7 Fiction books about the environment to add to your reading list

In commemoration of Earth Month, here’s a selection of books that will transport you to worlds both strange and familiar

Earth Month invites us to meditate on our relationship with the environment and plan our next courses of action for the betterment of our planet. While we’re still mid-way through April, there’s no better time to explore these books that deal with themes about nature.

These works of fiction delve deep into the complex dynamic between humans and the environment. They take on topics such as biodiversity and the impact of man’s activities on the natural world, using storytelling to address, inform and educate readers through a critical and nuanced lens.

Though some of these works take place in far-flung and imagined universes, their common themes resonate with real-life concerns, offering insight into our relationship with our ecosystem.

Here are a few impactful book recommendations

'Gun Island' by Amitav Ghosh

Above 'Gun Island' by Amitav Ghosh (Photo: Penguin Random House Canada)

This sweeping epic takes Bengali folklore to the modern world. A scholar embarks on a journey that spans space and time, examining a world on the brink of collapse. The story ponders the refugee crisis, among other concerns, such as natural disasters, rapid globalisation, and the loss of ancestral heritage.

'Weather' by Jenny Offill

Above 'Weather' by Jenny Offill (Photo: Penguin Random House)

Taking place around the events of the 2016 United States presidential election, a disheartened librarian comes head-to-head with her rising anxiety surrounding the climate crisis and the threat of the American right-wing movement. Her mental health takes a turn for the worse, and she develops an eccentric interest in ‘doomsday prepping’.

'The Overstory' by Richard Powers

Above 'The Overstory' by Richard Powers (Photo: Penguin Random House Australia)

The 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction winner The Overstory addresses deforestation and social activism. Told in four sections and centred around nine distinct characters who forge unique bonds with trees, the story spans centuries and generations, offering a new perspective on interconnectedness.

'Annihilation' by Jeff VanderMeer

Above 'Annihilation' by Jeff VanderMeer (Photo: Macmillan Publishers)

An all-women research expedition sets out to map the terrain of a strange region cut off from the rest of civilisation. There, strange phenomena seem to happen without meaning as the story delves deep into the ugliness of ecological issues, juxtaposed with the fear of the unknown.

'Parable of the Sower' by Octavia E. Butler

Above 'Parable of the Sower' by Octavia E. Butler (Photo: Hachette Book Group)

In the desolate, post-apocalyptic United States heavily affected by climate change and wealth inequality, a 15-year-old African-American girl becomes displaced from her home. As she sets off on foot along the Californian coast, she fights for survival while following a call to lead humankind into a better future.

'Oryx and Crake' by Margaret Atwood

Above 'Oryx and Crake' by Margaret Atwood (Photo: Penguin Random House Canada)

A staple of the speculative fiction genre, Oryx and Crake follows a lone character in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by strange, humanoid creatures. The story tackles themes of extinction, evolution, corporate rule, and the battle between humans and nature.

'Dune' by Frank Herbert

Above 'Dune' by Frank Herbert (Photo: Penguin Random House)

The best-selling novel by Frank Herbert is one of the earliest examples of climate fiction, as it explores ecological themes that correspond to real-world environmental issues. In Dune, a young nobleman navigates a harsh desert planet. Soon, he rises to power and seizes control of a brutal empire. Herbert was an ardent environmentalist who spent years meticulously constructing his fictional world’s elaborate ecosystem.

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These 7 fiction books about the environment offer insights into our relationship with the natural world