The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed is a novella set in a dystopian Alberta ravaged by climate disasters. Everything has changed—cities and countries are cut off from each other, electricity is a distant memory, and food shortages are common. On top of that, many people are infected with a mind-altering parasitic fungi known as Cad. Reid Graham is one of the infected, and all she’s ever known is the confines of the university campus she lives in with her community. The story begins with Reid being offered a chance at a different life, but if she takes it she’ll have to leave everyone and everything she knows behind. This book thoughtfully meditates on guilt, grief, duty and family as it follows Reid as she makes her choice. 

 

At the heart of this novella is Reid and her struggle to accept how her choice will impact her community. Reid’s mom is fearful and tries to persuade Reid to stay, and this adds to the guilt Reid feels. This felt so real to me. Their relationship made me think about relationship dynamics in immigrant families and how there’s usually a lot of sacrifice and sometimes guilt, and how a lot of us struggle to leave home or make our own choices. This is why I found Reid’s internal struggle to be so compelling—it’s a nuanced and thoughtful exploration of a difficult situation. 

 

Reid is also deeply impacted by the unfairness of her world. Her grief for a world she never knew hums in the background alongside her rage for the people who broke the world beyond repair and took life for granted. This novella criticizes capitalism and colonialism so clearly, and emphasizes the importance of community as not just a means to survive, but as the only way to live. Reid genuinely cares about her community and worries about what will happen to them in her absence, but for the first time in her life, Reid also has hope. Despite her rage, she begins to imagine a different world, one in which she returns to her community and shares what she’s learned. 

 

My favourite aspect of this book is that despite being set in a gloomy apocalyptic world, it’s an introspective story, and Mohamed uses it to show the importance of community and hope. I think this novella will resonate with many people at this moment in time as we experience similar grief for the current state of the world, and like Reid, hold on to hope and work toward a better future, one in which we do not have to make impossible choices or leave the ones we love behind.