Political

Cities of Salt, Abdul Rahman Munif

Translated by Peter Theroux. Set in an unnamed Persian Gulf kingdom in the 1930s, this remarkable novel tells the story of the disruption and diaspora of a poor oasis community following the discovery of oil there. The meeting of the Arabs and the Americans who, in essence, colonize the remote […]

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The Way of Water, Nina Munteanu

Thanks to Nina Munteanu for the following information on two new books on water. The Way of Water is a near-future vision that explores the nuances of corporate and government corruption and deceit together with resource warfare. An ecologist and technologist, Nina Munteanu uses both fiction and non-fiction to examine […]

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Luna Series, Ian McDonald

Nestled within a narrative of lunar colonization driven by STEM developments and a decimated, post-oil Earth economy, Luna burns with the desperate anxieties of the late-capitalist, financialized age: the universalization of debt, the demand for contingent and flexible labor, and the resulting polarized wealth gap. –LA Review of Books I. […]

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The Mandibles: : A Family, 2029-2047, Lionel Shriver

This is not science fiction. This is a frightening, fascinating, scabrously funny glimpse into the decline that may await the United States all too soon, from the pen of perhaps the most consistently perceptive and topical author of our times. -Goodreads It’s a toss up whether my dread comes from […]

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