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A review by sheeky
The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I'm in love with this novella. There's something so compelling about a story that leads up to a decision--I think from the start, the exact ending was fairly easy to assume, but that didn't matter one bit because this is one of those stories that is very much "about the journey." Premee Mohamed is an incredibly gifted writer, and her words ebb and flow with a stoic lyricism that mirrors both Reid's emotional journey and the throb of the fungus beneath her skin.
And that's what I mean when I say this novella is "emotional--" not that it will necessarily make you cry (though I did,) but that it fully captures the complexity of a "simple decision." It understands what leaving truly means when you're in community, the tension between the individual and the together and how and where those lines blur. It understands rings of family and left-behind mothers and growing pains and not knowing what you want. It also understands anger, the rage of being handed the remains of a world someone else failed to save. In Reid and Henryk and the rest of the town, Mohamed has written a very clear picture of what we might look like once the climate apocalypse has truly ravaged us, privileged bubbles and all.
The body horror bits of this book are also very good. I won't say too much for fear of spoiling, but: very, very good.
I tend not to buy books until after I've read them; this is 100% something I want on my shelf!
And that's what I mean when I say this novella is "emotional--" not that it will necessarily make you cry (though I did,) but that it fully captures the complexity of a "simple decision." It understands what leaving truly means when you're in community, the tension between the individual and the together and how and where those lines blur. It understands rings of family and left-behind mothers and growing pains and not knowing what you want. It also understands anger, the rage of being handed the remains of a world someone else failed to save. In Reid and Henryk and the rest of the town, Mohamed has written a very clear picture of what we might look like once the climate apocalypse has truly ravaged us, privileged bubbles and all.
The body horror bits of this book are also very good. I won't say too much for fear of spoiling, but: very, very good.
I tend not to buy books until after I've read them; this is 100% something I want on my shelf!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Ableism and Pedophilia