4/5 stars
What's it about? Animals finally take their revenge against people, until billionaire Roderick Maeve develops a sound that kills every non-human beast on the planet. Jenlena and Daphne are roommates navigating a post-fauna reality wracked by social and environmental upheaval, influenced by the Moon Bethlehems, a cult rallying against the natural degradation caused by humans. Jenlena starts a fling with Maeve just as he’s developing a time machine to possibly save the world. A smart, funny, and relevant first novel.
How’d I find it? This wild cover caught my eye as I strolled the shelves at Powell’s on a Sunday, coffee in hand.
Who will enjoy this book? Mood Swings echoes many of the themes and plot devices of Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis, another talented Canadian writer.
What stood out? The odd thoughts during sex, the ennui, the self-conscious paranoia—Barnet gets young womanhood and knows how to write it without judging her characters. She also evokes a future all too probable; I can absolutely envision a future in which houseplants replace the lost experience of pets. Reading this book in 2025 hits a special nerve, so I recommend picking up Mood Swings as soon as you can.
Which line made me feel something? How I loved the writing in this novel: “It was dark and Jenlena made out only shapes: the shape of branches, the shape of underbrush, the shape of wanting to do anything he asked her to, the shape of being afraid to do it.”