Methuselah by Amy Debellis

The world is on fire… and so is Tessa’s life. 

Methuselah is a dual-timeline novella by Amy DeBellis, set between 2014 and the 2020s, that follows the main character, Tessa, a young woman who is struggling with the reality of getting older in a dying world. In 2014, Tessa spent her days performing throughout California with her heavy metal band called "Pestilential Harbor." The longer the band tours, the more apparent their lack of success becomes. Ten years later, long after the band has splintered, Tessa picks up the pieces of her life in the modern day, where everything seems to slowly fall apart. With her grandmother’s onsetting dementia, the world quite literally is lighting itself into a blaze as wildfires spread in California, and Tessa’s obsessive search to reconnect herself with the world. Methuselah gives readers a raw portrayal of contemporary society, reckoning with the contemporary question of what we should do with ourselves when positivity feels impossible.

"Pestilential Harbor" consists of several members: Tessa, Alistair, Zac, Nico, and Emrys. Nico, though he’s past the age where an allowance is typical, still gets checks from his parents. When that money dwindles, it becomes clear that the band needs to make some changes. As whispers start behind Tessa’s back, she realizes that the men in the band don’t see their unique stance of having a female vocalist as a strength, instead blaming Tessa for their trouble booking. But when Tessa tells Alistair, the other vocalist and her love interest, about them wanting to kick her out of the band, she finds he may be hiding the biggest secret of all. Instead of addressing what she knows, Tessa chooses to ignore Alistair’s buried truths because of their tumultuous relationship, as their growing feelings threaten to interrupt the already choppy flow of the band. 

As the decade passes, the reader is aware that "Pestilential Harbor’s" time has long ago drawn to a close. Tessa works at an ordinary, boring job; her life no longer sparkles with the thrill of band life, and instead she spends her days agonizing over current events. Yes, more fires are spreading in California. Yes, doomsday is still coming. And yes, she needs to find a way to keep going, to take care of her grandmother and the world around her. As the world around and within her wreaks havoc, Tessa begins to grow an obsession with Methuselah—the world’s oldest tree, rooted in California. As the fires blaze throughout the state, she worries that her life will be snuffed out just as easily as all the other lives and relationships around her. 

Though Methuselah is an incredibly short read, clocking in at just over 100 pages, Amy DeBellis packs a punch with the character study she supplies within the novella. DeBellis’ first novel, All Our Tomorrows, exhibits her talent for creating vast character studies within ordinary lives, and this project is no different. She makes worlds come alive on paper, prompting readers to see a world full of tragedy and the failings of humanity, yet still a place readers have no choice but to live in. This kind of writing is extraordinary in the way it makes readers want to take action against the mundane. In her portrayal of the failing climate as something ordinary, readers realize that climate change is something they should pay attention to in order to be able to fight against it. Because while climate change can be ignored, confronting it in the face of what that means for society is much scarier because it embraces what we can and cannot do. 

Perhaps the most remarkable piece of DeBellis’ writing is her skill with prose. As I read, I found many lines that stood out to me, as DeBellis writes with such humanity that I rarely see exhibited outside of the most superb and awarded literary fiction, where characters are tangible in the ways they are flawed and exceed expectations. DeBellis’ writing is something I would argue should be studied, as it is on par with the best novels and stories I have been encouraged to read when studying for my English degree. I believe part of being a good writer is knowing how to tell a good story through plot, character, and setting.

I believe a less-discussed part of being a good writer is the humanity it takes to bear your soul to the world, and for those pieces of yourself to be communicable and life-changing when encountered. DeBellis does exactly that, and that is no small achievement.

For that exact reason, I would recommend her writing to readers and writers everywhere, whether that be as an introduction to literary fiction, climate fiction, or character studies. Her prose echoes past the page, leaving the reader not only hanging onto every word but yearning to reread as the story draws to a close.

Methuselah was published on February 3, 2026, by Ouroboros Press.

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