Fire & Water: Stories from the Anthropocene

by Mary Fifield (editor), Kristin Thiel (editor)

A Sámi woman studying Alaska fish populations sees our past and future through their present signs of stress and her ancestral knowledge. A teenager faces a permanent drought in Australia and her own sexual desire. An unemployed man in Wisconsin marvels as a motley parade of animals makes his trailer their portal to a world untrammeled by humans.

Featuring short fiction from authors around the globe, Fire & Water: Stories from the Anthropocene takes readers on a rare journey through the physical and emotional landscape of the climate crisis—not in the future, but today. By turns frightening, confusing, and even amusing, these stories remind us how complex, and beautiful, it is to be human in these unprecedented times.

Contributors: Tomas Baiza, J. D. Evans, Mary Fifield, Bishop Garrison, JoeAnn Hart, Anthony S. James, Stefan Kiesbye, Jack Kirne, Carlos Labbé, Shaun Levin, Jessica Meeker, Jennifer Morales, Etan Nechin, Vivian Faith Prescott, Kristin Thiel, Jan Underwood, Tara M. Williams

Genres: Short Stories, Climate Change, Climate Change Fiction

Unknown Binding

Published August 1, 2021

Reviews

[Claudia McIsaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

California Fire & Water takes readers on a gripping journey. The stories depict people at various stages of the climate crisis: some in the present in fairly stable communities just beginning to understand—or refusing to believe—the catastrophe already unfolding in many parts of the world, others in a future in which serious food and water shortages, infernos, floods and other catastrophic weather events are the norm. I love Jennifer Morales’ "The Doorman." A man who denies climate change is isolated at home in his leaky trailer recovering from an injury when something extraordinary happens with animals. Animals also play a role in Jessica Meeker’s compelling story, "Glacier Bear," set in rural Alaska in a time when many people must scavenge for food and animals are starving.

The stories in this anthology show a range of emotional responses to climate change— everything from denial to hope to despair— all of them believable. Kristin Thiel’s beautiful story, "Morse Code of the Yellow Rail," opens with fifteen-year-old Daria contemplating a jump into a volcano if the climate gets bad enough. “Volcanos offer foolproof suicide,” her scientist mother has told her. This dark humor sets the stage for a terrific exploration of how an adolescent copes with eco-anxiety. Sent by her parents to a camp aimed at teaching coping strategies, Daria is at first dismissive. It’s very moving to see the gradual change in her, especially her exploration of “the final step of the eco-grief process: going forward, showing up, making meaningful efforts.” And the conversations with her parents are absorbing, as they struggle to answer Daria’s questions and accusations of not doing enough.

What we do or fail to do—and who we choose to protect—is a theme in Mary Fitfield’s wonderful story, "Irene’s Daughters." Danielle, an oil industry scientist turned whistle blower, and her daughter have moved from Quito, Ecuador, to an “easygoing, if ramshackle rainforest town” where she hopes she won’t be recognized. Danielle is confronted there by Irene, an indigenous activist mother, about the poisoned watershed left behind by the oil company which is causing cancer and respiratory disease. Danielle is an intriguing character whether she’s touring a construction zone, counting tadpoles with her students, arguing with her Ecuadorian father-in-law, or hanging out with her young daughter. The last few pages, where she’s confronted by Irene, who desperately needs her to do something, are absolutely riveting. So many great stories in this anthology, stories that not only make me think and feel, but that help me with my own eco-anxiety and strengthen my determination to act.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down. The quality of the stories is uneven, but most still worth reading. My disappointment comes from the fact that the editors’ inspiration for the book was the desire to fill in the lack of narratives that address climate change as a real, present experience in lives today instead of the all too common narrative trope around climate change of an apocalyptic sci-fi future. And yet, so many of the stories included in this collection are apocalyptic future stories rather than stories grounded in the present and the real.

And, frustratingly, for a genre that is trying to get people to see connections to their daily lives it is also perhaps unfortunate that the most skillful and striking story in the book is told from the point of view of seals, orcas, and polar bears. I loved it– but it’s not related to the goal and premise of the collection.

[Pistol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic read!
I loved everything from the texture of the ashy, humid desert and earthy yet strong colors on the front cover, to the snow, the rainforest, the family room, the fire, the ocean, the alternate realities, the mythology, and the humanity. It was truly a treat to read a book about climate change which is both engaging and not a downer. In the liminal space leaving the before, and not yet in the after, this book captures the fantasy and the reality of the world as we know (and knew) it and the world as it is yet to become.

[Megge · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fascinating to see how these various authors incorporated climate issues into these captivating stories. Not science fiction but fiction, set in the present, that addresses - in overt or subtle ways - climate change and it’s consequences. Well written and timely.

[Norma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific! I loved the huge range of settings and circumstances -- and the humanity that comes through so clearly in them all. Great writing.

[Mccinnamon4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and organized. Thoughtful and provocative. Read it with friends, you'll want to discuss it.