Thank you NetGalley, Tordotcom, and Catherynne Valente for an opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

This novel shows the very original characters and world built by Catherynne Valente. The world is a post-apocalyptic society in which great support is made for a commentary on climate change and capitalism. However, the storyline itself was difficult to follow. It might have been helpful to read, The Future is Blue, beforehand to meet the main character, Tetley and be introduced to the world in anthology form. I think due to the difficulty I had following the storyline, this novella will not be very memorable for me.

This was one hell of an awesome, imaginative, funny, and highly optimistic ride! Tetley was a great and up-beat character for the situation she was in and I think that keeps the reader felling more engaged than that of a character filled with disdain and apathy. i loved the locations and the concept behind it, especially the schoolyard ditty that the kids sang about the F*wits. This was really engaging and there were quite a few interesting twists and reveals that really keeps the pace going. The narrator had a bit of an irish (i believe) accent that made for a bit of an adjustment, but once you get into the groove it was hard to stop.

I thought tis was such an interesting story! I love dystopian stories, and I really enjoyed the world in this one! I thought there were so many unique details about the culture! I feel like the world-building was done really well in this one!

**I was provided an audiobook ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Actual rating: 3.5

Catherynne Valente reworks the short story "The Future Is Blue" into the novella The Past is Red. Valente lends her unique style and imagination to climate science fiction with this newest work.

Tetley lives in Garbagetown, a city that floats along the drowned world left behind after Earth was ruined by lack of respect for the environment. Many people are angry with Tetley, but when she makes a new, secret friend, she realizes there may be more left on Earth than she ever thought was possible.

This is undeniably a novella that leans toward adults, particularly due to coarse language. While this doesn't bother me personally, it may impact some readers who prefer not to use/read profanity. I have heard that Valente's writing changes significantly with each of her works, but I cannot speak much to that as this was the first work of hers I've read. I found the concepts included in this work very interesting, though the more satirical aspects were not necessarily to my taste.

Narrator Penelope Rawlins does a very respectable job with the audiobook. Her voices for each character are distinct and defined. Due to the nature of Valente's writing, I would have preferred to both listen to the audiobook and follow along physically.

While this novella was not my particular preference, I didn't have a bad time reading it, and I am definitely interested in more of this author's works.

This was peculiar and weird AF! I really liked it! I hadn't read the short story that inspired this novella so I was new to everything that happened. I was confused many times and I still think some things I didn't get. I will probably reread it at some point to get all the details that I missed. Because this novella might be short, but it's full on info, on details of the world, on nicknames, names, characters and everything else. I think this is the case of "if you blink you miss it" and I think I blinked many times!
It was still a wonderful story and I think everyone should read it. Might seems apocalyptic but hits very close to home!
I listened to the audiobook and the narration was excellent!

This was a really good, sometimes weird, short story. I really liked the writing and the main character and the plot were interesting. I definitely recommend it and I want to read more by this author.

The Past Is Red from Dreamscape Media

This is a lush, almost cartoonish landscape of garbage, a fantastical world built upon a floating garbage patch in the car and endless ocean after the end of the world. The setting feels like it belongs in a comic book. I could easily visualize the panels illustrating this bizarre town. Logistically, it doesn’t make any sense. Each sector of garbage town comes across as something akin to the divisions of a theme park: candle hole (where the melted remains of a lifetime of Yankee Candles make up the walls of the houses), or win ditch (filled with a graveyard’s worth of participation trophies), or the more self explanatory pill hill—it feels at first like a parody of climate change anxiety taken to the extreme , but by the end you have been treated to a surprisingly moving treatise on the nature of hope and love. I’ve never been so in love with the concept of the participation trophy as I am here at the end of this story.

About a third of the way though, I stopped to buy Valente’s companion book <i>The Future is Blue</i> (which I understand too be an anthology, where the titular story is a companion to this stand alone novella). I knew I was going to want more of Tetley’s story.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Penelope Rawlins, and she did a truly spectacular job. At one point in the text, there is a quick school yard jingle and in my extensive experience with audiobooks, it is rare that a narrator can manage a childish rhyming song without mitigating it. She does a similarly fantastic job when narrating the voice of an AI.

My only nitpick is that I really really hate that people were hunting and eating cats. It was a small thing that could have been easily left out

Full disclosure, I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

Really solid and tight book.
The first Valente book that I’ve read was Space Opera, which was one of the best books that I read that year. This is much more serious, but wow, it certainly packs a punch. So many layers, so much depth.

Honestly, I think I’ll go buy a copy right now. Damned good.

The concept was interesting and relevant: Humanity fails to reverse climate change and now the entire Earth is flooded. The few remaining humans' descendants must live out their lives on floating garbage islands and try to make sense of the world they've inherited. Does nothing matter anymore? Or does the end of the world provide the ultimate freedom to choose your own path?

Would recommend if you are down for some post climate apocalypse speculative fiction. The characters are pretty funny and relatable.

(review already posted to Goodreads)

[2.5 Stars]

This novella was a cute and fast read. It had a lot of really great commentary on climate change and capitalism, but unfortunately, I don't think it'll be very memorable.

The polar ice caps melted and now all that’s left of the world are people floating around on “garbage island,” hoping land will return again someday.

Wow! This little novella packs a powerful punch. Valente uses the voice of Tetley to add humor, hope, and love to a situation where you wouldn’t expect to find it. It took me quite a few days to fully process this story and how it made me feel. I ultimately concluded that I loved it!

The narrator for the audiobook was fantastic. I actually felt like her voice changed as the main character aged—it was incredible! I highly recommend this story for anyone who likes a dystopian story that transports you entirely into the moment.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio ARC!

What a beautiful story! Valente knows how to write a shocking, absurd, beautiful, heartbreaking story. At first I was very disappointed when I realized that Valente wasn't narrating this audiobook, but the narrator was perfect and the audiobook was simply perfect. Thank you, #DreamscapeMedia and #Netgalley for the ARC

TITLE: The Past is Red
AUTHOR: Catherynne M. Valente
Narrated by Penelope Rawlins

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for this audiobook ARC.

The Past is Red is a short novella, run time is approximately 5 hours. The story is broken into two parts, both of which follow the character Tetley Abednego. In the story, the world is swallowed by water, and the people that remain live on floating islands of garbage.

I struggled getting through the first part of the book, but I am happy that I continued on through the end. The book contains beautiful world building, and Tentley a character that finds hope in everyday, all while living in this post-apocalyptic world. It was a wonderfully tragic story.

As a whole, it is hard for me to put into words what the story is about, but in the end, it was a story that made me feel....happiness and sadness all at the same time.

4.5 ⭐️
Omg! I loved this. Penelope Rawlins narrated this and she stole the show! SHE WAS GREAT! This was written so well, and was funny. I laughed out loud a bunch. I was fascinated how the author built this world and divided everyone up. We humans have many faults and ways we destroyed our world. I’m only sad that it was just a novella and it’s over. If you want something good and entertaining, then this is the book for you. Highly recommend.
Thanks Dreamscape Media via Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this audio ARC. The Past Is Red is masterfully narrated by Penelope Rawlins. She really brings Valente's voice to life as she takes us through Tetley's journey through Garbagetown. I enjoyed the rich world-building especially for short a short book, and Tetley is a unique and opinionated character. This was a good book.