Junah at the End of the World

Funny, soulful, and timely, Dan Leach’s Junah at the End of the World reminds us that it’s only after accepting the world’s end that we can discover what it means to truly live.

When twelve-year-old Junah Simmons walks into his middle school classroom in September 1999, the chalkboard reads THE END OF THE WORLD IS HERE. In the months leading up to Y2K, Junah’s eccentric teacher tasks each of her students to make a time capsule in a shoe box to document their experiences in South Carolina at the end of the world.

Junah is an outsider at school, the kid in sunglasses with a speech impediment. Through the time capsule project, he sifts through the tough stuff: his parents divorce, Rusty, the school bully, Sadie, his punk crush who doesn’t know he exists, his mother’s pressure on him to turn to Jesus, his worry and loneliness. Rendered in vignettes and scraps, this kaleidoscopic novel follows Junah as he confronts the catastrophes of youth while wrestling with the notion that the world itself could end in December. With the wit of George Singleton and the punk charm of Sam Pink, Dan Leach is a writer to watch.

Praise for Junah at the End of the World

“Brimming with tenderness, humor, and literary brio, Junah at the End of the World is a short novel with a big heart. Dan Leach deftly bridges schoolyard sagas of crushes and bullies, with existential insight into the human experience. Through Junah’s twelve-year-old eyes, we see the world anew—even as it is poised to (maybe) end—which makes for storytelling that is as poignant as it is surprising.” —Allegra Hyde, author of The Last Catastrophe

“Dan Leach has wonderfully pulled off a new New South picaresque novel: bold, imaginative, poignant while still being awfully damn funny.” —Mark Richard, author of The Ice at the Bottom of the World 

“A time capsule for dreamers and punks. Junah at the End of the World curates the secrets of love, faith, and coming-of-age in Carolina at the turn of the millennium.” —Stephen Hundley, author of Bomb Island

“Dan Leach has managed to write a hilarious and touching novel about grieving for a dying world. Junah at the End of the World is a period piece that echoes our own age of anxiety rendered with mercy and love. Dan Leach is a bold new voice from the South, among my favorite writers working today.” —Michael Bible, author of The Ancient Hours