Something New Under the Sun is a captivating and ambitious tale in which a novelist discovers the dark and disturbing side of Hollywood and reckons with ambition, corruption and connectedness in the age of capitalism, environmental collapse and ecological awakening - set against the searing heat of a near-future Los Angeles, CA. East Coast novelist Patrick Hamlin has just arrived in LA in order to supervise the making of his book, Elsinore Lane, a sad and emotional novel inspired by his father's passing, into a film. As part of the adaptation deal, he is provided with a job on the set but unfortunately, it entails being the errand boy to former child star and notorious pain the backside Cassidy Carter, who has been cast in the lead role; his main task, however, is to ensure the unpredictable and tempestuous starlet turned B-lister makes it to the set on time. As if that wasn't bad enough, Patrick finds that he barely recognises the script when compared to the book, which isn't exactly brilliant. But outdoors, bigger problems are brewing.

Nearby a wildfire rages, ravaging everything in its path and causing mass devastation likely caused by a drought making the area arid and in desperate need of water. A new company that has just appeared on the horizon, one providing a privatised supply of a synthetic form of water known as WAT-R seems to be behind the environmental crisis. Could corporate corruption, greed and the need to make a profit really be at the centre of the chaotic ecological scenario the residents of the area are now experiencing? Partnering with Cassidy, Patrick heads out to investigate the sun-scorched city's darker crevices, where they discover that catastrophe resembles order until the last possible second. This is a compulsive and thought-provoking read with a lot to say on current affairs especially regarding climate change and how the way we live is affecting the world around us yet we are too set in our cushy lifestyles to try to make a meaningful change. What unfolds is a heightened simulation of our own precarious times and a parable about the difficulty of imagining an exit from them.

Kleeman was inspired to write the story due to the perpetual proliferation of conspiracy thinking, her childhood on the outskirts of Los Angeles and the role of plate tectonics. Action-packed, propulsive and palpably tense from start to finish, I found myself completely enthralled and entranced by the chilling yet intelligent plot, which I absolutely tore through. This is a witty, profound and wickedly twisty novel that is not only thoroughly entertaining but also explores how artificial solutions can lead to even greater problems, with potentially dire consequences for humanity. It brings Kleeman’s fascination with consumerism, artificiality and biopolitics to bear on the California water crisis, an ecological catastrophe unfolding in slow motion. The natural landscape is often pushed to the background of human-centred stories—but her goal is to write about this landscape in a way that gives it agency, insists on its role in everything we do and highlights the way in which supposedly minor changes to our relationship with our surroundings can have truly catastrophic ramifications. Highly recommended.

I would have liked to give this book a 3.5 really.
The writer writes beautifully and her descriptive passage are great. I also loved the idea of the book - it's a fresh and interesting look at how we're destroying out environment.
However, neither of the three main characters is explored enough for me - Cassidy is great and I really enjoyed the book when told from her viewpoint. Patrick I liked less and I found him a bit one-dimensional.
Overall, an interesting and quite different mixture of sci-fi, literature and detective novel. Definitely worth a read.

I really love Alexandra Kleeman’s writing but I frequently finish her books thinking “that was great but I don’t think I get it?!”

Something New Under the Sun is the story of Patrick, whose novel is being turned into a film starring Cassidy Carter, a former child star made infamous for her disruptive behaviour. The novel is set in a not-too-distant future where California droughts have led to the creation of WAT-R, an engineered water substitute used by everyone to replace water.

There’s a lot going on in this book - it’s exciting and fun and dark and brilliantly written. I’m just not completely sure I understood it at the end!

4 stars

Something New Under the Sun by Alexandra Kleeman is not a happy book! I couldn’t even say that I enjoyed the book but I was compelled to keep reading as it had an important message to impart. I won’t give away any spoilers but we need to be give careful what we do to our environment.

Somewhere between 3 - 3.5 rounded down

It's frustrating that I have to give a rating to this one: at times I loved it, and the writing and the feeling the book evoked in me felt new and exciting - like I was experiencing something truly different and unique, and other times I felt like I was just missing something.

I think it's best to go into this mostly blind but expecting a book which is almost uncanny, cli-fi which also feels like a detective novel at times... and like a scathing indictment of modern society at others. I won't even try to summarise the plot here, but suffice it to say this is a book which is principally occupied with examining the ramifications of water becoming a scarce commodity and wildfires a daily reality. But it's also a satire of Hollywood and modern life in contemporary America.

Overall I enjoyed the ride this book took me on (it's very different from anything I've read in quite some time), and as other reviewers have noted the prose is memorable. But I failed to 'get' the wider point Kleeman was trying to make with the novel, and I feel like things lost their way (and were lost on me) a bit in the last 25% or so. If this sounds at all intriguing I'd recommend checking it out. Kleeman is an exciting writer, and I'll definitely be checking out her other books (You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine and Intimations: Stories).

A mixed bag for me.
Mostly enjoyable,but sometimes crossing that line into just a bit too much nonsense.
Though possibly,that really is how Hollywood works.
Definitely recommend to others,but it's not one I'll insist people read.