Something New Under the Sun

Drought. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I laughed a lot while reading Alexanda Kleeman’s dystopian climate change novel titled, Something New Under the Sun. She makes a catastrophic drought humorous. Writer Patrick Hamlin leaves his wife, daughter, and the east coast for California where his novel is being made into a film. His self-absorption provides a reliable motif throughout the novel. Cassidy Carter is a Hollywood starlet cast for the film, so why would she not be self-obsessed? Tinseltown satire is always funny, especially when done as well as Kleeman does here. Along with the characters, readers adapt to the looming menace of fires and the water shortage. We don’t think twice as some characters shift to drinking WAT-R, a commercial substitute for the water that is no longer available. Kleeman plays with absurdity in this novel, and her sentences are so finely crafted that their beauty can distract readers from the overall story and I found that to be a refreshing pleasure. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Something New Under the Sun from amazon.com.