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Title details for Even If Everything Ends by Jens Liljestrand - Available

Even If Everything Ends

by Jens Liljestrand
Matt Addis
Audiobook
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1 of 1 copy available
Life goes on in the face of a climate crisis in this unforgettable, "relevant, and entertaining" (Fredrik Backman, New York Times bestselling author) debut novel that follows four characters as they struggle to survive in a burning world.
Even when the climate crisis escalates beyond our worst nightmares and people become refugees, the world keeps turning and life carries on as usual: teenage love stories, marital collapses, identity crises, and rebellions against hopeless parents continue to play out.

Didrik is a forty-year-old media consultant whose misguided efforts to become the family hero render him a pathetic vision of incompetence. Melissa is an influencer with a suitcase full of lost dreams after denying climate change for years. André is the nineteen-year-old loser son of an international sports star who uses the erupting violence around him to orchestrate his own personal vengeance on his negligent father. And Vilja is Didrik's teenage daughter who steps into a leadership role in the face of adult ineptitude.

"A devilish twist on climate fiction" (Publishers Weekly), The Burning eloquently illustrates a picture of a very near future that is at once extraordinary and entirely realistic.

The Burning was previously published as Even If Everything Ends.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 9, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797155012
      • File size: 475844 KB
      • Duration: 16:31:20

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 13, 2023
      Journalist Liljestrand makes his English-language debut with an engaging climate change satire. In an alternate present, PR consultant Didrik von der Esch is caught stealing a quad bike on camera while attempting to rescue his wife, Carola, and three children from a massive forest fire. Everyone survives, no thanks to him, and he then catches the last train back to Stockholm, without telling Carola or their children where he’s gone. There, while the security video circulates online and makes Didrik the subject of a meme, he holes up with his former lover Melissa Stannervik, an influencer who’s house-sitting for tennis pro Anders Hell. Melissa finds herself in her own online morass after her tone-deaf posts of early cherry blossoms win her ire as the world collapses, and she keeps up a steady opioid consumption while painting herself as a victim of online bullies. Anders is away on vacation with his 19-year-old son, André, who grows increasingly annoyed and vocal about how the elite have insulated themselves from the consequences of their greed on the climate. Liljestrand gets in plenty of barbs at the various players as they cling to their old lives amid disaster. It makes for a devilish twist on climate fiction. Agent: Astri Von Arbin Ahlander, Ahlander Agency (Sweden).

    • AudioFile Magazine
      In Liljestrand's debut novel, a climate crisis on the heels of the Covid pandemic devastates Europe. Four narrators voice the perspectives of four unique characters. Matt Addis makes the anger and impatience in Didrik's voice visceral as he tries to save his family as Europe burns--even while planning to end his marriage. Tamsin Kennard, as podcaster Melissa, also tells her story with impatience. In this case, it emphasizes her narcissism. Joe Jameson gives Andr�, son of a former tennis star, a voice that alternates between needing Dad's approval and plotting a way to get out from under the weight of his expectations. Imogen Wilde, as the voice of Didrik's daughter, Vilja, balances impatience with the adults' incompetence and her own belief in a viable future despite the present climate reality. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      Climate change has the world burning, yet life continues for the characters of this novel, told through four interconnected stories. From teenage love to marital collapse, the best and worst of humanity persists as forest fires rage out of control. Swedish journalist Liljestrand's English-language debut introduces misguided PR consultant Didrik, who tries to help his family escape the fires. Meanwhile, Didrik's mistress, Melissa, a social-media influencer, denies that climate change is real, even as she witnesses it herself. Andre, the teenage son of a famous tennis player, uses the tumult for his personal gain. And finally, Didrik's daughter Vilja takes charge within the confines of a refugee camp. A cast of four narrators--Matt Addis, Tamsin Kennard, Joe Jameson, and Imogen Wilde--provides a glimpse into the grief, shock, and disbelief of people living in a collapsing world. In a novel that occasionally feels cluttered, listeners will likely appreciate how the narrators differentiate between characters. Though they may feel for the generations of people to come, listeners may leave the story dissatisfied, as none of Liljestrand's characters are truly sympathetic. VERDICT A literary entry into the climate-fiction genre, juxtaposing human concerns and relationships against the backdrop of imminent disaster.--Elyssa Everling

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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