PRAISE AND REVIEWS
“A story that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the novel has been finished and set back upon the shelf…highly recommended.” —Midwest Book Review
"It’s an odd thing to say, but Krause renders the end of the world rather beautifully." —The California Review of Books
"I Think We’ve Been Here Before tricks you by coming out of the gates with its intonations of Hallmark romance — there’s a breakup with a small town boyfriend, international travel, a new and attractive stranger, and heck it’s even Christmas — but, wait, it’s also the end of the world. If you expected a cloying love story, you were wrong. This is the finest apocalyptic existential drama. A story very much of our historical moment, I Think We’ve Been Here Before directs our attention to what matters most when nothing matters at all." —Saskatchewan Books Awards Jury, City of Regina Writing Award
"Suzy Krause’s I Think We’ve Been Here Before blends and bends genres. It opens with brokenhearted Nora leaving Northern Saskatchewan and settling into a new job and life in Berlin, Germany. She meets Jacob and instantly experiences intense deja vu. Okay, Jacob and Nora will fall in love as the world ends. Then we meet Nora’s cat, residing with her in Berlin. Then we re-meet the cat at her parents’ home. It’s a small detail, but other anomalies appear as the story progresses, and we soon suss that not only is the world ending, it is replaying with variations, and its denizens are going out in a good way." —Saskatchewan Books Awards Jury, Fiction Award
"I Think We've Been Here Before by Suzy Krause, well deserves its ranking on the short-list for the Best Book in Saskatchewan Publishing, 2025. This Regina-based author has embarked on chronicling an imagined clash of typically self-reliant prairie characters smashed-up against a catastrophic event of which they have no control, with deftly-drawn psychologically-complex characters, lively prose, and humour. The result is both ironic and homey, an appetizing pottage of local game, perfectly capturing the world's erratic and inflammatory temperament told within a familiar prairie context." —Saskatchewan Book Awards Jury, Publishing Award
"I Think We’ve Been Here Before is an engaging and emotionally charged novel exploring the universal question of what is important in this life. Suzy Krause weaves memorable characters from a Saskatchewan farming community and Berlin, whose interactions are indelibly connected and impacted by news of an impending apocalyptic blast headed for Earth. Their relationships offer opportunities for forgiveness, the wonder of memory and unexpected glimpses into the future. Melding the concepts of time and place within the parameters of quantum physics and taut emotional tension, I Think We’ve Been Here Before challenges readers to find hope in darkness." —Saskatchewan Book Awards Jury, Book of the Year Award
“Wonderfully imaginative, deeply moving and thought-provoking...a real literary accomplishment.” —2025 Glengarry Book Award Jury
"I Think We’ve Been Here Before can be called many things: a philosophical novel, a family novel, an anti-apocalyptic novel, a Christmas novel, a regional yet universal story. I would feel comfortable recommending it to seasoned literary readers, readers of popular bestsellers, those who do not read much at all. Its appeal is that broad, and rather than being something to die for, the poignant ending is something to live for." —Brandon Fick, SaskBooks
"In a way, I Think We’ve Been Here Before seems to be a kind of quantum entanglement of genres and styles, mixing the downhome
qualities of Canadian prairie life with the European exoticism of urban Berlin. At its core, [it is] about a shared alienation, the culture of transformation and the illusion of permanence. It is a petri dish cultivating the birth pangs, growing pains and death rattles of our ongoing transience." —Steven Mayoff, River Street Writing“I Think We’ve Been Here Before is a rare gem of a book, the kind that instantly inspires you to sit up and pay attention, because something special is unfolding on the page. I don’t know what I loved most—the memorable characters, gripping premise, insightful prose, or nearly perfect ending. Suzy Krause writes with a magical touch.” —Jessica Strawser, USA Today bestselling author of The Last Caretaker
“I was utterly captivated and entirely entertained by Suzy Krause’s brilliantly original, surprisingly uplifting, witty, and suspenseful third novel. Filled with poignant observations about life from characters who are speeding toward the end of the world, I Think We’ve Been Here Before is about learning it’s never too late to discover what’s most important.” —Meredith Schorr, author of Someone Just Like You
“I Think We’ve Been Here Before is a propulsive, sweet, and emotional journey from beginning to end. Suzy Krause has delivered a novel that, with the turning of each subsequent page, reveals the beating, soulful heart at the center of this magical and thought-provoking story. It’s like looking at the end of the world while wearing rose-colored glasses.” —Paul Davidson, author of The Small Stuff and Company of Foos
“Tenderly devastating and beautifully rendered, I Think We’ve Been Here Before is a love story for the end of the world. Suzy Krause’s captivating talent and high-concept execution are a gift to readers—every book should be written this perfectly.” —Amber Cowie, author of The Off Season
“With plenty of dark humor and delicate insight, Suzy Krause takes readers on a bittersweet journey as members of an extended family express their love for each other and those around them when time is running out for everyone.” —Margo Candela, award-winning author of The Neapolitan Sisters
“Beautiful and heartbreaking, I Think We’ve Been Here Before is an unforgettable story about how we deal with our own personal endings alongside the end of the world. With lush, masterful prose, Suzy Krause weaves a tale about the power of love, family, and community—packaged against the ticking clock of an impending apocalypse. This is one of those stories that will stay with readers well after the last page, leaving them breathless, hopeful, and ultimately grateful for each day they get to live life alongside those they love most.” —Elissa Grossell Dickey, author of The Speed of Light and Iris in the Dark
“I never would have imagined that a story about the world coming to an end could be so hopeful, uplifting, and downright hilarious, but that’s exactly what I Think We’ve Been Here Before delivers. I loved every quirky member of this impressive cast of characters, and I hung on every word of Suzy Krause’s masterful prose until the deeply satisfying ending. This charming book will make you laugh, cry, and appreciate every moment with the people you love.” —Melissa Wiesner, author of The Second Chance Year
“An extremely poignant and heartwarming exploration of the human experience when confronted by its own mortality. Krause has masterfully rooted this apocalyptic tale in the family unit and it’s there that we find ourselves examining our own priorities and values as this beautifully crafted story unfolds.” —Perry Chafe, author of Closer by Sea
“I longed for this novel when I wasn’t reading it, found I missed Krause’s poignant observations, the dazzling, comforting faith in humanity offered on each page, the accounts of the tiny pleasures, huge heartaches, and everything else in between that make up a life. In the end, it was everything I wanted, needed—and, in a strange way, expected, as if I, too, possessed the deep knowing this author channeled into such charming storytelling. This novel moved me, changed me, delighted me, undid me—and, most importantly, it made me unafraid. I will hand it to the people I love most, filled with the hope that they might find what I did within its pages—and the certainty that they will.” —Marissa Stapley, New York Times bestselling author of Lucky and The Lightning Bottles
“This book made me feel nostalgic for a better world I might have seen in a dream. It made me want to jump out of a plane, get a tattoo, play pinball, to be the best dad. It made me want to lie in a field and watch the stars. It made me want to gather everyone I love and tell them everything, to say nice things out loud to strangers in the street. In short, it made me want to live.” —Tim Blackett, author of Grandview Drive
When I’m in need of some escapist fiction (and who isn’t right now?), I reach for an immersive read that examines life in a new way. I got exactly that with Suzy Krause’s sparkling new novel, where she has managed to make the end of the world a funny, beautiful, and tender event.
As Marlen and Hilda deal with the unimaginable, they decide to spend their last days on their farm cherishing every moment, loving each other deeply, and making the most of the time they have left.
It’s hard to find the exact words to express how thought-provoking and moving I Think We’ve Been Here Before is without spoilers. Just like book club favorite The Midnight Library, the enduring messages in Krause’s book are extraordinarily beautiful and comforting and will make you fall back in love with your life.
—Danielle Marshall, Editor
