Cataclysm Baby: 2013 Book #7


4 out of 5 stars

What struck me most about Cataclysm Baby was its rhythm. I liken this book to one of Bell’s other stories – Wolf Parts. Individually, each of these 26 vignettes of failed parental and domestic relationships is a gut-wrenching look at how the most basic of all units – the family unit – breaks apart in the face of the apocalypse. But one after another, weight of each story continues to batter you as a reader. Until, like the ocean beating on a glacier or the wind cutting at stone, it simply becomes to much to bear and all the individual stories begin to resonate against each other, generating a sum sound greater than the parts.

The rhythm exists at each level of the collection – at the sentence level, where Bell takes meticulous care weighing the sound and timbre of each word in the reader’s mind. The paragraphs also echo each other, needling at each story from a multitude of angles with a familiar construct. Then the stories themselves, with echoing themes and their titles, each a trio of names that fit perfectly together.

If you’re a fan of dystopian fiction, and like your stories experimental – I wouldn’t hesitate to pick this up.