{"product_id":"the-end-of-romance","title":"The End of Romance","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"row subcategory-data mt-4\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"row\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-12 col-xl-9\"\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eMaria Takolander\u003c\/span\u003e | Paperback | June 2026\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col-12 col-xl-9\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"product-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA captivating dystopian masterpiece. For fans of Charlotte Wood and Cormac McCarthy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is the future, and the earth has seemingly refused to cooperate with humanity, producing only thorn-bearing plants and caustic fogs in abundance. Life is hard for those who still inhabit urban communities. For those who have chosen to live ‘off-grid’ it is subsistence at best, but at least there is some kind of independence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA woman and her son live alone, surviving as scavengers. Even so, the boy must attend military school like all the other boys. In time he will be shipped off with the rest of them to a distant planet—the Promised Land—to fight the colonising war that is touted as humanity’s only hope.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy chance, the woman meets a young man who has avoided this fate, despite his lack of physical impairment. It appears that he comes from a place of sanctuary. Can he lead her back there—and help her to save her son?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn taut, evocative prose, Maria Takolander has conjured an eerie and compelling story of desolation and hope that resonates in the imagination.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'This novel is compelling and chilling... eerily thrilling'\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eAge \/ Sydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘A tense, engrossing and deeply uncomfortable novel that speaks in urgent tones to our complacent moment.’\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Takolander’s background as a poet is evident in her prose, which brings this disturbing setting to life…Asking what gives life meaning under oppressive conditions. It will appeal to readers of Clare Moleta’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eUnsheltered\u003c\/i\u003e, Margaret Atwood’s\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe Handmaid’s Tale\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eand Charlotte Wood’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Natural Way of Things\u003c\/i\u003e.’\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooks+Publishing\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘It’s fascinating… strange and beautiful and poetic.’ Kate Evans, ABC Radio National\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e-------\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"row subcategory-data mt-4 mb-4\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"row\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"col pb-0\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"pb-0 mb-0 subcategory-data--label\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor Info\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003eMaria Takolander is an award-winning Finnish-Australian fiction writer and poet. She is the inaugural winner of the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eAustralian Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Elizabeth Jolley short-story prize, and her debut collection of short fiction,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eThe Double\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (Text 2013), was a finalist for the Melbourne Prize for Literature’s ‘Best New Writing Award’. Maria is also the author of four books of poetry, the most recent of which, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eTrigger Warning\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e(UQP 2021), won a Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and was shortlisted for an Association for the Study of Australian Literature Gold Medal. As a public artist, her words can be found at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in Melbourne and in Geelong, where she lives with her husband and son.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"booxies","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51222043525287,"sku":null,"price":34.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0507\/1523\/0375\/files\/TheendofRomance.jpg?v=1786940337","url":"https:\/\/booxies.com\/products\/the-end-of-romance","provider":"booxies","version":"1.0","type":"link"}