Blue Skies by T.C. Boyle

I got this from the library because I’m a fan, I read and absolutely loved Boyle’s previous two books, where the author absolutely mastered the art of both short and long form in fiction. Now back to long form, this novel lightly echoes Talk To Me in the way it takes on people’s relationship with the natural world around them, but it’s an entirely different beast.
Blue Skies may be an upbeat song, but it’s a terribly depressing novel…or it would be with a less skilled writer. 
This is basically a story of an unfolding climate apocalypse told through three alternating perspectives, following one family of well-meaning idiots. Well, some are more idiotic and/or more well-meaning than others, but there you have it.
The narrative tone falls somewhere between satire and dark comedy with heavy dashes of drama. And it works nicely, especially considering that some of the narrators (yeah, Cat) are flat-out horrid.  Cooper is somewhat more tolerable all things considered. And Ottilie, their mother, is doing the best she can, going to some stupendous length to change her ways, albeit too late in the game. It stands to mention that this is a family profoundly steeped in white privilege, which very much informs their attitude toward life and everything in it, one ridiculous idea at a time.
The book is uniquely American in its cheerfully/insanely obstinate denial/perseverance attitude. California is on fire and Florida is under water, the entire species are dying out, and people still carry on with social media and having babies.   
In other words, these are not the protagonists you’re going to sympathize with, but irrespective of that, you still might have difficulty putting this book down. Boyle is just that good of a writer.
And the frightening thing is the end of the world likely will roll in just like that, and people will be acting just the same. Books can be prescient this way. 
Without planning too, I read this book during the days of unbreathable air courtesy of Canadian wildfires, so it was a very harrowing eerily on-the-money experience. 
Books like warnings change nothing because no one listens. The same stubborn selfish stupidity that causes the situations in the first place. But that depressing thought aside, Blue Skies is still a fun read. Recommended.