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The End of Romance

By Maria Takolander
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Brief Description
It 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,... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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A captivating dystopian masterpiece. For fans of Charlotte Wood and Cormac McCarthy.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

It 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.

A 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.

By 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?

In taut, evocative prose, Maria Takolander has conjured an eerie and compelling story of desolation and hope that resonates in the imagination.

The End of Romance offers a glimpse into a bleak yet fascinating future, challenging our notions of survival and humanity.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781925355093

Publisher: Text Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 30 June 2026

Country: Australia

Imprint: The Text Publishing Company

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 288

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Maria Takolander Penguin Books Sci-Fi & Fantasy Science Fiction

About the Author

Maria Takolander is an award-winning Finnish-Australian fiction writer and poet. She is the inaugural winner of the Australian Book Review Elizabeth Jolley short-story prize, and her debut collection of short fiction, The Double (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, Trigger Warning (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 on bronze plaques in Geelong, where she lives with her husband and son.

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