The Thinning

by Inga Simpson

'Storytelling at its best. I was enthralled' Sara Winman
(on Inga Simpson's Willowman)

'We haven't always lived like this . . .'

Kris grew up by an observatory, learning about telescopes and planets, inspired by the passions of her mother and father, then leaders in their fields of astrophotography and astronomy. Those days are long over. Now Kris, her mother Dianella, and a band of outliers live deep off the grid, always on amber alert and always ready to run.

In the outside world, things are not extinctions and a loss of diversity threaten what's left of the environment. With a new disaster looming, Kris finds herself thrust into an unlikely partnership with a stranger who has appeared in their camp. Terry is one of a new breed of evolved humans, the Incompletes, who are widely distrusted. But the pair will need to work together during a dangerous journey if they are to play their part in a plan to help restore the natural world - and humankind.

The Thinning is both an exquisitely written novel of nature and urgent psychological suspense by the bestselling and acclaimed author of Willowman, The Last Woman in the World and Mr Wigg.

Genres: Fiction, Australia, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Book Club, Literary Fiction, Speculative Fiction

Paperback

First published October 30, 2024

About the author

Inga is the award-winning author of THE THINNING, WILLOWMAN, THE LAST WOMAN IN THE WORLD, THE BOOK OF AUSTRALIAN TREES, UNDERSTORY: a life with trees, WHERE THE TREES WERE, NEST and MR WIGG.

A novelist and nature writer, her work explores our relationship with the natural world.

Inga grew up in central west NSW, and has lived in Canberra, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. She is now based on the far south coast of NSW.

WILLOWMAN was shortlisted for the Bookpeople adult fiction Book of the Year 2023.

UNDERSTORY: a life with trees (2017), Inga's first book-length work of nature writing, was shortlisted for the Adelaide Writers Week prize for nonfiction.

WHERE THE TREES WERE (2016) was shortlisted for an Indie Award, and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award, ABIA book awards and Green Carnation Prize.

NEST (2014) was shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal, and longlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award and the Stella Prize.

Her debut novel, MR WIGG, was selected for the 2011 QWC/Hachette manuscript developemnt program and, as a result, published by Hachette in 2013. MR WIGG was shortlisted for an Indie Award and longlisted for the Dobbie Award.

In 2012, Inga was the winner of the final Eric Rolls nature essay prize.

She has a PhDs in creative writing and English literature, and her short work has been published in Griffith Review, Wonderground, the Review of Australian Fiction, Clues, WQ, and the Dictionary of Literary Biography.

Reviews

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and beautifully written novel. Fin is the daughter of astronomers and has watched the night sky become less and less dark as cities become brighter and more and more satellites are put in orbit. The novel is essentially a road trip where Fin and Terry (an ‘Incomplete) make their way to Mt Kaputar to see a solar eclipse. There’s more to the story and plenty of issues covered from the environment, biodiversity, adaptation, and more.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

On an exceptionally enjoyable set of Stella Prize long listees for 2025, this is one of the most enjoyable reads. Simpson combines strong characterisation, with a slow reveal backstory and a fast paced plot, all combined with gorgeous descriptions of bushland around central NSW. This is thoughtfully written, weaving around themes of identity, responsibility and what it means to be human, all tied up in a coming of age fable. Oh, and there's lots of astronomy. This feels like a strong tale well told, with a clear (heh) point of view . It works, in part, because the plot itself is simple, making the focus on the outcome, the world and the people. (I did get unreasonably distracted by trying to work out the setting, based on a mention of the 2003 Canberra bushfires, which felt like it made it too soon for the time taken for the kids to grow, but I am odd like that).
I'm not sure it would make my Stella shortlist - there are some really stunning entries this year - but I think this is something I will be recommending a lot for just how well it balances all the elements, and how broadly I think it can appeal. And how lyrically it celebrates our world, terrestial and celestial.

[perusewithjess]

DNF @ 30%

The synopsis makes this sound like a character-driven literary thriller / climate fiction which sounded really intriguing. The actual book read more like a lower YA dystopian plot-driven story with very simple prose and themes - not what I’m looking for so unfortunately this is a DNF.

[Chris Wigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and easy read, but leaves you thinking afterwards. Why are we allowing Big Mining to destroy our earth, and next our Universe?

[Alana]

DNF @50%. Great premise with a flavour of sci-fi, set in the near future and focused on environmental degradation.
It’s set in the Warrumbungles NSW which I’ve visited so this was appealing too.

However, too much of the present tense story line involved two teens racing around in the bush. Their mission really didn’t seem like an imperative for humankind and became rather lacklustre. Overall, it lacked dimension.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author does it again. Inga Simpson is a must read author for me and this book doesn’t disappoint. I loved the quality of the writing, the small nature details and the important narrative on the planet. Lots of action and human stories. Loved it - thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

[Lucia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. Plot didn’t quite come together for me. But the premise was interesting, the book draws you in and is beautifully written. It also makes you think about the beautiful things we’re at risk of losing.

[anusha_reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE THINNING BY INGA SIMPSON, LONGLISTED FOR STELLA PRIZE 2025

The word "Thinning" symbolizes the dwindling of forests, the extinction of species, and overall environmental decline. Inga Simpson’s novel paints a haunting picture of a world grappling with the consequences of ecological destruction.

Fin, our protagonist, and her mother, Dianella—an astrophotographer—are always on the move, constantly alert and ready to run. During their journey, Fin encounters Terry, an "Incomplete"—a different breed of human. Together, they set out on a quest to witness a solar eclipse. Before they part ways, Fin’s mother gives her a bright orange watch, synchronized with her own, counting down the moments until the eclipse.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the novel is more than just a survival story—it serves as an eye-opener to pressing environmental issues such as pollution, deforestation, and the loss of biodiversity. The narrative moves fluidly between the present and the past, offering glimpses into Fin’s childhood. In the world they inhabit, the reefs are dead, and koalas are extinct, underscoring the devastating impact of human actions on nature.

As a sci-fi dystopian novel, The Thinning touches on themes of fertility and survival, reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. One of the most captivating aspects of the book is Fin’s observations about different bird species and rare creatures, such as the pink slug, which is found only on Mount Kaputar in Australia.

Though Simpson paints a bleak vision of the future, her novel serves as a stark reminder of the environmental crisis unfolding in our world today. It highlights not only the havoc we wreak on Earth but also the troubling reality that humanity’s reach extends beyond our planet, threatening even outer space.

With its accessible prose and profound message, The Thinning is a compelling read—both a cautionary tale and a call to action. A must-read for those who appreciate thought-provoking, environmentally conscious literature.

[Misha · Rating 1 out of 5]

For the most part this feels like a YA dystopian novel but despite being heavily plot-centric, even the plot is quite mysterious and vague for most of the book. There's an extraordinary amount of "And then we did this. And then we went here" but I have no idea why for most of the book. The characters feel quite shallow. I can't really explain what the Incompletes were meant to bring to the table here. It felt like we tossed in a bunch of traits into a kid so that Fin would have a reluctant partner in travel. What was the point of this kid being an Incomplete rather than a regular sheltered kid? Why did the mind-reading powers matter? Why send the kid with Fin to make her mission harder rather than hide him away or take him with the other people doing very illegal things? I can't answer any of these questions but there is a LOT of description about the Australian wildlife and fauna so if you enjoy that, this may be up your alley.

[Taya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. Read this if you want to have an existential crisis!

[Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

[I am reviewing an ARC I received through NetGalley]

A really engrossing sci-fi tale, the Thinning is set in our near future - I estimated around ten or twenty years but no exact dates are given - where things are bad but (gratifyingly) never comprehensively explained. What we do know is that society has moved ever further along our path of corporate fascism via technology.

The story is told from the point of view of the teenage daughter (Fin) of two scientists, her father an astrophysicist and her mother an astrophotographer. Fin and her mother have a loving relationship but her mother is an activist who keeps a certain distance between them to protect Fin, much to her annoyance. Their field of astronomy is the main window through which we experience the dystopia as the observatory park in NSW where they work is taken out of their hands for use in running space operations for corporate interests.

Alongside this thread is another biological one: human fertility is failing at a rapid pace and there are also new mutant human strains called 'incompletes' who have eyesight that is intensely myopic, suiting staring hard at screens, but who have also been found to be fertile with 'completes' and so are seen as an object of lab study.

All of this results in Fin and her family and friends, who were all connected to the national park and the observatory, going completely off-grid, living in the Bush and avoiding government and corporate agents.

Into this situation drops Terry, an Incomplete on the run who Fin is tasked with looking after while she takes a long trip to Mount Kaputar, and so the novel takes place over a few days, charting a road trip as these two begin to know each other. A classic setup done well is what we have here, Fin moving slowly from distrust of Terry as they try to sneak past various hazards against the clock.

This kind of sci-fi can be tricky to get right for me, often I am pulled out of the world by either some sense of the author being too Luddite about technology, or thinking 'sci-fi' is a pass to allow anything to happen, as if technology were the same as magic. Inga Simpson manages to avoid over-explaining or preaching, and while we get a lot of sense from Fin's reminiscences and current troubles, enough is left up to us to fill in the blanks, which also helps to keep up the pace of the book.

I think the only real question I'm left with is exactly what 'The Thinning' is. Some oblique references are made that almost make it sound like a passage between worlds - something like Gene Wolfe's There Are Doors, maybe? - but we never get more than these passing references. Is this in fact a novel that touches on magic or a multiverse? Who knows, and in a sense it's all the better for that question that is left hanging.

[Tracy Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was left puzzled with this somewhat dystopian, somewhat science fiction novel Its themes and plots a bit underdeveloped Fins psychic traits? Incompletes? Illegals? Nationcentric and vague references to first Nation people Exctinctionism and Human population decline It tried to do so much and not sure it made it across the line for me
I gave it 3 stars because it tackled some really important issues I also found the journey of the 2 main characters endearing
In 2024, 90 years after Aldous Huxleys brilliant Brave New World, The Thinning is disappointing

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What if the thresholds I long to cross are not portals to another dimension, but the capacity to fully inhabit our own? A way of circling back, into ourselves. Our best selves. What if we could see a way to make a new world, where all beings, no matter how fragile, could thrive”

[Genna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

The Thinning explores the looming threat of extinction, the magnitude of which is discussed through events like a mining accident on the moon, and the introduction of fertility checks for girls in year 10 and above. They talk about the extinction of the koalas, the Great Barrier Reef, and the photo taken that shows “all the satellite activity in a single night, the stitching across the sky that was sewing it shut”. It’s a lot to take in, and all feels a bit hopeless.

We follow the journey of Fin who journeys alongside Terry, an Incomplete, as they make their way through the New South Wales wilderness. It lacks the action-packed scenes that usually keep me hooked, and replace them with beautiful symbolism and imagery, and couples it with theories and information about our cosmos.

Through the book we also explore Fin’s relationship with her mother, Dianella. Their relationship seems tense in the face of the world’s looming threat, evident with the way Fin hardly calls Dianella her mother. Almost as if trying to separate Dianella, the photographer and activist, from Dianella, the mother. It’s an interesting dynamic that we get more information about as Fin journeys.

I did feel at times that the dialogue felt stunted, short, especially at the beginning but as I read, I started to think that it reflects the dynamics between characters. Fin talking to Dianella, was way different to Fin talking to her mother. And when Fin beings speaking to Terry, it’s almost identical to Dianella’s own conversational patterns. Thankfully, Fin and Terry’s friendship shifts and changes as they journey together. They talk and share more with each other which allows them to hope more.

There are a lot of flashbacks in this book, but I noticed they subsided as we closed in on the final chapters. I would love to make some reference about how when we gaze at stars, we are looking into the past and make that connection to Fin and her own flashbacks, but oftentimes I like to keep the idea vague and feel it rather than explain it.

The finale, ‘True Night’, was the perfect ending to this book; Beautifully written, thoughtful and hopeful. Feeling every emotion in the face of an inevitable cosmic event, leading to this cataclysmic influx of hope and looking forward to the future? You can understand why I cried throughout that whole section.

Honestly, just an awesome book. Happy to have it on my shelf

[Sharondblk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a lot. Beautifully written, and set in a climate apocalypse near future. Except it's not really an apocalypse all at once, is it, but a slow slide toward extinction - or perhaps a different outcome. It's set over two days, and New South Wales heads towards a total eclipse, with flashbacks, or memories interspersed. I sometimes found the move between a touch jarring, but it was were the story was told. Much of the 'present' was just rushing through and around central NSW national parks.
This book is only depressing because it feels so true and so near. I won't say more because of spoilers but I thought the ending was spot on. You know those books that, as you rush towards the end you are just praying that the author doesn't mess it up? Inga Simpson does not. this book is a warning and a call to action.
I was given an e-Arc from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

[Natasha (jouljet) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world as we know it has grown darker, with devices and the plugged in, monitored mainstream as the general population. The rouge off grid revolutionaries are a group of scientists and people who opted out when they could, plus the results of our future genetic human evolution differences.

Stargazers, environmentally conscious and living sustainably on the fringes. Who are also the people who kept their children safe from The Handmaid's Tale era of control and destiny. Makes you stop and consider, and hope and wonder, what you'd do, and what you'd be brave enough to stand for.

This reads very much like a YA read to me, perhaps because of the young protagonist. An adventure to with the weight of the world, and a bundle of grief and trauma.

I enjoyed the journey, the vivid geographical imagery, and the steadfast use of Aboriginal names for places, and practices embedded for respecting land and place.

[Jeanetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Fuck’s sake” I say. “It’s like women have lost control of their bodies all over again.”
“I don’t think we ever really had it,” Hild says…
The Thinning can only be described as a stunning slap in the face depicting the harsh reality coming humanity’s way if serious change is not made. With the world on the brink of collapse, ecological destruction well underway and all out war against female bodily autonomy this book hits entirely too close to home and should be mandatory reading for all. Unfortunately, I fear that this will sail clear over the heads of those who need to see and understand the dire straits we as a species are in.
A profound work of literary genius that will forever stay with me.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, but then again, I cannot imagine ever disliking anything Inga Simpson writes.

The dystopian world she paints is close enough to what we are living through now to make it really frightening.

The book does not give a complete account of the state of the world. Some things appear to be out of reach of the reader, such as what exactly is ‘the thinning’? Is it the extinction of large swathes of flora and fauna? Is it the evolution of humans into beings more adapted to interacting with electronic devices than anything else? Is it the fracturing of the delicate push and pull between the earth and the moon?

I do not think it matters either way. I think what matters is that it is a story about a changing world and one act of rebellion which does not resolve or right everything, but that helps to open a few more eyes. Change is not the result of a single big important act or event. It happens as the culmination of many acts, events and decisions, and this story is about one of these.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written story which beautifully connects nature on earth with the beauty and necessity of our night skies. The cover bills it as a “literary thriller” - it’s not really a thriller though there is a strong drive in the journey narrative and the threat of climate change. The focus on how our destruction of nature (including space junk) is a threat to our own culture and technological infrastructure is a little different from many climate change stories, and I found that interesting. Some beautiful language and an interesting world-building that tells you enough but is not as explicit as most sci-fi.

[Keira Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4/5

a beautiful and moving book that I bought for too much money and chanced on because the author shared my sisters name

This was not at all what I thought it would be about! But OH! Her prose is so beautiful. And I didn’t know it was Australian!!! I love Australian fiction, especially left wing dystopian Australian fiction that utilises indigenous place names and culture and really pays homage to the land that we live on.

Really reminded me of juice by tim Winton which is a fantastic book- it’s the same crossing-the-Aussie-outback-with-a-kid except this was was sadder and more wholesome than the quite brutal and devastatingly beautiful juice

This was gorgeous and compelling and sweet. It’s only not a 5 because I wanted more more more!! How did the world come to have the not-quite-humans!! I wanted more about the work they were doing secretly and everything in between!

[Mint · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike anything I have ever read before, The Thinning is about the people living on the fringes of a dystopian society slipping into extinction, and how they chart their ways in the world. The writing is beautiful - "Light is only darkness diluted"!!!-and it does full justice to the backdrop of the Australian wilderness the story is set in. This was so well paced that I raced through it in a few hours, even as I soaked in every word.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Carol Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone with an interest in the environment and an awareness of the damage we are doing to it should find something to enjoy in this splendid book. It is set in Australia in the relatively near future and features some wonderful characters and great descriptive writing. There is plenty of suspense and action too.

[Valerie Kaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very important book covering the possible future ravages of people, fauna and forest if big gas exploration and fracking are allowed to continue at a pace, and with Government approval. The story is secondary to the message. Wake up people, our world is being destroyed in the name of Company profits. Thank you Inga Simpson for researching so thoroughly and giving us this glimpse of where we are heading.

[Jenn Novak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read for sure and I don't regret it but it was a long lead up to a lot of interpretation. It was a little to theoretic for me even though my preference is fiction and a lot of the world made up in the book wasn't fleshed out where it could have been. It did keep the pages turning to see what was going to happened next and flowed well. I liked the writing style too.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this YA? I’d call this literary YA. Set in beautiful remote NSW featuring astronomy! Astro photography! Nature! And two great new late teen protagonists. A great tale to stay with until the big reveal which is so worthwhile. An ultimately hopeful book set in a future that seems without. A reminder that there is always a way forward.

Longlisted for the Stella Prize

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inga Simpson is an environmental warrior. In the style of Tim Winton, but not quite his league, nor as celebrated. I have read most of Simpson’s play list and she writes well. This one is dystopian, interesting and urgent. I can see this being on a High School reading list. It has a YA feel.

[Suz Bennett]

Getting overwhelmed by all the environmental stories I have been reading lately but this one is pretty good. Author has created an intriguing story set in future but based on fact of what has happened to date. Set in Gamilaraay country and Santos fracking projects in Pilliga Forest New South Wales.
Held my interest and learnt more about the country around Siding Springs observatory.
I remember the time fires in ACT burnt Mt Stromlo Observatory.
Easy read if you like dystopian stories.

[Fiona Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her best work yet!

[Suzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did find the plot a little hard to follow at times but otherwise an interesting read

[Melissa Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book - read it in a day. It was pleasing to read through the context of cultural astronomy and the beautiful Australian landscape whilst highlighting the sociocultural and environmental challenges that are lurking in the near future.
Thank you Inga Simpson