Field Notes From an Extinction

by Eoghan Walls

Fast-paced and funny. Scientific and tender. A literary thriller featuring Auks. As if Hilary Mantel’s The Giant, O’Brien met Robinson Crusoe, here is a story of one man’s growing humanity amidst famine and extinction.

Told in the vernacular of the day, this novel-as-notebook features a 19th-century ornithologist on a remote Irish island—from the author of indie favorite The Gospel of Orla.

Written in the form of a 19th-century notebook of ornithological observations, Field Notes from an Extinction follows the life and work of one Ignatius Green, a fictitious English scientist dispatched by the Royal Society to the remote island of Tor Mor off the northern Irish coast. Green, a widower, is single-minded and self-righteous, brilliant and bumbling. He is determined to set the scientific record straight on the mating rituals, feeding and care of hatchlings,
and other minutiae he can gather about the Great Auk (pinguinus impennis).

Green’s world is shattered when his monthly goods delivery arrives ravaged by the local Irish townsmen. His fury at their impertinence is matched only by his dismay at finding a small child amid the shipment--dirty, abandoned, mute, and utterly feral and unmanageable. Worse, the locals are growing restless and hungry. And there is talk sweeping the land of a terrifying woman with unnatural power.

Green fights for his survival against brigands and hunger and, most fearsome, the resolve of a fierce and angry child. And, perhaps, for a wider understanding of family amidst roiling societal unrest.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Ireland, Nature, Adult, Contemporary

288 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2026

About the author

Derry poet, writer, lecturer at Lancaster, father of battalions of daughters.

Reviews

[Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Great Auk is having something of a moment in world literature. It became extinct in the mid-19th century and I had never heard of this beautiful bird until last year, when it first showed up in a brilliant short story by Ben Shattuck ('History of Sound') and then played a supporting role in 'Beasts of the Sea' (Iida Turpeinen). I also have Sylvie Grimbert's The Last of Its Kind on my shelf.

Eoghan Walls's novel is set on an isolated Irish island where the British researcher Ignatius Green studies the last breeding colony of the Great Auk (or garefowl). On the mainland, the Great Famine is raging, but Green is oblivious about this.

Then one day, when his supplies are delivered, he discovers that bizarrely one of the crates contains a little girl - for him to take care of. Where did the girl come from, who sent her and what do the murders of various bailiffs have to do with it?

An intriguing premise and a beautifully written novel, in the style of Carys Davies 'Clear' and Audrey Magee's 'The Colony'. And for once, maybe the Englishman isn't so bad after all...

Wholeheartedly recommended!

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, my favorite trope, the antisocial weirdo who gets suddenly thrust into a parenting role. Also, the disgruntled British commoners really brought their Disgruntled British Commoner A-Game. Kudos.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An English ornithologist is living on a remote island off the coast of Northern Ireland in 1847 to study birds. One day, his regular supply runner drops off provisions, including a large basket that conceals a mute, feral child on the brink of death. She survives, but his life is forever changed.
This charming novel is the ornithologist's diary, notebook, and sketchbook entries. It is at times very funny, terribly sad, and shockingly cruel. It takes place during the height of the Irish potato famine, which the Englishman sees as not his problem...until it is. The audiobook's narration is excellent. I enjoyed the scientist's approach to the unexpected, and the milestones he recorded as he and the child learned to communicate. I would have liked a more specific ending imagined for them. 4.6 rounded up for this unique and absorbing novel.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @TantorAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #FieldNotesFromanExtinction for review purposes. Publication date: 3 March 2026.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the those books that fit in very neatly everything that I love in a book. It is written mostly as a journal (a favorite) and fast paced. Taking place in Ireland in the 1840's and during an extinction event, you get the sense that it's the end of the world. Ig starts the book as a nature-loving scientist on a mission to document the Auks and ends up just a man trying to survive the wilderness and then the landscape of 1840's Ireland, all the while protecting the spirited Bridget. Definitely worth your time.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary. Lyrical, heartbreaking.

[Lisa Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all want to be the particular, self-absorbed Englishman Ignatius sometimes, setting to our own whimsies, doing what we want, uninterrupted by social expectations, and investing ourselves wholly in what we deem important. For Ignatius, it is the study of the last colony of Great Auk (“garefowl”), as he records in his field notebook the minute details of eight Shakespearean-named birds who themselves become minor characters in the book. “To the birds!”

But life is a series of interruptions, unexpected circumstances, and at the hands of a greater force of nature. Ig did not plan for the Irish Potato Famine and the unraveling of civilization. Nor did he prepare to take responsibility (which he does - tepidly at first) and care for a child. How can fate be asking him to give up what he thought he most desired?

I thoroughly enjoyed Eoghan Walls’ Field Notes from an Extinction. It is refreshingly different and asks the reader to see a little of themselves in Ignatius: striving to pursue excellence and professional respect while investing ourselves authentically in our relationships and taking stock of the greater world. Part ornithologist field notes, part journal, scraps of dialogue, and inserted news articles, I thought the genre-blending was clever and natural. If I am still thinking about a book and the questions it poses long after I finish it, then it was a good read.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy of the audiobook version.

I enjoyed the historical fiction with a scientist twist. The audiobook was well done, but I think I would have enjoyed this story more in written form where it’s written notebook style. But overall, it was entertaining and worth the read.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A novel plot set in 1847 about an ornithologist living on an Irish island to monitor nesting of a small Great Auk colony. The Irish potato famine is in full force. His supplies arrive by boat one day and secreted within is a feral girl, filthy, incommunicative, and weak with hunger. He doesn't want her and doesn't know how to care for her. Its a weird mystery in an unusual setting. Short, fast read.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A both a Conservation Biologist and the decedent of the Irish diaspora this book felt immensely personal. At its heart the book centers the perspective of an ornithologist sent to a remote island to watch the last of the Great Auks. Ok, I'm in full stop with that plot point alone. However as the story progresses, he becomes the unwitting, and initially unwilling, caretaker of a child with a mysterious past. Equal parts found family and natural history this book talks about the extinction and the frightening ways that seemingly casual acts can lead to the last days. The Auks did not survive, the Irish did, but in bot cases the protagonist' job is to record, in epistolary fashion, the slow violence of loss. I immensely enjoyed this book and will be looking for was to integrate it into my classes.

[Kandace]

I received a copy of the audiobook from NetGalley. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley

dnf :/ it’s not a bad book at all, the narrator does a great job! I just think this book in audiobook format isn’t for me. Perhaps reading the actual physical copy would be better for my understanding of the story. Perhaps I’ll pick this back up someday!

[Evy Kras · Rating 1 out of 5]

mwah mwah mwah waar gaan we heen? waarom houdt hij van die vogels? waarom is dat meisje zo raar?? ik heb heel veel vragen en vond het niet zo fijn lezen
nouja het was ook een gok van diegene die hm gaf

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars, rounded up to four.

This book was not what I expected. After reading Piranesi the day before, I thought that I may have detected some similarities between the two books. They are of similar lengths, written as journals by men who have been alone amongst the birds in a strange, isolated location, who are suddenly struck by the presence of an unexpected newcomer and mysterious happenings. That is, of course, where the similarities end. But still, I found my other expectations unmet, as well. The teasing of "restless and hungry" locals and a strange woman with "unnatural power" in the blurb suggest mystery, suspense, and supernatural happenings. Field Notes From an Extinction does not deliver on these subplots. They are present, sure, but fall flat for me.

The entirety of the book, even though the blurb would lead you to believe it is about a man and his birds, is actually about taking an unlikeable grouch of a man and humanizing him through caring for a child he did not ask for and was unprepared to handle. It is a solid "found father" story, a la Mandalorian or similar, and has enough surprises in it to keep it fresh even considering how popular this trope seems these days. It seems like a missed opportunity for the book to be marketed as 'Robinson Crusoe-meets-whatever' given how much of the story focuses on this character arc.

I think fans of "found father" stories will eat this up, because it is dramatic and different and raw. I will say, I did not enjoy the ending and thought it was unsatisfying, inconclusive, and disappointing. It was not, however, poorly done, so perhaps you will have better luck with it than me. Thank you to Seven Stories Press for supplying my work with this ARC!

[Rachael Hamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am really on the fence about how I feel about this book. I had the audiobook which was narrated well, however I found the story a bit dry and I found myself losing focus on what was happening.

Ignatius Green is an English Scientist studying the last of the great Auks on a remote island. The story is told from a first person perspective but the language and vernacular used is a bit difficult to stay connected with. When he says things to other characters he says, "myself" and then proceeds to quote whatever he may have said during the interaction. During a monthly resupply of his goods, a basket is delivered with a child inside. Since we are receiving the story as a first person narration, we come to understand this scientist does not know much about children and has no idea how to manage one nor does he know how to document much about it.

We do learn the child is female and she is filthy and flea riddled. She also seems to know minimal words and is more or less feral as she does not seem to have any understanding of civility or understanding food rationing. She consumes raw foods such as taking bites of a seal being cleaned for cooking, and she also tries to eat other things which would be inconsumable by most.

Overall, the story is interesting, I am just not certain the way it was conveyed was the best for my style of reading or what I was expecting. I do understand it's mean to be a record of recorded events which happened to a scientist and he's trying to be clinical and clear about time lines, descriptions, and presenting only facts. Nevertheless, it just didn't work out as well for me and I was a bit bored.

[Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This would make a great film adaptation.
I think the strongest aspect of this book is the characters, which mainly include the protagonist, Ignatius Green and the child (that arrives unexpectedly). They most definitely drive the story in their own quirky way.
Written in a documentary, journal-like style (which I found interesting), the dialogue between said protagonist and child is the most exciting part of the book. I found myself skimming/reading faster over the meticulous documentation of the auks just to get to the dialogue between these characters, who find themselves basically isolated on a cold island.

I believe the plot was interesting, but certain aspects could’ve been explored further especially in the second half. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half, but the second half felt rushed and almost unfinished.
The ending is why my rating is not a 4 star or higher – It quite literally abruptly ends, with little/no closure whatsoever. Coming from someone who doesn’t always need a perfect ending for every character, I did find this ending to be a bit disappointing and random.

With that being said, I do think Walls does a fantastic job at world-building and character-building. His writing style within this time period of the 1800s Ireland felt comfortable and natural; his vocabulary was quite impressive as well.

Overall, 3.5 stars.

[Heather W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Field Notes From an Extinction is a bold, inventive, and deeply humane novel that blends historical fiction, ecological reckoning, and dark humor into a singular literary experience. Written in the form of a 19th century ornithologist’s notebook, the novel captures the voice of its era with remarkable authenticity while remaining sharply relevant. Ignatius Green’s obsessive documentation of the Great Auk becomes both a scientific endeavor and a moral blind spot, revealing how knowledge can coexist with profound emotional isolation.

What elevates the novel is its widening emotional scope. As famine, colonial tension, and extinction close in, Green’s rigid worldview fractures under the weight of human connection most powerfully through his relationship with a feral, abandoned child. Walls deftly balances satire and tenderness, intellect and vulnerability, allowing the novel to move from meticulous observation to an unexpected meditation on family, responsibility, and survival. Fast paced yet thoughtful, Field Notes From an Extinction is a rare historical novel that feels alive, unsettling, and urgent.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Field Notes of an Extinction left me blinking at the final page wondering what, exactly, I’d just experienced. It’s one of those books that defies easy classification—part historical fiction, part mystery, part… something else entirely. And while that genre‑blending could have been intriguing, the plot ends up feeling scattered enough that it’s hard to ever get a solid grip on what the story wants to be.

That said, it’s not without its strengths. The writing itself is clear and concise, the character relationships are surprisingly well‑drawn, and the narrator absolutely carries the experience. Their performance adds emotional weight and cohesion the plot doesn’t always manage on its own.

Unfortunately, the story’s constant shifts and lack of focus kept pulling me out of the moment. Interesting ideas pop up, but they never quite settle into a satisfying whole.

I’m landing at 3/5, mostly thanks to the strong narration and the glimpses of what the book could have been with a tighter plot.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book!

[Michael Doane]

Field Notes From an Extinction is a sharply intelligent, darkly funny, and unexpectedly tender novel that uses the scaffolding of scientific observation to reveal the fragile architecture of human connection. Told through the meticulous notebook of a 19th-century ornithologist, the book balances rigorous historical voice with emotional immediacy, turning what could have been an exercise in style into a deeply affecting story about survival, responsibility, and moral awakening.

Ignatius Green is both comic and unsettling in his self importance, a man obsessed with cataloging the Great Auk even as famine, unrest, and human need press in around him. Walls brilliantly contrasts Green’s devotion to empirical truth with the messy, unclassifiable reality of care especially in the form of a feral, abandoned child who dismantles his certainty page by page. The result is a novel that feels urgent despite its historical remove: a meditation on extinction, colonial arrogance, and the quiet, radical act of choosing compassion over detachment.

[Lilmissmolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the very interesting audiobook of Field Notes of an Extinction by Eoghan Walls. It is written mostly as an English ornithologist's journal while he is living on a remote island off the coast of Northern Ireland in 1847 to study birds. He is there to document the last known colony of Great Auks, which will soon become extinct. It ends up being a story about a man trying to survive the Irish wilderness and then, a found family as he "finds" a young feral girl among a shipment of rations. The girl is obviously malnourished (the potato famine claimed many lives) and the scientist doesn't know what to do with her. The rest of the book is the pair of them trying to figure out how to exist together. I was a little disappointed in the abrupt ending because I wanted to know what happened to the main characters (yes, I'm one of those readers who likes it spelled out for me). However, the narration was excellent; John Keating made me feel like I was watching a movie! If you enjoy historical fiction with some drama thrown in, this audiobook is for you.

[Mal · Rating 4 out of 5]

at times morbidly funny, with a lot of terror lurking just below the surface (and, just as often, right there in plain sight) - the novel is set during the irish famine, the narrator is a privileged englishman, you can see where this is going. it's interesting how well-written this is, with ignatius coming off as someone relatively likeable most of the time, that is, until he makes a derogatory comment about the "filthy" irish and their "incomprehensible" language, seemingly completely lacking empathy for the dozens of sick and starving people he encounters. and then there are the auks, near extinct - and their demise doesn't seem any less upsetting. all in all, it's an entertaining book, well written but not too convolute, with what feels like fresh approach to narration, that can also inspire some reflections.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unusual structure with a great interweaving of storylines. Eoghan portrays the Irish famine, its starkness, chaos and heartbreak and the uncaring attitude of the colonial power.
Dr Green the ornithologist with his focus on the birds is an interesting character and can be understood in many different ways.
His interaction with the child is at the heart of the novel. Common decency forces him to help her. Is this an analogy for the uncaring colonial power that does little for their subjects?
The life of the birds is fascinating.
(I was a volunteer warden on the bird sanctuary on Rathlin Island 20 years ago!)
The story of Bridget and her mother is also fascinating.
Eoghan doesn’t overdo any of his themes but weaves them together in a masterful way.
I feel I have to reread this book again very soon as there is so much to think about.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My personal rating for *Field Notes from an Extinction* is around a 3.5, but that rests mostly on my individual preferences. This is an epistolary novel in the voice of an 1800s English ornithologist, living on a remote island in Ireland. Though it's billed somewhat as comic and has a heavy dose of slapstick, the sense of humor is pitch dark (perhaps a bit too much for me). The primary metaphor is plain- a buffoonish English scientist so absorbed in the extinction of a species of bird, that he is blind to the famine threatening an entire nation of people. But the book is cleverly written and propulsive. If you enjoy a tragedy with a midnight black sense of humor, or a period piece about English colonialism in Ireland, I recommend.

[Netty Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

i very much enjoyed the story. even though Ig got on my nerves a fair amount for being so hard headed. but my biggest issue was the ending or the lack there of. i like an open ended ending. where we dont see the aftermath. but this was too open. i wanna know Bridget is safe and back with her mom and that Ig has stopped being a dick jead abiut the irish people. i do think reading this from an englishmans perspective was the right choice. leaves you slightly unsettled as he ignores the awfulness around him. good book. just with it had like 10 more pages

[JoJo_theDodo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Initially, I was having a hard time getting into this story with all the bird talk and repetitive text.
"Aye, Aye, Aye, WHISKEY!"....and then, just when I started to get into the story the journey turned very strange, not making much sense and ended very abruptly. The ending was a surprise in the way that it left you wondering how it could possibly be the end of the story. I was left hanging and unresolved.

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book by the title and the cover art. The reviews on the back page were glowing and even suggested humor. I found little if any humor and through most of the book I felt frustration and sadness as the main character who was trying to study Auks and their nesting habits is saddled with a feral child, has his supplies stolen and finally the birds violated by the same thieves. Interesting, that the care of the nests, the eggs and the young auks is much superior to the humans who are supposed to care for the girl. I found the ending confusing.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Odd, this one. Absolutely loved the items about the different bird species, the quasi-science-y aspects, and the notes about the sketches. The general narrative was less interesting, and rather repetitive and meandering most of the way. I can say I am not entirely sure what was meant by this book, but it also just as likely something symbolic or metaphorical that I neglected to notice. Not terribly memorable, but not terrible either. Beautiful cover art, even so.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance audiobook of Field Notes from an Extinction by Eoghan Walls from Netgalley.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

This is an interesting story, and the narration paired perfectly.

This story is entertaining chaos. It touches on some emotional topics and you can really feel for each of characters and the struggles their experiancing.

I recommend.

[Hernandez Mars · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books you come across only a few times in your life that encapsulates tragedy, grief and love. What we leave behind in times of need, and what we devote ourselves to alleviate that grief.

I left this book with a new understanding of the Irish potato famine, the beauty and tragedy of human disruption to animals, and fated meetings.

[Tracy Racioppi-ritchey]

This book is something I would have never picked up to read. With that being said, I know very little about the potatoe famine. It has intrigued my interest on finding more reads in that era. The book brings you through many emotions even at times laughing and than being grossed out with details.

I am confused by the ending....I would have liked some ties to be made.

[Brenda DeMartini- Squires · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading this book while suffering from the flu, and all I can say is that it is a fever dream, complex and impossible to pin down until the last pages. I highly recommend if you are interested in 19th century naturalists and/or the horrors of the Irish famine and its moral implication of both.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the concept. An English naturalist, so absorbed with the birds he is studying on a remote Irish island that he is blind to the starvation and brutality the Irish are experiencing, even as a child is left with his provisions for him to care for. I will say, that while I enjoy an ambiguous ending. This seemed like the author just stopped when he ran out of ideas.