The opening of the dystopian Briefly Very Beautiful sucked me in, as Cass and other families living in The City face the global catastrophes of war, extreme heat, shortages of food, water and electricity. Wildfires are spreading rapidly, making the air almost unbreathable, and a growing group of men called Gaia, trying to save Mother Earth, become psycho extremists against procreation so they are killing all the children. No mention of a place or time reinforces the personal chaos.

Alongside this horror is the way Cass raises her three young children. Her husband, Nathanial, has elected to serve in a war overseas, leaving the family to fend for themselves. Cass loves watching the beauty of her children, their skin, their breathing, their expressions. With them she is calm, so there’s no risk of conveying her panic to them. She plans to tell them that before everything became awful nature was beautiful. People had more time to play, and less capitalist cravings.

Nature is a comfort for her, and she always gives her children positive messages. She has told them their father will come back and take them north to safety and cleaner air, but decides she can’t wait. They escape to the country, ricocheting from place to place. She clings to several intriguing characters, some helpful and others evil, like Nathaniel’s mother and brother. As she works out whether they mean her good or harm, finding a supportive community becomes urgent.

The pulsing, chilling drama, the vivid descriptions and refreshing imagery, the surprising end, and the introspective revelations of the characters are riveting.

Reviewed by Judith Grace

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Roz Dineen was at the Times Literary Supplement for twelve years, variously as Fiction Editor, Features Editor and a contributor of essays, reviews and a column.

Roz was born in Brighton in 1983. She studied English Literature at Trinity College, Dublin, and received a Masters in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, London. She was Robert L. Bartley Fellow at The Wall Street Journal, where her writing has also appeared.

She lives with her two children in Peckham, South London; a few metres from what was once her great-grandfather’s home. Her debut novel is forthcoming from Bloomsbury.

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