"Lebowitz highlights the parables, fables and myths we humans created
in order to weave meaning into our lives and to which we return for
comfort." --Atlantic Books Today
On April 10th, 1815, Indonesia's Mount Tambora erupted. The resulting
build-up of ash in the stratosphere altered weather patterns and led, in
1816, to a year without summer. Instead, there were June snowstorms,
food shortages, epidemics, inventions, and the proliferation of new
cults and religious revivals.
Hauntingly meaningful in today's climate crisis, Lebowitz's lyric essay
charts the events and effects of that apocalyptic year. Weaving together
history, mythology, and memoir, The Year of No Summer ruminates on
weather, war, and our search for God and meaning in times of disaster.