Berit Ellingsen

I don't know why this was categorized as science fiction.

Yes, it's set in the near future, where climate change impacts are stronger and felt more broadly. Lots of literary and mainstream fiction novels have similar settings.

Yes, the main character applied to be an astronaut; but the way it's presented in the book doesn't distinguish it from any other kind of job application, except for more medical tests.

Stylistically, it is more a literary work. The plot is hazy, science and speculation don't drive the narrative, the characters are complex and Ellingsen spends a lot of time drawing out their idiosyncrasies and dwelling on their smaller details and inner motivations.

At heart, this was a story about what kind of person Brandon--a Korean-Norwegian gay man, ex-soldier and current photographer--was going to be. Hide from his past in the mountains, return to his boyfriend in the city and pretend life is normal, join a radical resistance group?

The subplot involving clearing the heath for planting crops was heartbreaking for me. I'm not sure if this is something a general reader would pick up on, but the themes of the unintended consequences of even well-meant human interference in natural systems were most clearly drawn there.

This book was very different. Spare, dreamy, slow-paced, reflective, obsessed with motives and consequences. I'm looking forward to more of her novels.… (more)

Ellingsen's novels tell the stories of every-day people living through climate change--falling in love, fighting, reconciling, trying to make sense of things. In this novel, our protagonist watches from a distance as a record-breaking hurricane hits his home city on the coast, and drowns it. His family and his lover live there, and he soon makes his way to the City on foot to see if he can find them or at least find out if they're ok, and falls in with a group of aid workers. The limitations of their ability to provide aid, or of anyone's ability to restore this city to habitability, become clear, and they're confronted with questions of what they can and can't save, and what they should give up on. None of the locations are named, though you can make some educated guesses about where this unfolds: the key piece of information is that this is a wealthy, first world city that previously thought itself immune to climate impacts.

I found her language a bit clunky in this one, but otherwise it was a well written story with believable and compelling characters living a story that will become more and more common as this century unfolds.… (more)

...Not Dark Yet is a novel that emphasizes character over development of the plot. Various events in the novel are not so much part of one story arc but rather examined in the light of how they influence the main character. As such, this novel is probably not a good choice for very plot oriented readers. Personally I found Brandon to be a highly interesting character though. Every time you think you have a handle on him, Ellingsen explores a new facet of his personality. What the outcome of Brandon's soul searching will be remains uncertain until the very end of the novel. All things considered I think it is a very successful novel. I'll definitely keep an eye out for the next one.

Full Random Comments review… (more)