THE END OF EVERYTHING by M. John Harrison

The End of Everything by M. John Harrison is a hard book to describe. Many people will want to read it because it’s a finalist for the 2026 Booker Prize. At around 200 pages, it’s a quick read in print, and just under four hours on audio. However, before buying, I highly recommend reading the sample offered by Amazon. I also recommend reading the reviews in Locus Magazine and The New York Times. The writing is clear and excellent, but the story is surreal, metaphorical, and ambiguous. The End of Everything might be a science fiction novel about an alien invasion, but I’m not sure if science fiction fans will like it. The End of Everything might be an allegorical literary novel about our decaying society, but literary types might think it’s too science-fictional. While listening to this novel, I was often reminded of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. The settings are similar, and readers learn about the alien invasion from the personal perspective of the two main protagonists.…