A Children's Bible
by Lydia Millet
Published 2020 ยท 224 pages
A group of twelve children spends a sweltering summer at a lavish lakeside mansion with their dysfunctional, hedonistic parents. When an apocalyptic storm and the ensuing collapse hit, the kids band together to fend for themselves while the adults retreat into denial and indulgence. Narrated by teenage Eve, Lydia Millet's sharp, mordant novel is a biblically tinged allegory about climate catastrophe and the failures one generation leaves to the next. A finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
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2 reviewsHated this book, especially coming after the fantastic Stoner. Ridiculously contrived situations and dialog. Almost cringey how stupid the scenarios are. Party near the water before a hurricane. Damage to the house so lets have an orgy. Impending natural disaster so let's bring a 9mos pregnant woman to the beach. Kid somehow captures animals (including barn owls) in the aftermath of disaster. Society totally breaks down overnight. Kids willing to turn on their parents. Parents go catatonic. And of course, rednecks with guns, but luckily random swat teams to save the day. etc, etc. I guess there's supposed to be some grand allegory here about global warming or boomers being the problem or something like that but this book was barely tolerable. Only finished b/c of the book club. Sorry, big miss here.
I enjoyed it as a standalone story but wish I followed the biblical connections better, but not enough to actually study the Bible! An incredibly fun read that I feel like I will want to re-read at some point.