The Thinning (Inga Simpson, Hachette)

In Inga Simpson’s The Thinning, Fin has grown up in a world long past its tipping point. Daughter to an astronomer father and an astrophotographer mother, Fin knows everything about the stars. Living in a hostile and uncertain world, she lives off-grid with her mother and a group of trusted friends, always on the go. When a young ‘Incomplete’—part of a distrusted new breed of humans­—joins the group, Fin is charged with his care and a task that sends both young people across the New South Wales wilderness. What is left of Fin’s world shines. The reader sees it through her sensitive eyes, and it is hard not to feel touched, maybe guilty, potentially sad. The first-person narrative allows for some ambiguity, and what is happening outside Fin’s immediate reach is often unclear. However, there is a palpable sense of the immensity of what her mother and friends are about to do, adding to the mystery driving the story forward. The Thinning grapples with ecological turmoil and grief with the same heart and humanity trademarked in Simpson’s The Last Woman in the World. The compelling narrative draws the reader in, and Simpson’s respect and knowledge of Country and astronomy shine through in the evocative language, drawing an exquisite image in the reader’s mind. Thoroughly researched, The Thinning is an epic and hopeful journey, perfect for readers of thrillers and novels such as Robbie Arnott’s Limberlost.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Ana Brawls is a librarian, reviewer and emerging writer originally from Brazil. Her work has been published in Australia and abroad. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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