Looking Away: Apathy towards Climate Crisis in Literary Fiction during the Post-Truth Era

Abstract

There is dearth of literary fiction on climate crisis as is being pointed by acclaimed writers and scholars across the globe. Writers like Amitav Ghosh and Salman Rushdie have initiated a dialogue in this regard. In the post-truth era, the issue of climate change is being blatantly denied and doubt is being manufactured regarding this issue. The novelists need to address this issue urgently, so as to create awareness among the readers. The apathy towards climate crisis needs to be mitigated without delay. Stories can motivate people to take social responsibility and bring changes that are useful for a sustainable development. It is by means of storytelling that the people across the globe can be educated about climate crisis and the issue can be made more relatable. Fiction can be a catalyst for change. Literary imagination of the novelists needs to extend beyond everyday life to accommodate the issue of climate change. Role of culture and its relationship with climate crisis is duly comprehended in this study.

This paper focuses on the importance of initiating a dialogue on climate crisis and the scarcity of this issue in contemporary literary fiction. Insightful observations and views of acclaimed writers and scholars have been duly incorporated to lend this scholarly endeavour a firm ground.