• Reviews

    Parable of the Sower Book Review: Classic Cli-Fi Dystopia

    This review of legendary Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower covers one of the cli-fi classics. Written in 1993, Parable of the Sower is a must-read novel for anyone interested in the emerging climate fiction genre. Butler was clearly ahead of her time, writing a dystopian novel that takes place in Southern California in 2024, where climate change has led to scarce resources, chronic droughts, wildfires, and near social collapse. There are elections, governments, law enforcement, and markets, but most people are generally left to fend for themselves. Protagonist Lauren lives inside a compound with her family and a handful…

  • Reviews

    Climate Fiction Book Review: Weather

    This climate fiction book review profiles Jenny Offill’s Weather, a 224-page novel that follows the main character, Lizzie, going through her daily minutiae. She works at a library. People overshare their problems with her. In fragmented, New York City scenes, Lizzie bumps into distressed family members, neighbors, and pseudo-strangers, all of whom need something from her. Sometimes it’s her child wanting snacks or her brother needing help managing his addiction. Other times, it’s the random stoop person who every New Yorker befriends at some point in their city residency needing a fake therapy session. Lizzie lets herself be the venting…