Private Rites
by Julia Armfield · 2024
Buy on AmazonIt’s focused on sisters in a near-future Britain ravaged by the climate catastrophe and concerned with the illness and then death of their father. It’s a variant on King Lear , which of course doesn’t end well, and it nods to horror, even folk horror. The family is falling apart, and its secrets are beginning to surface. It’s a far from comforting book. It was, along with the apocalyptic in general. That’s nothing new. Richard Jefferies flooded London in 1885 and Ballard did it in 1962. We seem to take a perverse pleasure in the end of the world – even when it seems all too plausible in our near future.
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The Audacious Book Club — Monthly Picks (2024–2026) · audacity.substack.com
"It’s focused on sisters in a near-future Britain ravaged by the climate catastrophe and concerned with the illness and then death of their father. It’s a variant on King Lear , which of course doesn’t end well, and it nods to horror, even folk horror. The family is falling apart, and its secrets are beginning to surface. It’s a far from comforting book. It was, along with the apocalyptic in general. That’s nothing new. Richard Jefferies flooded London in 1885 and Ballard did it in 1962. We seem to take a perverse pleasure in the end of the world – even when it seems all too plausible in our near future."
The Best Science Fiction Books of 2025 · fivebooks.com