The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (Berlin Family Lectures) Kindle Edition

Amitav Ghosh, who is about equally known as a novelist and an essayist, begins this terrifying book--really a "cri du coeur"-- by asking why anthropogenic climate change, the central crisis of our time, is nearly absent from contemporary fiction. This question initially struck me as odd and narrowly-focused and poorly reflective of the broader societal response to the problem. But he devotes most of the rest of the book to showing that the absence of climate change from fiction is indeed reflective of society's unwillingness to confront it at all. Why? Because of its scale, its pervasiveness, its dreadful implications for the future; the perfect conditions to trigger denial. Ghosh compares the texts of the 2016 Paris Agreement and Pope Francis' environmental encyclical "Laudato Si." Of the first, he writes: "The Agreement's rhetoric serves to clarify much that it leaves unsaid; namely, that its intention and the essence of what it has achieved, is to create yet another neo-liberalfrontier where corporations, entrepreneurs, and public officials will be able to join forces in enriching each other." He is much more sanguine about the encyclical, seeing it as a moral guidepost to effective action, if not a directly applicable one. But to what extent can moral force overcome entrenched interests, short-term vision, and institutionalized hypocrisy?Two more observations: (1) This display of Ghosh's wide-ranging erudition encompasses many allusions unfamiliar to American readers. Because I teach tropical ecology I am familiar with the Sundurbans. I am not familiar with many of the South Asian writers and thinkers referenced here. I hope other readers will be motivated, as I am, to learn more about them. (2) On page 5 Ghosh refers to the Lake Nyos outgassing disaster, in which some 1700 people died. He says Lake Nyos is in the Congo. It's in Cameroon. The error has no impact on the message of the book, but it's annoying that it got through the editing process.

This book, though very short, has many valuable ideas that one doesn't encounter often in discussions of climate change in the West, such as how critique of empire is neglected for critique of capitalism, when in fact they are two separate issues. His discussion of why coal leads to more worker solidarity than oil is also something I haven't seen addressed elsewhere, and he generally thinks through climate change in original ways. However he completely lost me at the end when he compared the Pope's encyclical with the Paris Accord -- criticizing Paris for being written by a committee and neglecting completely the fact that it was binding among governments whereas the Pope didn't have to get anyone to agree to do anything. His conclusion that religious groups might be our only hope seemed bonkers -- most of the rational European West is increasingly secular -- and most of the power is in this West. The religious American Right of course opposes the idea of climate change, and I doubt that Islamic countries which are heavily dependent on oil revenues will move this way. China is not religious, and as he points out in India there is a move toward increased accumulation of Western things. The Pope can't speak for birth control and women having many children won't help. Buddhists? So far not a very powerful force in world politics that I can see. Anyhow, his conclusion disappointed me and colored my overall feeling for the book.

The breadth of literature and authors cited, both Western and Asian is quite stunning. This critique of the arts and especially literature draws a unique arc so bold it's difficult to describe, nor can I adequately convey the enlightening elevation of the arts above economics & politics. As well, this text serves as a mini history lesson on the carbon economy. Even if you, like I, have read deeply in Global Warming literature, you will find nearly all of this particular work new to you.

This is the deepest analysis of the cultural causes of climate change I have seen anywhere, and I have been looking. Delightfully not Western in point of view, yet well informed of it. Mr. Ghosh is very well read, and in history too. He is one of a very few people who who could have written this book; a great contribution.

This is an outstanding analysis of the inevitable disasters that is global warming and the total unpreparedness of the west to deal with it. I just hope that this will not unfold during my children's lives....

Brilliantly written and researched. This man’s erudition and worldview are astounding. Must read

An informative and expert treatise on the reason the Modern Fiction Novel is has not been written about Climate Change.Easy read but the Author tends to usse too mant techinical terms. Would make a great read for an aspiring Fiction Novel Author

This book explodes with a narrative voice is the truthful; presenting us with the truths which industrialized nations today refuse to acknowledge. A powerful story which will keep you up at night wondering about all of the things which have gone wrong in our history and present day. No one is without blame and no one will be able to escape the effects of the Great Derangement.

This is a clear, well researched, confidently developed argument. Climate change and its consequences will soon eclipse everything else and this book exposes the way every one of us is trying to pretend it's not happening. Are we prepared to give up our greedy, selfish way of life? Probably not. And it's probably too late anyway.

Excellent read and an interesting way to approach this. I absolutely loved the first section on stories and kept reading sections to people around me.My only comment would be that Gosh seems, at times to repeat himself near the end of the book; this is the reason i've dropped the review downs to a 4

There is no denying that Amitav Ghosh is a brilliant writer. I have had many moments of amazement on this book, each necessitating a re-read of the portion. Of course, the re-read is often also necessary to understand what is being said. Ghosh is not for lazy readers; he demands that you make the effort to engage with his work constantly. No distraction and skipping of lines is possible. If your mind strays, as it sometimes will, the writing requires you to start over. With Ghosh, there is rarely half-hearted reading. It’s pretty much all or nothing.Of course, it should be that way, given you have the privilege to read not just a wordsmith but also someone who is immensely well-read himself. The Great Derangement references writing genres as varied as philosophy, climate change, literature, literary theory, evolutionary theory, cultural theory, anthropology, and more. There are even references to movies. There is, of course, as a result, a certain exclusion inherent.The book is divided into three sections—Stories, History, and Politics. Stories with its play on words and contemplation on the absence of climate change in serious literature might not be for everyone. It is too much like literary theory to engender universal appeal. With History and Politics, he discusses at length the reality, political negotiation, and the reportage of climate change and his anecdotes, brilliantly rendered as usual, are more widely appealing.After I finished the book, I looked for a Preface but couldn’t find one. Ghosh dives right in to what he wants to say. The Acknowledgements, however, told me what I wanted to know. The book has grown from a series of lectures delivered at the University of Chicago. It explains the intellectual exclusivity, the seemingly meandering form. A climate change primer it is not. However, for someone like me who has never read anything other than the odd news article or two (and what he has to say about media makes this all the more appalling), this offers much food for thought and is of course, a marvelous example of some fine writing.

Original and thought provoking

Easy reading