Weather by Jenny Offill
summary
Lizzie is a graduate school dropout, librarian, mother, wife, and sister to a former drug addict. Constant across all her roles is her tendency for philosophical thought, or as her husband Ben calls it, being a 'fake shrink'. Lizzie is very observant and sympathetic towards the people around her, most notably her brother Henry. It becomes clear that Lizzie feels responsible for her brother’s wellbeing and will act in self-sacrificing ways in order to maintain it. In addition to her close relationships, she also exhibits this behavior with strangers. For instance, she continues to use a sub-par car service because she worries that she is the owner’s last customer.
It’s no wonder that when Lizzie starts answering emails for her former mentor Sylvia’s podcast Hell and High Water (a podcast focused on climate issues), she is overwhelmed by the inquiries of senders (What will disappear from stores first? Is it wrong to eat meat? What are the best ways to prepare my children for the coming chaos?). Being immersed in Sylvia’s dread filled world, Lizzie quickly slips into doomsday thinking, all while trying to keep everyone around her afloat. Offill’s sporadic and poetic writing style jerks us from one reality to the next, much like the juxtaposition between the internal and external amid the climate crisis. Ruminations on emergency, disaster, and doom are omnipresent.
insights for the climate crisis
In a way, Weather is a cautionary tale, albeit one that offers weary hearts solace, as misery loves company. While Lizzie works for Sylvie, she becomes more and more consumed with doomsday thinking: researching survival skills (candle out of a tuna can, fishing with a t-shirt and spit), learning acronyms used by preppers (MYBAS = May You Be Among the Survivors, INCH = I’m Never Coming Home), and planning the family doomstead with Ben. It is a sobering narrative (ironic due to the prevalence of drug use) which emphasizes the scale discrepancy between the climate crisis and everyday life. How can one reconcile the enormity of climate change while navigating life on a human scale? Offill captures the real and complicated feelings surrounding our safety, survival, and livelihood amidst a rapidly changing environment. Weather comforts, but also puts one on edge, as doom impends.
resonant lines
Read this book if you want to find resonant lines on every page.
supportive media
citations
Offill, Jenny. Weather. New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.