leaving behind—are what give the novel its emotional weight.

I hesitate to call a book about everyone dying “hopeful,” because…well. 😂 But there is something unexpectedly comforting here. Barnard allows her characters—and eventually the reader—to move toward acceptance. The world is ending, but their relationships still matter. Their lives still mattered. The love they gave to other people mattered.

That tenderness is what I’ll remember most.

⭐️ 4.25/5

Here We Are at the End by Sara Barnard is expected to be published March 16, 2027.

Thank you so much to Berkley and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy.