Hardcover, 320 pages
Published Dec. 6, 2022 by Grand Central Publishing.
Florida is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels gradually wreak havoc on the state’s infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker; his pregnant wife, Frida; and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds to search for them. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before.
As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows. Moving from childhood to adulthood, adapting not only to the changing landscape, but also to the people who stayed behind in a place abandoned by civilization, Wanda loses family, gains community, and ultimately, seeks adventure, love, and …
Florida is slipping away. As devastating weather patterns and rising sea levels gradually wreak havoc on the state’s infrastructure, a powerful hurricane approaches a small town on the southeastern coast. Kirby Lowe, an electrical line worker; his pregnant wife, Frida; and their two sons, Flip and Lucas, prepare for the worst. When the boys go missing just before the hurricane hits, Kirby heads out into the high winds to search for them. Left alone, Frida goes into premature labor and gives birth to an unusual child, Wanda, whom she names after the catastrophic storm that ushers her into a society closer to collapse than ever before.
As Florida continues to unravel, Wanda grows. Moving from childhood to adulthood, adapting not only to the changing landscape, but also to the people who stayed behind in a place abandoned by civilization, Wanda loses family, gains community, and ultimately, seeks adventure, love, and purpose in a place remade by nature.
Told in four parts—power, water, light, and time—The Light Pirate mirrors the rhythms of the elements and the sometimes quick, sometimes slow dissolution of the world as we know it. It is a meditation on the changes we would rather not see, the future we would rather not greet, and a call back to the beauty and violence of an untamable wilderness.
This is one of the best novels I’ve read yet about trying to live with and survive the near-future impacts of climate breakdown. The prose is occasionally poetic or lyrical, but generally straightforward and matter of fact. What I especially like is that it's mostly showing, without much telling. It asks the reader to engage. Overall, this book is beautifully written, touching, sad, and haunting. A real gem, highly recommended.
Part One of the book was suspenseful and engaging, and I really enjoyed how the author alternated the POV in short chapters to move the action forward. Part Two (and onwards) felt like an entirely different book, one that I never quite got in to like I did with the first part. There were some beautiful moments, such as when Wanda swam with manatees at the spring, but the story grew ever more bleak and heavy. Maybe I was just not in the right headspace to tackle this increasingly relevant subject matter; perhaps it just hit a little too close to home.
