I first encountered Bruce Holsinger when I read his historical thriller series, A Burnable Book and The Invention of Fire. Both books were very well written and I enjoyed them immensely in part, because they were so grounded in the history and context of medieval England. Since Holsinger is a professor of English at the University of Virginia, with a specialty in medieval literature, he was able to vividly describe daily life during the time of Chaucer.  So I was surprised to see Holsinger had released a new novel that was set in the present and wondered whether he would be able to make that leap. I should not have been worried!  The Displacements is an amazing piece of work which takes the science of climate change, meteorology and tracking hurricanes, the effect of mass evacuations and helps us understand what happens to people’s lives after such catastrophes as well as the destruction, contamination and even geographic changes that can follow landfall by a hurricane.

NOA had been tracking Luna, a hurricane in the Caribbean for days and as its winds steadily increased, they became worried. When the wind increased beyond the top end of a Category 5, they called an emergency meeting and as a result Luna was named the first Category 6 hurricane in history. But before anyone could even really appreciate the significance of that, they noticed that Luna was changing course abruptly and was heading straight for Miami. With little time before landfall, evacuation orders were given and people were urged to leave the area as soon as they could.

Daphne Hall had not been really following the hurricane until she sees the evacuation notice on TV. Her husband, a surgeon, had already left for work and would stay for the duration of the storm. Quickly she gathers her family, her stepson, her daughter and the dog and they pack into the SUV, leaving behind their brand new home. It is not until evening as they are trying to get gas, that Daphne realizes that her purse, with her ID, her money and her credit cards was left behind. Dependent now on the government and the kindness of strangers, Daphne must shepherd her family away from the massive destruction of Luna, into a new world of a mega tent camp of Luna refugees run by FEMA in Oklahoma. When you have wealth and comfort and lose everything, what do you have left? How do you rebuild a life when you must start from zero?  These are the questions that Daphne and her family must now grapple with as they deal with loss, addiction, betrayal and a world that is suddenly remade by Mother Nature.

Brenda’s Rating: ***** (5 Out of 5 Stars)

Recommend this to: Marian, Sharon, Keith and Ken

Book Study Worthy? Yes

Read in e-library format.