Review of The Eleventh Grieve

[Emily Meadows]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Eleventh Grieve" by Garth Hallberg.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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The Eleventh Grieve by Garth Hallberg is a thought-provoking and timely novel that explores the potential consequences of climate change on humanity. Set in a not-so-distant future, the author weaves together a group of characters, each grappling with climate change. The protagonist is a man named Jake. Jake doesn’t call it climate change; he calls it weird weather. This is because Jake’s business profits from the weird weather every time it happens by charging fees for surging energy costs. To open Jake’s eyes to the realities of climate change, the author introduces Rita. Rita is a ghostly character who plays a pivotal role in helping Jake grasp the dire consequences of the changing climate.

This book feels like a parable, where lessons are learned through the story that is told. Hallberg's expert writing shines as the supernatural blends with real-world challenges. This book evokes Ebenezer Scrooge’s evolution in A Christmas Carol, with Jake taking on the role of Scrooge. Through the character of Rita, Jared comes to understand the impact of weird weather on the planet Earth and also on the people he loves the most. Will Jake concede his stubborn views about the weird weather he profits from? Can he do so in time to keep himself from losing his loved ones?

I enjoyed reading this book. Hallberg issues a wake-up call to readers in a fun way. Rita's supernatural role adds an intriguing layer to the story. Through Rita, readers come to understand Jake’s motivations and how his upbringing impacted his actions. Readers get to know Jake as a flawed human who, at his core, wants to do the right thing. The author adds enough suspense to keep readers guessing about the ending of the book.

In the book, the author created a future that could have been described more thoroughly. I found it slightly challenging to determine what year Jake and the other characters were living in. The author gave some references to help express that this book was written in the future. One thing that helped to set the book up in the future was a reference to the iPhone 23X. That reference made me laugh. But the vagueness around the time period made the book slightly less impactful on me.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. It was very well edited; I didn’t find a single typo in the text. And the story did a fantastic job of laying out a future where climate change makes the planet Earth uninhabitable. I would recommend this book to readers interested in Earth’s changing climate and this author’s take on what the future may hold. I would also recommend this book to readers concerned about the “weird weather” already happening on Earth and what it could take to change the minds of those who don’t believe that humans are impacting the climate.

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The Eleventh Grieve
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[Odichimma Okoye]

I am definitely a reader worried by Earth \'s changing climate! But, I feel as though it's a topic that too many overlook, especially in the aspects of plastic and air pollution. Climate change and global warming are slowly creeping in, in fact, they have one foot in already. I hope many more get a hold of this book. The essence of knowledge is to enlighten others as well. The knowledge gained from this book should be used for such a purpose. Adding this to my shelf pronto. Nice review!

[Anil Baade]

You've explained very well about the book and you have mentioned the content of the book very nicely. I'll definitely start reading this book.