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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
A good book that looks at: climate change, fertility issues, autism, grief and roles of technology
On the front of the cover on my copy, Robert MacFarlane calls this book "Brilliant, unsettling and timely." I definitely agree with 2 out of those 3 descriptions. Clade takes the reader along as they follow the lives of a family over three generations into the future. Starting in the beginning of the 21st century, the possible future impacts of climate change are depicted in an very eerie and unsettling way. But this is important because the author does it in a way that is very realistic and dives into the many different possibilities of the challenges we as society could face in the future. Including but not limited to: sea level rise, economic crashes, species extinction, new and unknown deadly diseases, intense heat waves, irregular and fluctuating access to the energy grid, immigration crisis and more. Throughout this book we also learn about the possibility of our future connection to technology and a need to always have a screen at hand to access information and media whenever we need or want.
Discussing the issues and family dynamics of those struggling in a changing climate, I found this really fascinating. The biggest issue for me though was a lack of connection with the characters in general and then at times not being sure how the characters currently being discussed were connected to those throughout the rest of the book. Being someone who has study environmental science and policy, I already knew about a lot of the information on climate change being laid out in this book but I also feel that it could be a good resource to help people gain a better picture of the possible future we might have. I also enjoyed the twist at the end with Noah.
On the front of the cover on my copy, Robert MacFarlane calls this book "Brilliant, unsettling and timely." I definitely agree with 2 out of those 3 descriptions. Clade takes the reader along as they follow the lives of a family over three generations into the future. Starting in the beginning of the 21st century, the possible future impacts of climate change are depicted in an very eerie and unsettling way. But this is important because the author does it in a way that is very realistic and dives into the many different possibilities of the challenges we as society could face in the future. Including but not limited to: sea level rise, economic crashes, species extinction, new and unknown deadly diseases, intense heat waves, irregular and fluctuating access to the energy grid, immigration crisis and more. Throughout this book we also learn about the possibility of our future connection to technology and a need to always have a screen at hand to access information and media whenever we need or want.
Discussing the issues and family dynamics of those struggling in a changing climate, I found this really fascinating. The biggest issue for me though was a lack of connection with the characters in general and then at times not being sure how the characters currently being discussed were connected to those throughout the rest of the book. Being someone who has study environmental science and policy, I already knew about a lot of the information on climate change being laid out in this book but I also feel that it could be a good resource to help people gain a better picture of the possible future we might have. I also enjoyed the twist at the end with Noah.
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
N/A
Clade offers a cut together, if coddled view of the next 40~ years of human existence. Switching perspectives throughout the book explores how the world will change with global warming and how humans continue to adapt and survive through this apocalypse of their own creation.
I say coddled because while Clade does dip it's toes into the darker side of this, it mostly takes a "everything will be alright" approach to building this world. This is reflected on the parts of the world it chooses to focus on, solely talking place in English-speaking developed nations, and the people it follows, mostly one upper middle class family and their multiple offspring.
While disasters happen around the perspective characters in the book, they rarely strike so close. It gives a strangely distant feel to the stories from their setting, placing a focus on the human stories unfurling instead of the state of the world as much. Which in some ways is more realistic I suppose, we're just living life now as these issues get worse and most people don't have the time or energy to focus on them all the time. As things get even worse and the long forewarned effects of global warming becomes more real, that will only continue.
And the stories are good; what Clade lacks in a cohesive overarching plot are multiple short stories that fit together well enough for this to be called a novel but still get the opportunity to explore new ideas. Both when it comes to the people they explore and the state of the world at that point in time.
But idk, when the book does try to get more reflective and have a hopeful message of human endurance or the beauty of life in hardship it's hard to buy into when the author purposefully chose to focus on characters who would be the least affected by whats happening.
I say coddled because while Clade does dip it's toes into the darker side of this, it mostly takes a "everything will be alright" approach to building this world. This is reflected on the parts of the world it chooses to focus on, solely talking place in English-speaking developed nations, and the people it follows, mostly one upper middle class family and their multiple offspring.
While disasters happen around the perspective characters in the book, they rarely strike so close. It gives a strangely distant feel to the stories from their setting, placing a focus on the human stories unfurling instead of the state of the world as much. Which in some ways is more realistic I suppose, we're just living life now as these issues get worse and most people don't have the time or energy to focus on them all the time. As things get even worse and the long forewarned effects of global warming becomes more real, that will only continue.
And the stories are good; what Clade lacks in a cohesive overarching plot are multiple short stories that fit together well enough for this to be called a novel but still get the opportunity to explore new ideas. Both when it comes to the people they explore and the state of the world at that point in time.
But idk, when the book does try to get more reflective and have a hopeful message of human endurance or the beauty of life in hardship it's hard to buy into when the author purposefully chose to focus on characters who would be the least affected by whats happening.
I guess I really liked this bc I read it in one sitting, all while I was trying to decide if I liked it enough to continue. A rare combination.
Reading this book in 2020, just five years after it was published feels uncanny. Climate fiction has that advantage that it talks about the possible future without much speculation. This is the case with Clade. We have been warned about what's coming, we have seen some of it happening, if we survive long enough, we will see more of it and it will get more extreme.
Clade reminded me of the British TV show Years and Years, which covers the close future of a family in all the strange familiarity of the current events mixed with some black swan type disasters nobody could have predicted. As we move along the timeline, things get more removed from the familiar, but the human connections are the thread that keeps everything together.
The structure of the novel was interesting. There are different characters narrating from their often limited perspectives. As the title of the novel suggests, all these characters are in some way connected to a character (predictably) called Adam. These are all done in the form of vignettes which range from deeply emotional to journalistic.
Adam is a research scientist aware that the climate change is going to transform the planet. He and his wife are going through a series of IVF treatments.The psychological portrayal of how their inability to conceive may be related to the reluctance to bring a child into this world was probably the strongest point of the novel for me. Adam learns of his wife's pregnancy while stationed in Antarctica where a large rupture in the ice sheet foreshadows the gravity of things to come.
I really enjoyed the first part of the novel, it was done really well and the story just flowed, clearly supported by Bradley's narrative craft. I found the the last one third a little lacking, as the characters had a limited perspective and were introduced abruptly so there was little emotional connection that would carry the reader through. Otherwise, this would have been a 5 star read for me.
But, overall, there is a gentle sense of optimism that never feels forced and a wonderful element of surprise towards the end. This is clearly a keeper and one of the best novels in this genre I've read.
Clade reminded me of the British TV show Years and Years, which covers the close future of a family in all the strange familiarity of the current events mixed with some black swan type disasters nobody could have predicted. As we move along the timeline, things get more removed from the familiar, but the human connections are the thread that keeps everything together.
The structure of the novel was interesting. There are different characters narrating from their often limited perspectives. As the title of the novel suggests, all these characters are in some way connected to a character (predictably) called Adam. These are all done in the form of vignettes which range from deeply emotional to journalistic.
Adam is a research scientist aware that the climate change is going to transform the planet. He and his wife are going through a series of IVF treatments.The psychological portrayal of how their inability to conceive may be related to the reluctance to bring a child into this world was probably the strongest point of the novel for me. Adam learns of his wife's pregnancy while stationed in Antarctica where a large rupture in the ice sheet foreshadows the gravity of things to come.
I really enjoyed the first part of the novel, it was done really well and the story just flowed, clearly supported by Bradley's narrative craft. I found the the last one third a little lacking, as the characters had a limited perspective and were introduced abruptly so there was little emotional connection that would carry the reader through. Otherwise, this would have been a 5 star read for me.
But, overall, there is a gentle sense of optimism that never feels forced and a wonderful element of surprise towards the end. This is clearly a keeper and one of the best novels in this genre I've read.
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed Bradley's rapid snippets of various characters moving through an (unfortunately) realistic and chaotic future. It's a short novel that offers up more of a pile of entrees than a single main meal in terms of narrative, but I liked the way it was put together. The science was fairly solid, which is always refreshing in literary sci-fi like this. I also appreciated the way Australia was viewed as a smaller piece of a much greater whole in a narrative set against the backdrop of a world with an increasingly violent climate.
This read like a disaster movie watches. And this book is a bit of a disaster movie, slowed down over decades instead of days, but the sentimental "we found each other in the fire" feelings still permeate through it, and for me it kind of ruined the end of it.
The book follows a family as their relationships grow and fade over the near future, as animals die off and massive natural disasters sweep the planet, followed by pandemics and economic collapse. It's a very grim and honestly realistic depiction of what the near future could look like (though the pandemic chapter honestly reminded me of the Plague Inc. game). For those depictions, I appreciate this book. And though I do like that by the end, society has rebuilt itself and it's somewhat close to a happy ending, it tied itself up too neatly, it felt. That might be just me, but the ending felt too cliché for my liking.
So this was alright. It's not the best book I've ever read, but I enjoyed it for the most part. Some interesting concepts about both what our apocalypse could look like and what the world will look like in the coming years, but a lot of sentiment I didn't need.
The book follows a family as their relationships grow and fade over the near future, as animals die off and massive natural disasters sweep the planet, followed by pandemics and economic collapse. It's a very grim and honestly realistic depiction of what the near future could look like (though the pandemic chapter honestly reminded me of the Plague Inc. game). For those depictions, I appreciate this book. And though I do like that by the end, society has rebuilt itself and it's somewhat close to a happy ending, it tied itself up too neatly, it felt. That might be just me, but the ending felt too cliché for my liking.
So this was alright. It's not the best book I've ever read, but I enjoyed it for the most part. Some interesting concepts about both what our apocalypse could look like and what the world will look like in the coming years, but a lot of sentiment I didn't need.
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes