Genre
Psychological Fiction
Setting and Context
Modern-day America
Narrator and Point of View
It is narrated in first-person perspective from the point of view of Lizzie.
Tone and Mood
The tone of the novel is sincere with a tinge of humor but also bleak. The mood is melancholic from the impending doom of climate change.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the novel is Lizzie Benson while the antagonist is climate change and the political tensions around the subject.
Major Conflict
Lizzie appears as the pillar of her family but she harbors her own insecurities about her abilities and shortcomings. Moreover, she has to pick up the slack in a podcast and also contend with her existential despair triggered by politics and climate change.
Climax
The climax takes place when Sylvia decides to be a recluse and quits the foundation.
Foreshadowing
“My # 1 fear is the acceleration of days. No such thing supposedly, but I swear I can feel it.”
The statement foreshadows the existential dread that Lizzie experiences working with the podcast and engaging with doomsday prepping forums.
Understatement
“People always talk about email and phones and how they alienate us from one another, but these sorts of fears about technology have always been with us”
The assertion understates the influence society assumes modern technology has had on socializing.
Allusions
The novel alludes to the 2016 election of President Donald Trump and the political debate around global warming and climate change.
Imagery
“There are seaside villages in the Netherlands where you can hear waves crashing, see seagulls circling, and smell the salt water without ever once seeing the sea.”
Paradox
“These people long for immortality but can’t wait ten minutes for a cup of coffee”
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“This woman is a shrink.”
Personification
“One night a house suddenly rose up from the ground and went floating through the air.”
