A Love Story from the End of the World

In this delicate story collection from Kim (City of Night Birds), characters struggle to hold on to their sense of identity amid momentous changes. The protagonist of “Biodome,” set in a future world racked by climate collapse, is responsible for monitoring the presence of toxic dust in his domed city. He feels unmoored in his life, like he’s “being pushed by the crowd on a packed subway platform.” In “Mountain, Island,” the hopes of a child living on an island made of garbage are pinned on the slim chance of a popular boy band noticing his dance videos. The title story follows a marine biologist attempting to help an abandoned polar bear cub while grappling with the lingering trauma of her adoption from Korea by a white family in Idaho. The excellent “Older Sister” explores a young Korean American woman’s devotion to her family, as she commits herself to her studies in hopes of earning enough money to take care of her parents after their store was destroyed in the Los Angeles riots. Throughout, Kim excels at revealing the far-reaching and destabilizing effects of traumatic events on her characters. Readers will savor these nuanced tales. Agent: Jody Kahn, Brandt & Hochman. (Nov.)