Et cetera : What We're Reading: The Light Pirate

My choice for this month's Adventures in Bookclubbing 'Winds of Change' theme was 'The Light Pirate' by Lily Brooks-Dalton. Dark skies warn of an incoming hurricane in a small town in Florida. Kirby, a lineman, fearless by design, is convinced it won't be as bad as predicted. His wife Frida, pregnant with their first child, is traumatized by the hurricane in her past that brought the two of them together. Frida pleads with Kirby to evacuate yet acquiesces and shelters in place with her two young stepsons while Kirby leaves to work. Exhausted and emotionally spent, Frida retreats to her dark room, instructing the boys to stay inside. But curiosity and budding bravado get the better of them and when Kirby comes home, they're gone.

The story continues dramatically from there, jumping forward in time to see how the pebbles dropped during this hurricane ripple into the future for the people, place, and elements. Brooks-Dalton's writing is hypnotic; readable, tense, and comforting at once. This is my first foray into Cli-Fi (climate fiction) and won't be my last.

Fans of Cli-Fi are sure to treasure this book; it currently has 4/5 stars on goodreads.com. If you're looking for more, try 'The Year of the Flood' by Margaret Atwood, 'Odds Against Tomorrow' by Nathaniel Rich, and 'Florida' by Lauren Groff.

Happy reading!

Kelly Henkle, Library Director