This might be one of the most depressing and devastating books I’ve read on a long time. It’s so quiet and yet so affecting. The unnamed narrator navigates the mess of her personal and family life amid her growing awareness of climate disaster. She drops her kid off at school, tries to help her substance-addicted brother, and wonders how her marriage is holding up, all while ruminating about prepping and survival strategies and whether to move somewhere “safer” in anticipation of a dismal future. It’s depressing because of its familiarity, devastating because it’s like looking in a mirror during your late night bouts of doom and gloom.

The writing is great and the semi-stream-of-consciousness is very effective. This book would be good for those who aren’t already mired in the sort of rumination this narrator is. Lots of people need to read this book. Unfortunately I think I wasn’t one of them.