We Are Unprepared, written by Meg Little Reilly, is a insight of what the future of the world could look like. The book begins with the two main characters Ash and Pia. The two are headed to Isole, Vermont for a more exclusive, quieter life. There is talks of a life threatening storm and
the fear and anxiety this produces is like nothing Ash and Pia have seen or experienced before.
This story is told from Ash's point of view and is broken up into three parts. The first part is the longest. It is told over the course of several months and before the storm is scheduled to actually hit. The second part is when the storm actually hits.
Everyone had different ways of preparing themselves for this potentially catastrophic event but they all experienced panic, paranoia, and terror as they waited to see if the storm would even come to fruition. Many people began to act rashly and highly out of their normal character as they grappled with the preparations necessarily to survive the impending and ominous weather. Ash and Pia find themselves on different sides when their town is divided; he joins in the local town elders to try and do what’s best for them as a whole while she begins meeting with a group of local preps who are mainly concerned with looking out for themselves. The pressures they are facing coupled with a tense environment put heavy strain on their marriage. How can they unite to ride out The Storm when they have such varying opinions and viewpoints? What does all this disparity mean for the future of not only their marriage, but also for society in general?
I enjoyed how Little Reilly used a catastrophic event but put a twist with it. It made me feel like I was apart of the story. I did not want to stop reading the book. I was anxiously anticipating the storm. Little Reilly managed to convey an important message and cautionary tale while weaving it together with compelling characters that I was invested in.
The coming “storm” of climate change will undoubtedly have similarly variable and disruptive effects on people. I suppose that was part of Meg Reilly’s point. Does she think there’s any way we can be more prepared? Do you? Is Is there any way individuals can be prepared, if they don’t coordinate their preparations with other members of their communities? In other words, is the Survivalist/Go It Alone approach at all worth considering? Are we indeed, as the cliche has it, "all in this together"? I'm guessing the answers to those last two questions are No and Yes, respectively.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think that you can never prepare for the unexpected. Even when you watch the Weather and they predict for rain, sometimes it might rain and then other times you are dressed for the rain and it never comes. Same instance here, I think if you have a "team" of people per say then, that is when you will probably have comfort. But in all I don't think you can fully prepare yourself.
DeleteDid you consider the storm in the novel to be any more symbolic then its initial appearance?
ReplyDeleteyes, I viewed the storm as God coming back and some people were preparing to go to hell and some were preparing to go to heaven.
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