The Diapause

by Andrew Forbes

When ten-year-old Gabriel and his parents retire to his late grandfather’s disused cabin to wait out a pandemic, the big, dangerous world seems very far away, and Gabriel enjoys the freest summer of his young life. But tensions begin to surface, testing the family unit, and resulting in consequences that he will spend his life attempting to unravel.

Spanning nearly a half-century, The Diapause is a literary-speculative-fiction novel about the near future, family, isolation, heartbreak, climate change, how we keep each other safe, and all the things we don’t know about the people we know best. Part White Fang, part Station Eleven, The Diapause is a novel about how the things we seek are often the things we didn’t know we’d lost.

Genres: Science Fiction

283 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[tegwyn anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

speculative fiction 🤩
CANADIAN speculative fiction 🤩🤩🤩
*depressing* canadian speculative fiction 😒😒😒

[Taren Ginter · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolutely insane that this was on my TBR and it’s fully set in Peterborough

[Enid Wray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely quiet little dystopic coming of age novel.

I am the woman who does not want to read about the pandemic - ever, in any way, shape or form. Yet, I found myself drawn into this story and the framing - COVID - really didn’t bother me at all.
While Mom and Dad were perhaps a little stereotypical, Gabe is a complex and - mostly - sympathetic character whom I enjoyed following as he aged.

I give this book big brownie points for being set in a clearly identified and identifiable Ontario back country, and for the authentic presentation of that same life in the woods right down to: Issues with your water line and the foot valve weighted down in a milk crate; Or knowing about bush cords and that your firewood needs to be seasoned appropriately before you have any hope of using it as a heat source; And I especially laughed when Mom - finally - went to the hardware store to get the paint to whitewash the inside of the cabin!! There were a few things I took issue with, but really, they were minor quibbles at worst.

There are aspects of it that remind me of a(n early) Canadian entry into the genre - The Last Canadian. But the similarities stop at the basic premise of escaping to live in isolation in the bush… the writing is hand downs better than that earlier title was.

Indeed, the prose is what really grabbed me here. Thoughtful. Thought provoking. Atmospheric. I didn’t take a lot of notes but I did jot down a few lines that really struck me, including:

P37 - “The air felt bottled”
P50 - “… the long trough of the hot afternoon…”
P91 - “In the absence of abundance, I learned to make do”

Then there is dystopian world Gabe comes to live in. Gabe takes us through the looking glass to a future where climate change is on steroids and society is generally living the consequences of our contemporary divisive populist politics gone amuk.

Just as George Orwell’s 1984 and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (among other titles I could reference here) were warnings to not let down our guard, to not drop our vigilance - which sadly we did and are now paying for!! - so to is this a warning shot across the bow. It’s not too late to avoid the entirety of this future word Gabe finds himself in.

I do wish that there had been another final copy edit on this one. There is a tendency to repetition - particularly in his descriptions of places/events and in word choice (sometimes the same ‘unusual’ word is used multiple times within the space of a few pages). But, again, minor quibbles overall.

Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital copy.

[Tracey Starrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeously written, with a deep tenderness not expected in a speculative, dystopian/climate -fiction.

Some books are like a quick on the go meal easily forgotten; Diapause is like a multi course fine meal to be savoured, with space in between to let the words settle in one’s mind, with a gentle satisfying end.
Highlights for me;

• As a GTA /Eastern Ontario resident, I thoroughly enjoyed the setting in Peterborough and surrounding area as well as the descriptions of Toronto as it was, while Forbes also described a future Toronto. These elements may not have the same impact for anyone outside of these areas but made the narrative feel additionally immersive for me.
• Forbes perfectly describes Ontario at the onset and early days of the pandemic 2020; captures the essence of Ontario cottage life in general, and in particular, how it was during the pandemic.
• He captures the fear and uncertainty of the pandemic we felt at that time and the divisive nature of it without sensationalism.
• Beautiful depiction of how a quiet, introverted, sensitive 10 year old boy would fair in that experience, as well as his feelings toward his parents.
. Forbes captures the nuanced moments both high and low, that can exist in a marriage.
• Despite big gaps in Gabriel’s age as the story progresses, as a reader I felt very connected to him and the stages he was going through.
• I was intrigued by Forbes’ choices in what remained of 2020 life and what changed over the decades as we see Gabriel progress into the speculative future.
•I was struck by how nothing in the dystopian future seemed out of the realm of possibility, yet seemed so distant from today’s way of life.
•Forbes delicately and honestly, and in such a moving way shows the challenge of an adult child dealing with their parent’s aging.
•Without any spoilers, was very pleased to see the final chapter unfold as it did.

Highly recommend if you are looking for a fresh voice in literary fiction.

[Colin Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forbes skillfully renders a futuristic backdrop of global cataclysm and climate disaster, but the novel is rooted in its contemplative protagonist and his very human concerns, as he negotiates the fragile world of precarious employment, fraught family ties, and shifting love relationships. It’s a riveting book that is hard to put down.

[Stephanie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

A speculative fiction novel that touches on the future but doesn’t focus in and become a sci-fi, The Diapause is an interesting read that starts with the Covid-19 pandemic and follows Gabe throughout his life.

I enjoyed this book overall, although I wouldn’t say it was anything world changing for me. As a Peterborough native, I found it more than a little unsettling to read bits and pieces of the imagined future of the places I live near. I found the predictions about the future eerily possible and also deeply depressing.

I enjoyed the first part of the book in the woods the most. Seen through the child Gabe’s eyes, things didn’t seem so bleak. It was easy to focus on the nature around him. This was a good book and I’m glad I read it.

[Kgoffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this lovely little dystopian novel. I am looking forward to reading his next novel.

[Stephanie Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Diapause; an ARC that was shared with me by someone who wasn’t supposed to be sharing and I’m so pleased they bent the rules because I just loved this book. I’m not in love with the title, it just doesn’t roll off the tongue, does it. My good friend Webster defines diapause as “a period of suspended development in an insect, other invertebrate, or mammal embryo, especially during unfavorable environmental conditions”, so while I don’t care for the word as a title, it’s most fitting. It’d be easy to go into this thinking it’s (yet another) pandemic novel but you’d be wrong. We start there, sure, but the pandemic (not a fictional one, you know the one) and the stresses it brings are really just a catalyst to an event that changes Gabe’s life and the rest of the book follows him as he navigates the decades through a changing world that feels very different to ours…but isn’t. Not really. Which is my favourite sort of dystopian, speculative fiction; the things that are very much within the realm of possibility, the things that are almost certainly going to end up happening, the whens not the ifs.
If I recall this is due to come out by the end of the year and I may just have to buy it so I can read and re-read it. It was one of those books that felt like there was more to be gleaned from it with repeated readings.
But I also don’t want to say too much at the moment, since I wasn’t supposed to have read it at all…Once it’s published and I get a copy I’m supposed to have I won’t hesitate to share more, but for now I’ll leave it at “I enjoyed this immensely.”

[aameils · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part one of this book was so beautifully written that I found myself transported to the streets of Peterborough and to growing up at the family cottage near the Muskokas. I loved every second of seeing the summer through Gabe's eyes. From the apprehension about jumping into the lake off the high rock to discovering critters in tree stumps, I found myself tearing up from nostalgia again and again.

The rest of the book is just as immersive, but of course, it was in a future that seemed less than ideal. Seeing snippets of Gabe's life after Covid and the cottage broke my heart. The world felt grey and lonely - I was so grateful for Willie, the cat, entering the scene.

While I am happy that the dark future of the planet was only shown in brief chapters, I would have liked to have known more about some of the advances in technology and what, specifically, happened politically and environmentally. That being said, by not going into detail, I think Andrew Forbes allows this book to be more about Gabe than the state of the world. If I am being real with myself, I probably would not have liked those details anyway.

This book is not my usual style, but I am so glad I gave it a shot. I will think back on Gabe's childhood summer often.

[Catherine Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took my breath away. At first you think it is a coming of age story, but then it expands into something much more. Beautifully and sparsely captures a possible future, while reminding us of the redeeming power of love.

[Bronwyn Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had all the ingredients that I tend to not like yet I still really enjoyed this book

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful surprise - a globe and mail recommendation. I could really see the settings in each of the vignettes. The climate & future tech elements were subtlety woven into the story.

[Michael Doane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Diapause by Andrew Forbes is a haunting and beautifully measured work of literary speculative fiction that explores family, memory, and the slow, almost invisible ways the world changes around us. Set against the backdrop of a pandemic and a warming planet, the novel feels both intimate and expansive at once the story of one boy’s summer and a meditation on the uncertain future of humanity.

Told through the eyes of ten year old Gabriel, the early sections possess a luminous, almost pastoral quality. The retreat to his late grandfather’s cabin offers him a sense of freedom and discovery, yet beneath that calm Forbes allows subtle tensions to ripple. The novel excels at portraying the fragile architecture of family life the unspoken resentments, the misunderstandings, and the quiet love that holds people together even as they drift apart.

As the narrative stretches across nearly fifty years, The Diapause becomes something larger and more unsettling. Forbes blends the rhythms of literary realism with speculative elements so gently that the reader hardly notices the shift. The influence of White Fang and Station Eleven can be felt, yet the novel remains distinctly its own reflective, patient, and deeply humane.

What lingers most is the book’s emotional intelligence. Gabriel’s attempts to understand the consequences of that pivotal summer mirror the way we all try to make sense of the past with incomplete information. Forbes writes with restraint and empathy, trusting the reader to sit with ambiguity rather than offering easy resolutions.

The Diapause is a novel for readers who value atmosphere, character, and ideas over spectacle. It speaks to our present anxieties about climate, illness, and isolation while remaining, at its heart, a timeless story about the mysteries within families and the things we realize too late we have lost.

[Mike Broderick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not sure I would like this. There has been enough people who have profited off the shutdown of the world during COVID. However this one hit home. I was given the opportunity to reminisce about my summers at the cottage when I was young, I look back at the shutdowns and consider that I was able to have quality time with my family, even if we weren’t able to run to hockey, soccer, golf or any of the other activities that created our over scheduled lives. Taking off to the cottage would have made it even more bearable.

Then the book moved forward in time and gave us a dystopian look at what might be our future.
Following Gabe through his ups and downs kept me interested the entire time. The fact that the future created in this book is a very real possibility, makes the book even better, and scary.

[Beauregard Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounding up. This was okay. Contrary to what seems to be the more popular opinion, I found the first part in the cabin to be an absolute slog and liked the following parts more. Maybe I would feel differently if I was from the area depicted in the book, as the extremely specific descriptions did seem to be playing on a local's heart. Mostly I was interested in the climate fiction dystopian nature of it, which I felt largely took a backseat to being a story about a man and his relationships. I wasn't satisfied with how any of the storylines tied up (or, largely, didn't), but I guess that's life.

[Clare Hutchinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this (familiar settings! Temagami mentioned!!!!) but outside of the first section, ultimately the writing had nothing to hang itself on but world-building for the sake of itself instead of anything resembling a plot. And that's fine, moment-in-time speculative fiction is fine, but not my preference and I don't think it managed to show off its points - or even Gabe's journey or self - to their best advantage. Rounding up for ending on the image of a giant plate of fries and 3 Guinness in your hometown - big 'almost forgot this is the whole point' vibes.

[Kinga · Rating 3 out of 5]

This ended up being “just okay.” I loved the first part of the book, the summer in the cabin but the rest of the book just never got as good.

There were hints of interesting and engaging descriptions of a future world and potential story lines but most went nowhere. Maybe that was the point?

But that wouldn’t have been okay, except for the writing mistake of - overly descriptive writing is mundane and unseals information. No pm needs to read the someone went to do a thing, did it, turned around and walked back to the protagonists.