maggy_crun's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
sophiereads21's review against another edition
4.0
This book follows a family down roughly 4 generations, Adam and Ellie as they have their first child, Summer a teenager at house parties, Noah obsessed with the stars. The story skips forwards a decade at a time - meaning the family relationships are fraught with hidden tension that the reader has not witnessed. Set against a changing climate, the characters face flood, pandemic, fire and species extinction but not always in a direct or in your face way.
Reading this book in 2023 post covid was slightly terrifying in that whole "we clearly have known that pandemics are going to be a potential side effects of a human changed climate" and yet it still took the world by surprise! Which honestly just encapsulates the whole book, we know what the effects of climate change will be (they are already happening) and yet every time we are surprised by the number of deaths, or that yet another species has gone extinct.
One of the things this book does excellently is the small ways climate change impacts on every day life and the way it fades into 'background noise', rolling brown outs meaning you have to replace all the food in your fridge periodically, snippets of the news from other parts of the world, the loss of coffee as a crop.
This book talks about survival through change (flood, fire, pandemic) and reads as very depressing the whole way through (not recommended if you already have climate anxiety) but ends on a weirdly forced feeling of hope (people are still here and will persist) that isn't present in any of the other parts of the book.
I think this book may in an accessible way tell people what science cannot, it is already too late. We have already changed the Earth's climate irrevocably, all that is left to to change out behaviour as much as we can (mostly looking at you large corporations) and ride out the impacts.
Reading this book in 2023 post covid was slightly terrifying in that whole "we clearly have known that pandemics are going to be a potential side effects of a human changed climate" and yet it still took the world by surprise! Which honestly just encapsulates the whole book, we know what the effects of climate change will be (they are already happening) and yet every time we are surprised by the number of deaths, or that yet another species has gone extinct.
One of the things this book does excellently is the small ways climate change impacts on every day life and the way it fades into 'background noise', rolling brown outs meaning you have to replace all the food in your fridge periodically, snippets of the news from other parts of the world, the loss of coffee as a crop.
This book talks about survival through change (flood, fire, pandemic) and reads as very depressing the whole way through (not recommended if you already have climate anxiety) but ends on a weirdly forced feeling of hope (people are still here and will persist) that isn't present in any of the other parts of the book.
I think this book may in an accessible way tell people what science cannot, it is already too late. We have already changed the Earth's climate irrevocably, all that is left to to change out behaviour as much as we can (mostly looking at you large corporations) and ride out the impacts.
beccatroni's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of stories of relationships between ourselves and the climate as it continues to collapse. Bradley paints a realistic portrait of how the background hum of climate change will get louder and begin to affect and frame our lives. A recommended read but not if you are already suffering from climate anxiety.
lamontslament's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Well written, often poetic. Format was nice (family saga vignettes). But so many loose unexplained/unexplored threads, a few annoying metaphors (the story about a flood introduced a character named Noah? Really? Why?), and I’m not sure I believe the way autism was portrayed. I like the themes of survival, beauty + horror of climate change, what it means to be a parent… The tensions in relationships were very believable, and it was a gripping read.
schnoebs13's review against another edition
3.0
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.
notsomadboy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
amyl123's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ericpschoon's review against another edition
- 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.
sabrinahughes's review against another edition
4.0
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.