Welcome friend! Ariel and I have found a new series to read! The Annual Migration of Clouds is the first book in the series of the same name, written by Canadian author, Premee Mohamed, who is based in Edmonton, near me! Our buddy read for August for this and we are excited to discuss the follow up in September. Short and impactful, here is what the book is about:
Premee Mohamed | Goodreads
In post-climate disaster Alberta, a woman infected with a mysterious parasite must choose whether to pursue a rare opportunity far from home or stay and help rebuild her community.
The world is nothing like it once was: climate disasters have wracked the continent, causing food shortages, ending industry, and leaving little behind. Then came Cad, mysterious mind-altering fungi that invade the bodies of the now scattered citizenry. Reid, a young woman who carries this parasite, has been given a chance to get away – to move to one of the last remnants of pre-disaster society – but she can’t bring herself to abandon her mother and the community that relies on her.
When she’s offered a coveted place on a dangerous and profitable mission, she jumps at the opportunity to set her family up for life, but how can Reid ask people to put their trust in her when she can’t even trust her own mind?
Content notes include Animal death, death, blood, body horror, medical content.
The Annual Migration of Clouds – Discussion
Kriti: Though I have read a few books set in Canada, finding one that is right here in the area I have called home for a decade is an amazing experience. On top of that, to imagine it a century or more in the future, to be able to visit landmarks reimagined is surreal but also comforting in a way. The Annual Migration of Clouds is the first novella in a post-apocalyptic climate fiction series by Premee Mohamed. She lives in Edmonton, Canada where I work and she studied at University of Alberta where I did too.
The World Now
Premee’s writing is immersive and, told in first person, I slipped into being nineteen year old Reid easily. The world looks very different from mine. People live in offices on campus (the Biological Science Centre at the University of Alberta is the community hub here – I have been to that building!) and typically do not venture far alone. Books printed on paper are considered relics and no one makes paper from trees anymore as so many have fallen in the disasters. Knowledge to create plastics and guns is lost. There is no electricity. Meat, milk and sugar are no longer everyday consumables. Death is a frequent visitor and there is a public board that keeps names and reasons of death.
Ariel: That is so cool that you are so familiar with the setting of this book! I really enjoyed the author’s other novella, Butcher of the Forest and its dark and deep cosmic horror/fae horror vibes alongside thoughtful examinations on big existential questions. With that context, I was very much looking forward to reading this book as a buddy read! I found that the setting was immediately immersive and while the day-to-day life is drastically different from present times, there was still a “near future” feel to the narrative.
Cad
A novel addition to the climate disaster riddled world created by Premee is Cad, a mind-altering fungus that inhibits certain human’s bodies as hosts. Reid carries this parasite as does her mother and some others in the community. It is an unpredictable parasite that can stay dormant for years before showing itself. There is no known cure for Cad in their community. It has a self-preservation instinct and Reid hates that it can control her body in times of danger. I liked her meditations on Cad, how she would rather not have it, how alone she feels in talking about it even though many around her have it.
This added dynamic as Reid wrestled with her place in her community, her relationship with her mom, and how she approached her decisions and life goals was so fascinating. Questions on decisions made by self-preservation and whether they were genuinely chosen by the characters or induced by Cad added another layer of complexity and nuance within Reid’s point of view.
Community and Reid
Cad has an effect on the size of the population. A lot of people who have Cad no longer reproduce. The intermittent climate disasters, the wilderness that people have to face to have enough food for the community as well as the lack of ammunition and health care are all factors that contribute to a sense of responsibility towards the community. Every person, young and old, has a role to play in everyday life.
Reid is worried about the pressure she would be putting on the community by leaving. The University that she has been accepted into is not close and would involve facing the wild to get to them. Her mother questions the very existence of something so far away. What kind of danger is Reid walking into? If her mother’s Cad acted up, she may not be able to come back in time to see her one last time.
There’s a push and pull throughout the story of Reid wanting to go to University but also feeling loyalty to her community and her family; even when her community (minus her mother) is generally supportive of her adventure. Her mother and her have their own dynamic that is even more complicated by the existence of Cad, and how Cad influences both Reid and Reid’s mother to react the way they do.
Reid’s narrative is heavy with longing for the life she wants to have and the sadness at the abandoning of the life she is currently living. Her decision brings up her father’s choice to leave the community. He never returned. Reid wants to go to this far away school to learn new things and bring back the knowledge to her people. She worries what people at the school, this dome, one of the last remnants of pre-disaster society – will think of her.
I enjoyed everything about this book! The story ends when it’s time for Reid to leave. She has done all she can to get her mother set up with food for a long time. There is no more she can do by staying.
This was a fantastic read all around. For such a small book, it packs a HUGE punch. There’s so much explored, there’s so much left to be uncovered, and it makes me highly anticipating reading book two 🙂
Comparables for The Annual Migration of Clouds
The Annual Migration of Clouds reminded me of the Moon of the Crusted Snow. It captured similar themes of community but from the very personal perspective of Reid. I liked the acknowledgement of indigenous communities as many call these lands home:
The Indigenous people here under centuries of colonizers, till we broke the world and they quietly, nearly overnight, packed up and left the cities together, to live better on the land that their invaders were too busy dying and fighting to lay claim to any longer.
A few had stayed, and rarely spoke about those who had left, always with a kind of dreamy dismissiveness — assurances that it was better out there. We told ourselves: That cannot be. You can’t live except in a city. They can’t start over out there. Later, I thought: But you don’t need a clean slate, do you? That’s not why they left. They already knew that. Just a slate is enough.
Quote from The Annual Migration of Clouds
The addition of Cad, the mysterious mind-altering fungus gave me The Last of Us vibes. All in all, this was a very good read and I dived into the next book, We Speak Through The Mountain right away. Ariel, are there any other books or media that you were reminded of as you read this book?
I totally saw the Moon of the Crusted Snow and The Last of Us vibes, too. I also see how a book like Station Eleven could be compared as well. However, this one is definitely a favorite post-apocalyptic book alongside Moon of the Crusted Snow. There’s a tension there, but not in the high stakes dangerous situations like what we see in The Last of Us, but that’s okay. It’s a powerful approach to think about the “quieter” side of post-apocalyptic life, and how that impacts the everyday person contributing to the overall survival of their community.
Do you enjoy post-apocalyptic fiction? If yes, add this to your Goodreads.
Thanks for reading our discussion! Let us know what you think of this book!
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