Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by surviving
Far North by Marcel Theroux
4.0
James Lovelock—the scientist who helped the world discover ozone-hole-creating chemicals and developed the idea that life on Earth has managed the planet's temperature—says we should start planning a retreat.
“At six going on eight billion people,” Lovelock told Andrew Revkin, a New York Times reporter, “the idea of any further development is almost obscene. We’ve got to learn how to retreat from the world that we’re in. Planning a good retreat is always a good measure of generalship.”
And, Revkin writes, "The retreat, he insists, will be toward the poles."
Marcel Theroux's novel Far North imagines what it would be like to live through this retreat. I don't know if he's aware of Lovelock's idea or not. Animals and plants have the same idea, though. As the planet warms, they're moving toward the poles. Earth could wind up a much different place. Crocodiles roamed the Arctic tens of millions of years ago, and they might again, eventually.
But before that, we'll get to the not-too-distant future where Far North is set. It's an age that requires grit to get by. Villages that are doing alright have to defend themselves against those who waited too long to move north, and arrive starving and impatient. It's a world of scavenging from the fallen industrial age. It's a polarized world, where people see the fall as a reason to cling to religion, or a reason to give up on it.
“At six going on eight billion people,” Lovelock told Andrew Revkin, a New York Times reporter, “the idea of any further development is almost obscene. We’ve got to learn how to retreat from the world that we’re in. Planning a good retreat is always a good measure of generalship.”
And, Revkin writes, "The retreat, he insists, will be toward the poles."
Marcel Theroux's novel Far North imagines what it would be like to live through this retreat. I don't know if he's aware of Lovelock's idea or not. Animals and plants have the same idea, though. As the planet warms, they're moving toward the poles. Earth could wind up a much different place. Crocodiles roamed the Arctic tens of millions of years ago, and they might again, eventually.
But before that, we'll get to the not-too-distant future where Far North is set. It's an age that requires grit to get by. Villages that are doing alright have to defend themselves against those who waited too long to move north, and arrive starving and impatient. It's a world of scavenging from the fallen industrial age. It's a polarized world, where people see the fall as a reason to cling to religion, or a reason to give up on it.