You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
this isn't a perfect book by any stretch of the imagination, but i'm giving it 5 stars for a kind of solid cli-fi dystopia that i could read without getting a panic attack. thank you lydia miller
i've owned and had this book on my dresser for upwards of 3 years now and i'm so happy i finalllyyyy finished it. really sweet and interesting. i liked the humor of the kids. i don't mind that they're all kind of archetypal. i think it works for the limited-language kind of style and the amount of space in the topic that they were granted. this is allegory this is a parable this isn't a character study and i'm cool with that.
i've owned and had this book on my dresser for upwards of 3 years now and i'm so happy i finalllyyyy finished it. really sweet and interesting. i liked the humor of the kids. i don't mind that they're all kind of archetypal. i think it works for the limited-language kind of style and the amount of space in the topic that they were granted. this is allegory this is a parable this isn't a character study and i'm cool with that.
A cli-fi story told from the POV of a group of young people who, when environmental disaster strikes, set off without their indifferent parents in order to survive. I liked the use of first person plural throughout this novel, and moments of awe and reverence for nature. Interesting religious allegories. The youth will save us!
“Why are we always complaining? We get to be alive.”
“Why are we always complaining? We get to be alive.”
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A gripping fast-paced read. Didn’t quite stick the landing for me, but it was a very thought-provoking parable about climate change and responsibility.
Layered and literary and short! A perfect combination. This is one to put on high school literature curricula.
I had high hopes for this book, given the acclaim it received, and had them seriously dashed. It was one of the least compelling dystopia novels I've read.
The main conceit was that this family trip would be a parable for how adults ruined the world and left the climate disaster to their children. To make this effective, you have to identify with the adults at some time, to understand how well-meaning people could let this happen and still be normal, seemingly decent people. Instead, the adults were cardboard cutouts of assholes who just drank in the background of the story all day, and were intentionally presented as interchangeable. The kids, the ostensible heroes of the story, were not more interesting, and barely distinguishable as individuals, either.
The bible imagery was recognizable, but pointless. The post-collapse narrative added very little to a genre where there is a lot of competition. I am honestly baffled by the acclaim for this one.
The main conceit was that this family trip would be a parable for how adults ruined the world and left the climate disaster to their children. To make this effective, you have to identify with the adults at some time, to understand how well-meaning people could let this happen and still be normal, seemingly decent people. Instead, the adults were cardboard cutouts of assholes who just drank in the background of the story all day, and were intentionally presented as interchangeable. The kids, the ostensible heroes of the story, were not more interesting, and barely distinguishable as individuals, either.
The bible imagery was recognizable, but pointless. The post-collapse narrative added very little to a genre where there is a lot of competition. I am honestly baffled by the acclaim for this one.
This was a strange, highly readable fever dream of a novel.
One of the children (Evie) largely narrates a tale of the kids left alone, running amuck during one long summer. Why are they largely left to themselves? Their parents are sharing a large vacation home and are distracted by their own hedonistic tendencies. There's a whole 'Lord of the Flies' meets global warming vibe going on in this story which made it interesting. The ending didn't live up to the earlier promise of the book, but that might be because I'm still sorting it all out.
One of the children (Evie) largely narrates a tale of the kids left alone, running amuck during one long summer. Why are they largely left to themselves? Their parents are sharing a large vacation home and are distracted by their own hedonistic tendencies. There's a whole 'Lord of the Flies' meets global warming vibe going on in this story which made it interesting. The ending didn't live up to the earlier promise of the book, but that might be because I'm still sorting it all out.
Dare I say this is near perfect? My kind of book - people making terrible decisions, reliable narrators, a good dose of tragedy, and enough literary jamboree to make one happy. An excellent choice to read in Our Time of La Corona.
The kids are alright…and angry. They have a right to be.
Compared to this, Lord of the Flies is a beacon of light and hope. Clever premise that ultimately didn't work for me.
Do you have books you know you will reread at some point?
The Children's Bible by Lydia Millet is one of those books for me. I've got Millet's latest, Dinosaurs, and am looking forward to reading it soon. She appears to have an interest in climate change, thematically, but I hear the two books are very different.
This slim little post-apocalyptic tale, narrated by precocious yet realistic kids (with obnoxiously debauched and clueless adults in the background) had a lot going on in it and I couldn't put it down. I've come to realize I love reading well-done dystopian tales, and both the ambiguity of this story plus the biblical allusions make it ripe for a revisit from me.
The Children's Bible by Lydia Millet is one of those books for me. I've got Millet's latest, Dinosaurs, and am looking forward to reading it soon. She appears to have an interest in climate change, thematically, but I hear the two books are very different.
This slim little post-apocalyptic tale, narrated by precocious yet realistic kids (with obnoxiously debauched and clueless adults in the background) had a lot going on in it and I couldn't put it down. I've come to realize I love reading well-done dystopian tales, and both the ambiguity of this story plus the biblical allusions make it ripe for a revisit from me.