Children of Tomorrow (J R Burgmann, Upswell)

J R Burgmann’s debut novel is an intergenerational story that foresees a century of environmental devastation. We begin in the present day, when one of our protagonists, Arne, bears witness to Tasmanian bushfires. He meets Evie, a talented free diver, and the two become a couple. They invest in their careers, spend time with friends and have children, all the while experiencing an Earth ravaged by the climate crisis. All over the world there are disastrous floods and sandstorms as ice melts and shorelines encroach. The years pass and when we reach the 2040s, the next generation is resentful as their world burns. Burgmann’s not-too-distant future is eerily realistic: there are no flying cars, in-home robots or interstellar journeys. Instead, we’re presented with a future where rhinoceroses and bees are extinct, parents regale children with stories of green grass, and those born in the 20s and 30s refer to millennials as ‘planet eaters’. While Children of Tomorrow is an interesting read, this not-so-far-fetched future is bleak. We’re offered the smallest glimmer of hope in the enthusiasm of a child, but mostly this depressing novel feels like shooting off one final flare before the rising sea waters engulf us all. For a story of such great intergenerational and futuristic magnitude, the reader is not given much insight into the lives of the main characters—but perhaps we’re meant to focus on the planet, which Burgmann convincingly shows us could very well wither and die in our lifetime. Like Greenwood by Michael Christie, Children of Tomorrow reflects on the past and ponders a disastrous future in order to beg for present action.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Danielle Bagnato is a book reviewer and marketing and communications professional. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Category: Reviews