I picked up The Annual Migration Of Clouds by Premee Mohamed while browsing my local library. I’m currently interested in reading novellas, so this slim work caught my eye.

The story takes place in a future where the climate fully turned against humanity. Pockets of civilization exist without any of the comforts or interconnectedness that we presently enjoy. Reid belongs to a small community that, as far as they know, could be among the last left in the world. However, she’s very smart, and when a letter arrives inviting her to a school far, far away, she wants to leave her world behind in order to take a chance on this new life. The only problem is, no one who has left for this school has ever actually returned, nor is there any real proof that it even exists.

Of course, at that point of the book I figured we would join Reid on her journey to this new world, but the story instead zigs and chooses to focus on a pig hunt, one that, if successful, could provide Reid’s mother with plenty of food and bartering power for after Reid leaves. You see, she suffers deep guilt for even thinking about leaving her mother behind to fend for herself, especially since her father left them long ago. Unfortunately, Reid has never hunted before, not on such a huge scale, and isn’t quite prepared for the endeavor. Furthermore, she suffers from a common disease called Cad, which is a parasite that will literally do whatever it takes to keep its host alive until it decides otherwise. Cad is a hereditary condition, one that will one day kill Reid’s mother and one that will ultimately kill Reid as well.

As you can see, there are a lot of big ideas in The Annual Migration Of Clouds. It explores the nuances of an interwoven (albeit small} community, the complicated bonds of family, where our climate crisis could actually lead, the hope for a brighter future, the power of remaining in place for comfort’s sake, and the horrifying evolution of viruses and fungi.

That being said, I appreciated that Mohamed didn’t spend too much time on any of these things. She drops the reader into this world, provides just enough context to familiarize the reader, and then allows the characters to get on with their lives. She seems to value the “less is more” approach, an outlook that I believe serves the book well.

Unfortunately, this technique also leaves a great deal of questions for the reader, perhaps too many questions for some. The pig hunt is resolved and serves as the primary physical conflict in the book, but many, many other aspects of the plot are left unfinished. Perhaps Mohamed plans to one day further investigate these unresolved issues–perhaps she does not. Personally, I’m fine with it either way.

At just 155 pages, The Annual Migration Of Clouds is a brisk, well-paced book written in an unexpected, interesting way. Those seeking a tidy ending may find it dissatisfying, while those interested in experiencing complex ideas delivered briskly and without much explanation may find it exhilarating. Again, because it’s so short, The Annual Migration Of Clouds is an easy book to take a chance on.