A Children's Bible

Throughout the novel, the most prominent themes of the Bible are used to examine the extravagant follies and hazards of the modern age. Millet hints that humanity’s biblical origin story contains hints of its inevitable end if people fail to learn from science and the past. As the novel’s title suggests, Millet’s biblical allusions are far from subtle, and she uses nine-year-old Jack to explicitly identify many of them. By using such overt references, she asserts that because of the current environmental crisis, the time for subtlety is long over. The narrative likewise implies that the world is entering a quasi-biblical era of climatic and societal upheaval, and that just as in the Bible stories of old, only the virtues of courage, selflessness, and faith can save humanity from its fate.

Foremost among these biblical parallels is the massive storm and flood that strike early in the novel and cause a widespread breakdown of civil order. Within this chaos, the parents indulge in multiple forms of escapism, and Millet uses their ineptitude to indict the environmental negligence of older generations. Jack, who has been given a book of Bible stories for children, relates this devastating storm to the Great Flood that was sent by God to cleanse the world of the wicked.