On Time and Water

Description

Longlisted for the 2022 National Translation AwardFinalist for the 2021 Nordic Council Literature PrizeAWinnipeg Free PressTop Read of 2021Asked by a leading climate scientist why he wasnt writing about the greatest crisis mankind has faced, Andri Snr Magnason, one of Icelands most beloved writers and public intellectuals, protested: he wasnt a specialist, he said. It wasnt his field. But the scientist persisted: If you cannot understand our scientific findings and present them in an emotional, psychological, poetic or mythological context, he told him, then no one will really understand the issue, and the world will end.Based on interviews and advice from leading glacial, ocean, climate, and geographical scientists, and interwoven with personal, historical, and mythological stories, Magnasons resulting response is a rich and compelling work of narrative nonfiction that illustrates the reality of climate change and offers hope in the face of an uncertain future. Moving from reflections on how one writes an obituary for a glacier to exhortation for a heightened understanding of human time and our obligations to one another, throughout history and across the globe,On Time and Wateris both deeply personal and globally minded: a travel story, a world history, a desperate plea to live in harmony with future generationsand is unlike anything that has yet been published on the current climate emergency.Praise forOn Time and WaterMagnasons moving and heartfelt paean to glaciers turns the science of the climate crisis into a story of personal loss. He draws on the experiences of his family and relatives, as well as Icelands rich cultural relationship to its wild and rugged landscape, to communicate the true scale of the catastrophe that is coming and its impact on lives and societies.The GuardianAndri Snr Magnasons perspective on his countrys environment is unique and compelling The author tries to understand, and tries to make the reader understand, why the climate crisis is not widely perceived as a distinct, transformative event in the manner of, say, the fall of the Berlin Wall or the attacks of September 11th, 2001. The fundamental problem, as this book elucidates, is time. Climate change is a disaster in slow motion, and yet slow is a great deal faster than many people seem able to comprehend.The EconomistAndri Snr MagnasonsOn Time and Wateris a wondrous, rambling book. It confronts the ecological and social challenges facing humanity and eloquently presents facts that are dire and terrifying. And yet, through persuasive narratives and insightful examples, the book is satisfying, useful, and even hopeful to a degree. I highly recommend MagnasonsOn Time and Waterto readers of nonfiction, especially those interested in ecology and eco-theory Magnasons eloquence is exactly what is called for in this dire moment.World Literature TodayA literary look at the threat of climate change in this moving account Magnasons empathetic rendering of changes that surpass most of the language and metaphors we use to navigate our reality makes an impact. Climate-concerned readers will find much to consider.Publishers WeeklyCompelling This clarion call to action on the climate issue, coming from award-winning Icelandic poet and novelist Andri Snr Magnason, should be required reading for deniers of the greatest crisis humans have ever faced A memoir and polemic featuring mythological stories, Icelandic folklore, cultural histories and science-driven extrapolations which effectively combine to send a strong message about the planetary damage humans are causing.Winnipeg Free PressIt is difficult to express to someone who has not read it how wonderful and how horrifyingin a nutshell, how truly vitalthis book is. Magnason has created a masterpiece, staunchly scientific and highly informative, yet utterly raw in its humanity.Asymptote JournalAndri Snr Magnason combines intimate history and collective mythology, personal essay and exploration of memory, geography and environment, to bring the elusive reality of climate change painfully and dangerously close to each of us.Paolo Giordano, author ofHeaven and EarthWith poetry and wonder Magnason summons deep emotions about our place on our planet. I was deeply moved and inspired by his words.Darren AronofskyDrawing from Icelandic mythology, science, and his familys history, Magnason gives the vocabulary of climate change new charge On Time and Waterdeftly weaves a tapestry with threads that, at first glance, dont appear to fit together Magnason has a knack for taking the everyday and turning it into something arresting and mythical.GristMagnason is onto something in creating poetic narratives that make the geological personal in this manner: referring back to our living ancestors experience confronts the shifting baseline from which we experience the changing world; and it draws on our imagination in ways that statistics dont On Time and Waterhas a lot to recommend about it The imaginative exploration, is in itself deeply worthwhile.Shiny New BooksPraise for Andri Snaer MagnasonEco-lit needs more attention, and devotees will be pleased to discover a new addition from the Icelandic author Andri Snaer Magnason, who writes with a Seussian mix of wonder, wit and gravitas. immensely satisfying.New York TimesThe love child of Chomsky and Lewis Carroll.Rebecca SolnitMagnason has created an intimate epic that floats effortlessly between genres as diverse as fairy tale and political commentary, science fiction and social realism.The Casket of Timespans the chasm between once upon a time and have you heard the news today in a way that makes his philosophical fable feel both timely and timeless.Bjarke Ingels