The Annual Migration of Clouds by Premee Mohamed
Review by Joseph Brannan, Senior Library Assistant, Central Library
What’s lost when one person leaves a community to pursue life elsewhere and the burden of work that helps sustain a family, and thereby a wider circle of people, must be taken up by others? The interconnectedness of a village, a town, and family runs deeper than just proximity of dwelling, and the threads that hold us together become visible when they’re stretched.
Indo-Caribbean scientist and author, Premee Mohamed, shows this in creative fashion in her novella The Annual Migration of Clouds, set in a community in post-apocalyptic Alberta, after the climate has ravaged the land, but people have held on and eked out a living.
A young woman named Reid has been granted a rare opportunity to leave her community and study elsewhere. But she’s also infected with a strange, parasitic fungi, looked upon with caution by her neighbours and family.
As she prepares to leave her mother and friends behind and fights the influence of the fungi on her mind, she faces a reckoning about the balance of her choices and their impacts on herself and those around her. How will her neighbours keep up her portion of the farming labour? Is it right to hoard food and resources for a journey, knowing it takes from the communal stock? Will her condition let her make her own choices, or will it warp her mind and send her into a spiral?
With atmospheric descriptions that bring the setting to life in vivid form, and characters looking for strength in the midst of crippling vulnerability, The Annual Migration of Clouds is a wonderful, heartfelt read that explores themes of belonging, mental health, and sacrifice.
Mohamed highlights both the tenderness and harshness of humanity, and is sure to leave readers wanting more. From the chilly fog over snow of fading winter, to the sounds and sights of village life, Mohamed’s writing captures the imagination and charms with hope in the face of the struggle to move from survival to flourishing.