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A review by mat_tobin
The Fog by Kyo Maclear
5.0
A wonderfully odd yet delightful friendship is set up between a bird and a human who are both ‘a little bit lost’ in MacLear and Park’s The Fog. The story opens from the perspective of one small yellow warbler; a native of Icy Land, an island that welcomes droves of visitors throughout the year who enjoy exploring and taking snapshots of the wildlife. To the reader’s amusement, our little warbler has a similar hobby in that he is a ‘devoted human watcher ‘with binoculars and books to support his passion.
When the ice begins to recede and a fog envelopes the island, our feathered anthropologist becomes concerned but the other birds carry on nonplussed. It is only when he sights and shares his worries with a lost ‘red-hooded spectacled female (juvenile)’ that his concerns about the truth of the climate change affecting his home seems real. Together they look for a way to combat it.
The Fog is a subtle, deftly told allegory on climate change with a dab of gentle humour to keep us drawn in with the especially welcome introduction of an unusual protagonist in the form of our little anthropromorphic bird. Presented in a portrait format, Pak’s pastel washes lend an air of mystery and hidden depths to the visual narrative whilst Maclear, wisely, never over-eggs the ecocritical message. As with our yellow warbler, the questions and answers are there for those who seek to look closely and investigate. I particularly loved the endpapers which provide a catalogue of human species from the pages of the warbler’s own books.
When the ice begins to recede and a fog envelopes the island, our feathered anthropologist becomes concerned but the other birds carry on nonplussed. It is only when he sights and shares his worries with a lost ‘red-hooded spectacled female (juvenile)’ that his concerns about the truth of the climate change affecting his home seems real. Together they look for a way to combat it.
The Fog is a subtle, deftly told allegory on climate change with a dab of gentle humour to keep us drawn in with the especially welcome introduction of an unusual protagonist in the form of our little anthropromorphic bird. Presented in a portrait format, Pak’s pastel washes lend an air of mystery and hidden depths to the visual narrative whilst Maclear, wisely, never over-eggs the ecocritical message. As with our yellow warbler, the questions and answers are there for those who seek to look closely and investigate. I particularly loved the endpapers which provide a catalogue of human species from the pages of the warbler’s own books.