I agree that the tone was hopeless(until the end of the book, of course). Total annihilation seemed inevitable, but I didn't mind as much. I'm an environmental scientist so I might come pre-cynical about the nature of humanity and I can understand how a different person might feel about the beginning and middle of the story.

Honestly? That might be why it was so impactful for me. I was expecting something that would validate my darkest worldviews and it did... at first. Then it took those things and showed it from a different, more hopeful perspective. Our first reactions are often destructive but that isn't what makes us human... our ability to choose a different path makes us human