A review by souslespaveslapage
Storm by George R. Stewart

informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Storm was unlike anything I've read in a long time. It veered between feeling very much like a product of its time (originally published in 1941) and incredibly contemporary. Stewart's treatment of the storm and all its many interrelated effects feels almost proto-Anthropocene, and calls to mind the work of scholar Jane Bennett on the agency of things. There are moments of Stewart's very white, American male perspective throughout which bump the reader back into the first half of the twentieth century, but I could ignore it enough to be thrilled by his ability to draw connections between places, species and subjects, as well as for the care and attention he gives his non-human actors. If you've ever wanted to read a book in which a 2x4, a chipmunk, a hog, a river and a tree were characters, then this is it.