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FindingJane
Nov 06, 2015FindingJane rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Taking ancient classics for inspiration (rather than the tired trend of mashups) is a brilliant notion and one not limited to the current generation. Shakespearean fans note that many of his comedies were re-writings of ancient works by Plautus. With “Love in the Time of Global Warming” walking in the shoes of Homer’s “Odyssey”, the stage is set for a tale of wonder, magic, terror and supernatural forces. Oh, and yes, there is love. But love is never easy at the best of times and Ms. Block is terrific at writing about how it can overwhelm you and tear you apart. Some things go weirdly unspoken. The teenagers seem to embody the forces of earth, wind, fire and water. But no one points out that salient detail. They wonder whether the rest of the world has been affected by the giant earthquakes that ripped apart California. It doesn’t make clear that all technology has been affected by the cataclysm or not so why doesn’t anyone check online? Why don’t they log into Facebook to see if their friends have survived and where they might be? Why does no one even mention such technology? Is this a world devoid of the Internet? Also, the teenagers all seem to be inconveniently gay with potential opposite-sex partners either cruel, murderous monsters (sirens and giants), older men who are rapists and thus best avoided or people who swiftly wind up as dead, victims of the aforementioned monsters. That’s it for the human race, then. With no one left who’s interested or capable of procreation, humanity is kaput. The disappearance of the animals is a mystery, too, i.e., a head scratcher because it makes no sense. The giants may have caught a lot of scrambling prey in the aftermath of the earthquakes. But they can’t fly. So how did they get and eat all the birds and insects? Did they migrate to Europe? All fictional novels require a certain suspension of belief. “Love in the Time of Global Warming” needs so much of it you might as well shrug and concentrate on the lyrical writing. Fortunately, that is excellent enough to make you ignore the questions.