Aquariums - by J D Kurtness (Paperback)

About the Book

An intimate and wide-sweeping climate fiction story that examines the staying power of the human race through the life of a young marine biologist who works to save ocean ecosystems, woven together with the stories of her ancestors.

Book Synopsis

An intimate yet wide-sweeping story of a marine biologist working to save ocean ecosystems from climate change.

With the world's oceans ravaged by climate change, Émeraude, a young marine biologist, works to preserve aquatic ecosystems by recreating them for zoos. When her work earns her a spot aboard a research vessel with an extended mission in the Arctic, it is the inescapable draw of the ocean that will save her when the world she leaves behind is irrevocably changed.

Stories of Émeraude's ancestors -- a young sailor abandoned at birth, a conjuror who mixes potions for her neighbours, a violent young man who hides in the woods to escape an even more violent war, and a talented young singer born to a mother who cannot speak -- weave their way through her intimate reflections on a modest life, unknowingly shaped by those who came before.

A RARE MACHINES BOOK

Review Quotes

Aquariums is a luminous, touching and comforting book, written with great clarity. In other words, a healing read. It can be read in a single sitting, and picked up again when one's soul needs soothing.-- "Solaris"

About the Author

J.D. Kurtness left her native North to study microbes in Montreal, but eventually branched out into writing. She won an Indigenous Voices Award for her first novel, De vengeance (Of Vengeance).