Over the past decade, I've read bits of novelist Amitav Ghosh's work and have wanted to read more. So, when I was given the opportunity to review Wild Fictions, it felt like kismet (thank you for the ARC, NetGalley and University of Chicago Press). I wasn't expecting to take notes as I read, but it's the kind of book that makes one consider how very different today's fractured world would be if wars, colonialism, exploitation, and disregard for the planet weren't baked into our global economy.

Ghosh's essays range from the effects of climate change on migration to a fascinating account of World War I from the perspective of colonial subjects fighting for empire. I was especially taken with his essay on the international crew of sailors who helped the West rule the seas (fans of Moby Dick will want to read this chapter). I love travel writing, and found Ghosh’s account of his student days, which led him from India to Cambridge to Egypt and beyond, riveting.

Wild Fictions asks us to get curious about our world, our climate, and our worldviews. A self-confessed xenophile, Ghosh approaches his travels, observations, conversations, and lectures with the openness and curiosity of a university student who wants to see, learn, and discuss everything. This is a book that readers will turn to again and again.

This was a very good book. It was well-written. I would highly recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Amitav Ghosh’s Wild Fictions is a dense, intellectually ambitious collection that demands effort from the reader. The essays span topics like climate change, colonialism, and migration, weaving together insights from history, ecology, and literature. While Ghosh’s arguments are compelling, the writing can be quite academic, with references and terminology that may feel heavy or inaccessible at times. It’s not a breezy read, but it rewards patience with moments of clarity and moral force.

This is a book of essays, articles (and maybe speeches) that Amitav Ghosh has written over the past quarter of a century mostly centering on climate change, environmental disaster, his research for his famous Ibis trilogy and seem of his thoughts on literature and power relations between peoples and countries in today's world. The essays are wide ranging, mainly focusing on what today is called the global south. The opening essay is a surprising take on immigration: yes immigration is caused by war, famine and climate disaster but it is also driven by the cell phone, the internet and people's belief they can have a better life by migrating to Western Europe or the United States. Other essays cover the destruction of the Sundarban's and their destruction (2004) in order to build a tourist complex for the rich. He writes about effect of a Tsunami on islands where most everyone lives too close to the sea, He writes about the death of clove trees on the island of Ternate due to climate change which has meant drought and wildfire. I could go on but some things stick out: Ghosh is an astute observer and researcher as is born out in his other writings and in these essays. This is not a book to be read in one sitting or in sequential sittings. Because I had a pre-publication galley it was impossible to search for essays or jump easily from one to another. In some cases, for instance the Sundarbans, I wish Ghosh had dropped some essays in order to do follow up on what happened to the Sundarbans since 2004. I don't think there is anything new here in terms of earth-breaking understanding of climate change or power relations in today's world. Nonetheless Ghosh is a wise and talented writer and I encourage others to read these essays.

I am a long time reader of Amitav Ghosh and I have read most all of his fiction and non-fiction works. This one doesn't disappoint either. Although he covers a wide range of topics, they are all very engaging and pertinent.

The overall theme of these excellent and thought-provoking essays is that “the world [is] now entering a time of monsters.” The phrase is taken from the work of the political philosopher Antonio Gramsci, who was referring, when he wrote it in the 1930s, to fascists. Ghosh argues that “What is distinctive about our time is that its monsters also consist of weather events that would have been thought of as improbable or freakish in Gramsci’s lifetime…”. He maintains it is not in fact correct to think of weather events as “acts of God.” Rather, they are not separate from political processes which have not only affected the global climate but “have hugely benefited a small minority of human beings at the expense of the great majority of the world’s population.” In short, the division between “natural” and “social” or “political” is a false one, and he goes about demonstrating why this is so in a series of disquisitions. His focus is outside the West, where life is very much *determined* by actions taken by wealthier Western nations, especially the United States. [The latest report from Yale shows “The wealthiest 10 percent of people on Earth have fueled two-thirds of the warming since 1990, according to a new modeling study. The top 1 percent alone are responsible for one-fifth of warming, not just by using more energy, authors say, but by investing in sectors, like fossil fuels, that are driving up emissions.”]. This was precisely the point made by Ghosh. 

Ghosh explains that this “time of monsters” has also been called “the Anthropocene Epoch.” [The National Geographic defines this as “an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.”]

One major line of thought in Ghosh’s essays spotlights the interrelationships among climate change, migration, and politics. The essays are so full of intriguing lines of analysis it is difficult to restrain oneself (indeed, I could not) from reading passages aloud to anyone in my company.

Evaluation: It is tempting to summarize his thought-provoking ideas, but it would be better if readers seek out this illuminating volume on their own. It is excellent, educational, and a wonderful addition to collections of politics, history, and philosophy. Moreover, with immigration in the forefront of global news right now, Ghosh's insights into this issue add a vitally important perspective.