The Island of Last Things

A propulsive and poignant novel about two zookeepers at the last zoo in the world. For readers who enjoy Tea Obreht and Charlotte McConaghy.

Camille is a keeper at the last zoo in the world, on Alcatraz Island. Reserved around humans, she is happy to spend her days caring for chimpanzees and tree frogs, and a magnificent, restless jaguar, while outside nature crumbles. Resistance groups and brutal cartels are fighting to shape the world's future, but Camille is safe within her routines.

Then a new zookeeper, Sailor, arrives. Glamorous and reckless, she seems to see something in Camille that no one has before. When Sailor whispers about a secret sanctuary where wild animals roam free, Camille begins to imagine a new kind of life, with Sailor by her side.

Sailor has a plan, and she wants Camille to be a part of it. Which means Camille must decide if she's ready to risk everything for the promise of a better world.

Propulsive and fiercely hopeful, with a heart-stopping final twist, The Island of Last Things is an elegy for a disappearing world, and a gorgeous vision for the future.

Praise

'Sometimes a new author will sidle up and whisper in your ear, and sometimes she'll grab you by the neck. Emma Sloley is in the latter camp.' - Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Believers

'Absorbing, daring, and ultimately hopeful, The Island of Last Things is at once a love letter to the natural world and a warning of what could become of us all if we let it whither.' - Talia Lakshmi Kolluri, author of What We Fed To The Manticore

'Emma Sloley is a terrific new talent and I am her fan.' - Alice Elliott Dark, national bestselling author of Fellowship Point and In the Gloaming

'Emma Sloley writes with urgency, emotional clarity, and a keen eye for detail.' - Hillary Jordan, international bestselling author of Mudbound and When She Woke