Sinking Islands
Sinking Islands continues the story of Bronwyn Artair, a scientist who possesses the power to influence the natural forces of the Earth. After several successful interventions, including one in Siberia, she has gone into hiding, worried about unintended consequences of her actions, as well as about the ethics of operating solo. But circumstances call her to action again, and an idea takes shape: What if she could impart her skill to other people? Gathering a few kindred souls from climate-troubled places around the world--Felipe from São Paulo, where drought conditions are creating strains on day-to-day life; Analu and his daughter Penina from a sinking island in the South Pacific; and Patty from the tornado-ridden plains of Kansas--she takes them to the wilds of Northern New Hampshire where she tries to teach them her skill. The novel, realistic but for the single fantastical element, explores how we might become more attuned to the Earth and act more collaboratively to solve the enormity of our climate problem.
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Cai Emmons is the author of four novels--His Mother's Son, The Stylist, Weather Woman, Sinking Islands--and a story collection, Vanishing. She holds a BA from Yale University and two MFAs from New York University in film and from the University of Oregon in fiction. Before turning to fiction, Emmons wrote plays and screenplays. Winner of a Student Academy Award, an Oregon Book Award, and the Leapfrog Fiction Prize, and a finalist for the Narrative Magazine and Missouri Review fiction prizes, she has taught at a variety of institutions, most recently in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Oregon. She lives in Eugene, Oregon.
"With a dazzling array of characters and locations and just enough magic to surprise and enchant us, Sinking Islands explores how connection, mentorship, and dedication might alter the course of lives and planet. This novel is an ecofeminist gem."--Sharma Shields, author of The Cassandra
"Emmons gets readers to think about their small, everyday actions and how they can counter climate change. A gifted panel of characters has the reader reflecting upon their own gifts and qualities in this sweet and uplifting read."--Chelsia Rice, Montana Book Company, Helena, MT
"Emmons writes about the human condition of loneliness and how the devastation of climate change has caused profound loneliness. In Sinking Islands, we're taken to more places around the globe where climate destruction has either transformed or threatens to erase their beauty. The mood...isn't just gloom and doom, though; it's also wonderment and awe of Nature's therapeutic powers and why we must find therapies to save and heal our aching planet." --Enchanted Prose
"Sinking Islands is an timely enjoyable read that focuses on our current concerns about climate change." --Thoughts on This 'n That
"Sinking Islands offers a rare voice of optimism when it comes to eco-fiction, especially with its echo of the oft-quoted assertion that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. The important question here is not whether something can be done -- it's whether it will be done."--The Oregonian
"The local writer brings a sort of magical realism to climate change in her novels."--Eugene Weekly
