This open access book argues that storytelling is an important resource
in coming to terms with the loss of the feeling of living a grounded
existence where the future remains relatively stable and predictable.
Faced with the specter of climate catastrophe, we lose confidence in the
future-a well-documented response in the environmental movement, for
example. Yet stories, and in particular sophisticated fictional stories,
can help us negotiate that uncertainty: they offer affective and
imaginative tools that channel the instability of our climate future and
invite audiences to accept its fundamental uncertainty.
In all, this book represents a serious contribution to the environmental
humanities that brings a flexible formal approach to bear on central
questions of our time. Its commentary on contemporary works of prose and
digital narrative is an aid for navigating climate uncertainty and
appreciating the more-than-human scale-but also the tragic
ramifications-of the ecological crisis.
The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC
BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was
funded by The European Research Council and the University of Ghent.