The Past Is Red

June 1, 2021

The world is underwater, and people live on floating continents made of the refuse disposed of by their predecessors, where they create cities and homes centered around different types of trash. In the first half of the novel, Tetley Abednego is 19, in love with her world, and questioning others' dreams of dry land. Then she makes a decision that will forever mark her as the most hated person in Garbagetown. Ten years later, Tetley recounts the journey that brought her to her present; one filled with possibility, stagnation, friendship, and even love. As Tetley discovers some truths about the world, she is predominantly cheerful in the face of her struggles and ill-treatment but also critical of the humanity that destroyed the world. Expanded from Valente's (Deathless) 2016 short story "The Future is Blue," this novella is both humorous and wistful; its protagonist Tetley is pragmatic as well as idealistic. Tetley's race is not specified. VERDICT Valente's prose presents a stark image of humanity surviving climate ruin, corporate greed, and rich escapists. Tetley's voice is engrossing, creating a read that will make readers think about our possible future.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2021
Tetley Abednego knows that Garbagetown is the most beautiful place on Earth. Everyone else, even her twin Maruchan and the boy named Goodnight Moon, is caught up in the futile dream of an easy life on land, impossible as that is. There is no solid green; that is just a lie the actors tell. Tetley won't let Garbagetown die, no matter what. Now, years into her punishment, she has a new friend, part of a trousseau offered by the mysterious King Xanax. The world, as it turns out, is still much bigger than Garbagetown. A world in which the great Pacific garbage patch has become the most beautiful place to live (if one has the patience to see it) might seem unbearably grim, but it is a more hopeful story than we deserve, a story where hope survives despite its fragility, and there are beautiful moments in the most unexpected corners. Tetley is a charmingly nonlinear, surprisingly amiable, not very reliable--she likes to imagine how things might have gone--narrator, and Valente's latest is absolutely worth taking some time with.

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