About six months ago, I read an advanced copy of Stephen Markleyâs epic new novel, The Deluge, which was released earlier this month. Since then, I have been so hung up on it that I havenât been able to have a satisfying experience with another book. Itâs no exaggeration to say that I think about The Deluge every single day.
This ambitious, 900-page work spans the next thirty years on Earth, as climate change disasters bludgeon the earth with increasing severity while the political and social fabrics of humanity begin to crumble. After building a foundation in current events, mostly in the United States, with all our climate change inaction, political insecurity and societal challenges, Markley drags us through an unceasing barrage of increasingly terrifying and poignant catastrophes. As calamity unfolds, it feels like weâve been crammed inside a barrel and thrown down a river. With a roaring in our ears, the narrative tumbles faster and faster, occasionally seeming to lose focus only to find its footing again on a new disaster. There are moments of hope, too, but Markley offers them sparingly at best.
What makes this book so powerful is the way Markley can pinpoint a social issue facing modern society and extrapolate the consequences of that issue into future decades. He does this so comprehensively, with so many facets of our society, that by the time I finished, I struggled to separate it from reality.
I didnât love everything in this novel by any means, and it certainly isnât for everyone. The many individual characters are secondary to the plot, and while their motives are believable, they are almost universally unlikable in some way. But, I canât help but think that this underdevelopment was intentional, keeping the focus away from individual interests and on the catastrophe facing society as a whole.
This book changed me, and I donât think Iâll ever forget it. I strongly recommend The Deluge, but approach it with caution. It will consume you, rattle you around and leave you haunted. It will settle into your mind, reappearing intensely as you go through your day.
-Evan
