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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
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.”
A dystopian fable about a global warming apocalypse fittingly published at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. The cross-generational divide is at the forefront here, as the story is told from the perspective of a teenager from the “next generation”, and really sends home the message of how they were let down by their parents, despite all of the warnings. Reminded me of “The Last of Us” mixed with “Lord of the Flies”. Lots of interesting twists and turns along the way - with a fitting ending. Good recommendation from Liz!
“The parents complained, indignant. It was so sudden, they said. They'd all been told there was more time. Way more. It was someone else's fault, that was for sure.”
“"Do you blame us?" asked a mother. Pathetic-sounding.
We blame you for everything," Jen said evenly.
Who else is there to blame?" added Rafe.
"I don't blame you," said Sukey…"You were just stupid. And lazy."
Not so grateful.
You gave up the world" said David…
“Hate to disappoint you, but we don't have that much
power, said a father.
“Yeah. And that's what they all said," said Jen.
"Listen. We know we let you down," said a mother. "But what could we have done, really?"
"Fight," said Rafe. "Did you ever fight?”
"Or did you just do exactly what you wanted? said Jen.
"Always?"
The mothers looked at each other. A father rubbed his beard. Others put hands in pockets, rocked back and forth on their heels and studied the pile of dirt beside the stones.
“At that time in my personal life, I was coming to grips with the end of the world. The familiar world, anyway. Many of
us were. Scientists said it was ending now, philosophers said it had always been ending. Historians said there'd been dark ages before... Politicians claimed everything would be fine. Adjustments were being made. Much as our human ingenuity had got us into this fine mess, so would it neatly get us out. Maybe more cars would switch to electric. That was how we could tell it was serious. Because they were obviously lying.”
“The Great House had been built by robber barons in the nineteenth century, a palatial retreat for the green months.
Our parents, those so-called figures of authority, roamed its rooms in vague circuits beneath the broad beams, their objectives murky. And of no general interest.
They liked to drink.”
“We told you they had guns," I hissed. "And you came here with absolutely nothing?"
"We have the law on our side, Eve," said my father, draw. ing himself up straight, his eyes meant to be blazing.
"The power of the law!"
Maybe he was drunk, after all.
"We threatened litigation, said a father next to him.”
“"Don't do this to yourself" said my mother, always prac-tical. "All we can do is cultivate our garden."
We didn't get that, until, cramming, we came across it in the famous sayings of a dead Frenchman.”
“Molecules never die, I thought. Hadn't they told us that in chemistry? Hadn't they said a molecule of Julius Caesar's dying breath was, statistically speaking, in every breath we took? Same with Lincoln. Or our grandparents.”
“The parents complained, indignant. It was so sudden, they said. They'd all been told there was more time. Way more. It was someone else's fault, that was for sure.”
“"Do you blame us?" asked a mother. Pathetic-sounding.
We blame you for everything," Jen said evenly.
Who else is there to blame?" added Rafe.
"I don't blame you," said Sukey…"You were just stupid. And lazy."
Not so grateful.
You gave up the world" said David…
“Hate to disappoint you, but we don't have that much
power, said a father.
“Yeah. And that's what they all said," said Jen.
"Listen. We know we let you down," said a mother. "But what could we have done, really?"
"Fight," said Rafe. "Did you ever fight?”
"Or did you just do exactly what you wanted? said Jen.
"Always?"
The mothers looked at each other. A father rubbed his beard. Others put hands in pockets, rocked back and forth on their heels and studied the pile of dirt beside the stones.
“At that time in my personal life, I was coming to grips with the end of the world. The familiar world, anyway. Many of
us were. Scientists said it was ending now, philosophers said it had always been ending. Historians said there'd been dark ages before... Politicians claimed everything would be fine. Adjustments were being made. Much as our human ingenuity had got us into this fine mess, so would it neatly get us out. Maybe more cars would switch to electric. That was how we could tell it was serious. Because they were obviously lying.”
“The Great House had been built by robber barons in the nineteenth century, a palatial retreat for the green months.
Our parents, those so-called figures of authority, roamed its rooms in vague circuits beneath the broad beams, their objectives murky. And of no general interest.
They liked to drink.”
“We told you they had guns," I hissed. "And you came here with absolutely nothing?"
"We have the law on our side, Eve," said my father, draw. ing himself up straight, his eyes meant to be blazing.
"The power of the law!"
Maybe he was drunk, after all.
"We threatened litigation, said a father next to him.”
“"Don't do this to yourself" said my mother, always prac-tical. "All we can do is cultivate our garden."
We didn't get that, until, cramming, we came across it in the famous sayings of a dead Frenchman.”
“Molecules never die, I thought. Hadn't they told us that in chemistry? Hadn't they said a molecule of Julius Caesar's dying breath was, statistically speaking, in every breath we took? Same with Lincoln. Or our grandparents.”
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death, Pregnancy
adventurous
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
DNF. People describe Millet as a funny, but there is absolutely nothing funny about this book. It starts dark and progressively gets darker, and the events of the book are far too close to the horrible things currently happening in the world for me to find them remotely funny. I couldn't finish.