Endling 'One of the leading postSoviet writers of her generation' (The Nation)

<p><b>* LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2025 *</b><br><b>* WINNER OF THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2026 *</b><br><b>* SHORTLISTED FOR THE CLIMATE FICTION PRIZE *<br>* WINNER OF THE ATWOOD GIBSON WRITERS' TRUST FICTION PRIZE *</b><br><b>* A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: <i>GUARDIAN</i>, <i>OBSERVER</i>, <i>IRISH TIMES</i>, BBC, <i>WASHINGTON POST</i>, <i>THE NEW YORKER</i>, NPR, <i>GOOD HOUSEKEEPING</i>, <i>PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY </i>*<br></b><br><b><i>An unforgettable debut novel about the journey of three women and one extremely endangered snail through contemporary Ukraine<br> </i><br> 'A fierce and funny road-trip novel' </b><i>GUARDIAN</i>, the 50 hottest books to read right now<br> <b>'Inventive and playful' </b><i>SUNDAY TIMES</i><br><b>'A stunning </b><b>debut' </b><i>OBSERVER</i><br><b>'I was gripped </b>. . . <b>Brilliant' </b><i>DAILY MAIL</i><br><b>'A thrilling ride' </b><i>FINANCIAL TIMES</i><br><b>'A bold, brilliant, original, funny and devastating novel' </b>KATE MCLOUGHLIN, <i>TLS</i><br> <b>'Brilliant and heart-stopping' </b><i>LOS ANGELES TIMES</i><br> '<b>Startling and ambitious</b>' <i>NEW YORK TIMES</i><br> <b><i>'</i>Animated by dark humor and cool fury' </b><i>NEW YORKER</i><br> <b>'Dexterous and formally inventive' </b>MARCEL THEROUX, <i>GUARDIAN </i>BOOK OF THE DAY<br><br> Ukraine, 2022. Yeva is a maverick scientist who scours the country's forests and valleys, trying and failing to breed rare snails while her relatives urge her to settle down and start a family of her own. What they don't know: Yeva already dates plenty of men-not for love, but to fund her work-entertaining Westerners who come to Ukraine on guided romance tours believing they'll find docile brides untainted by feminism.<br><br> Nastia and her sister, Solomiya, are also entangled in the booming marriage industry, posing as a hopeful bride and her translator while secretly searching for their missing mother, who vanished after years of fierce activism against the romance tours.<br><br> So begins a journey of a lifetime across a country on the brink of war: three angry women, a truckful of kidnapped bachelors, and Lefty, a last-of-his-kind snail with one final shot at perpetuating his species.<br><br><b>* LONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE *<br>* FINALIST FOR THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARDS *<br></b><br>'<b>Fantastic</b> . . . <b> I love works that are smarter than I am and this is one</b>' PERCIVAL EVERETT, author of Booker-shortlisted <i>JAMES</i><br><br> '<b>Funny and smart, full of science, longing and adventure</b> . . . <b>This is essential reading</b>' ANN PATCHETT, bestselling author of <i>TOM LAKE</i><br><br>'<b>Heartbreaking, hilarious, profound, and vital</b>' LARA PRESCOTT, bestselling author of<i> THE SECRETS WE KEEP</i></p>