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I just finished reading 'Clade' by James Bradley, and the characters really stuck with me. The story spans generations, so the 'main' characters shift over time, but the core revolves around Adam, a scientist grappling with climate change and personal loss. His daughter, Summer, later becomes central—her rebellious spirit contrasts sharply with Adam's analytical nature. Then there's Ellie, Adam's granddaughter, who inherits this legacy of fragility and resilience. The beauty of 'Clade' is how it treats characters as fleeting yet deeply interconnected, like branches of a tree bending in a storm. It's less about individual heroism and more about how they ripple through time.
Secondary figures like Adam's wife, Leah, and the artist Dylan add texture—Leah’s quiet strength grounds Adam, while Dylan’s chaotic creativity mirrors the world's unraveling. Bradley doesn’t hand you tidy arcs; these characters feel like real people caught in something bigger than themselves. What lingers isn’t just their names but how they love and fail each other across decades.
'Clade' isn’t about neat resolutions, and neither are its characters. Adam’s early chapters set the tone—he’s watching ecosystems collapse, oblivious to his own emotional brittleness. Summer’s rebellion against his detachment is visceral. Later, Ellie’s detachment from reality feels inevitable. The side characters—Leah’s quiet despair, Dylan’s art as protest—are strokes in a larger portrait. What stays with me is how their struggles, so deeply personal, reflect the novel’s environmental urgency.
If you're into climate fiction with a literary twist, 'Clade' delivers characters that haunt you. Adam’s the anchor—a biologist whose work on ecosystems mirrors his fractured family life. Summer, his daughter, is all sharp edges and passion, running toward danger as Adam tries to control it. Then Ellie, generationally distant yet burdened by the same existential dread. The novel’s genius is in how minor characters—like the brief but poignant appearance of Adam’s father—echo themes of legacy. Even the Antarctic setting feels like a character, icy and indifferent. It’s not a cast you ‘root for’ in a traditional sense; they’re witnesses to collapse, flawed and achingly human.
Adam’s the heart of 'Clade,' a man obsessed with vanishing species while his own family slips away. Summer’s arc is my favorite—she’s fierce and flawed, chasing meaning in a world that feels like it’s ending. Ellie’s quieter, a digital native navigating the wreckage. The book’s structure means some characters get mere pages, but Bradley makes them count. Like Leah, whose grief over a stillborn child reshapes Adam’s entire worldview. It’s a tapestry of small, devastating moments.
Reading 'Clade' feels like peering into a family album where the edges are singed. Adam’s practicality clashes with Summer’s impulsiveness—she’s the kind of character who’d chain herself to a tree or vanish for months. Ellie, growing up in a world of VR and decay, feels like a ghost of her ancestors. Even tertiary characters, like the activist Tia or the doomed Bee, leave marks. Bradley’s not interested in heroes; he shows people trying to love while the tide rises around them. The most memorable part? How the characters’ personal tragedies mirror the planet’s—like when Adam studies dying bees while his marriage collapses.