And then it is another day, and another, and another but i will not go on about this because no doubt you too have experienced time.’ 

 

‘Cushions for the strong, chairs for the weak. ‘You should stay’ she always tells me, but I never do. Not sure where to sit.’ 

 

‘Young person worry: What if nothing I do matters? Old person worry: What if everything I do does?’ 

 

I am sure you have seen this book around as it was shortlisted for the 2020 Women’s Prize and was published in February this year. 

 

This is not a conventionally written book and thus probably not a book for everyone. Weather is written in the form of scenes of vignettes, little fragments, observations, thoughts that may seem random, undeveloped at first but the more you immerse yourself into her writing the more you get familiar with the context of it all which is actually more significant than the actual plot or the characters. Although funny at times, there is definitely an underlying undertone that is climate anxiety which made this book, for me at least, quite dark and hard to read. It was hard because climate anxiety is something I have started to personally experience for a few years now and the fact that the privileged North is still continuing with Business as Usual can make me frustrated and sad daily to this day. 

 

Weather is written in the midst of wobbly political environment, where climate crisis is a reality for everyone and we experience all the ways from small to big they affect everyday life. The preparations before the end the world, the conversations, the thoughts, the discussions; everything is connected to the crisis and yet not always in a direct way which makes it all the more disturbing as we already experience similar patterns right now 

 

The book is honestly confusing in the beginning. I did not get the flow of it until maybe about 1/3 in when I realised what the author’s focus was. I can tell you that this is about a librarian who is working closely with Sylvia, a professor who hosts a podcast called Hell or High water. The protagonist is married to Ben with whom they have a kid named Eli. She also has a brother who is going through some drug issues. But all of that will not give you the slightest grip of what weather is about as they all seem secondary to the matter at hand which is why the title is so fitting to this story. 

 

Despite, its dark undertones and very reflective prose that one has to pause to let it sink in, I do intend to re-read it in the very near future and I felt that the moment i finished reading the last sentence. Now that is some powerful writing right there. Seemingly effortless initially, but that is so far from the truth as I keep thinking about it everyday. I would love to talk to you about it if there is anyone else who is up for it. 

 

Thank you for reading!