Maria Takolander's dystopian novel 'The End of Romance' explores motherhood and survival

Maria Takolander's novel 'The End of Romance' is set on a future Earth ravaged by environmental collapse, where humanity clings to degraded urban settlements. The protagonist, Marianna, lives with her son on the edge of town, struggling to survive in a world poisoned by fog and overrun by cacti. The only hope is a distant planet called the Promised Land, but an interstellar colonial war conscripts every healthy boy. Desperate to save her son from military service, Marianna enlists the help of a young man named Josif, who escaped his fate and was raised in a monastery. The novel is structured in four sections, each with a distinct narrative voice: Marianna's stark, unemotional perspective; a transcript from explorer Eeva; Josif's articulate but entitled viewpoint; and the boy's sensory, hopeful journal. The book is dense with religious allegory—Eeva, Adan, and the Promised Land—but grounds its parable in modern details like smartphones and shipping containers. It examines gendered violence, masculinity, and motherhood, depicting a world where boys are prized yet sent to die. Takolander's prose shifts from bare-boned to richly descriptive, reflecting each character's psyche. The novel offers no happy ending but ends on a note of tentative hope. Published by Text Publishing, it was reviewed by Joanne Anderton of the University of Queensland for The Conversation.