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Literature & Literary Studies

We all die at the end

Storytelling in the climate apocalypse

by Sam Haddow

Description

We all die at the end offers a survey of contemporary end-of-the-world fiction, spanning literature, children's fiction, video games, theatre and film. It draws on eco-critical philosophy and narrative theory to show ways in which the climate crisis is reorienting storytelling in the face of foreseeable human extinction. In the process, it argues that such stories have a role to play in helping us come to terms with the severity and scale of the crisis that we face.

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We all die at the end

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Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo [DRC], Congo, Republic of the, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hongkong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, China, Macedonia [FYROM], Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Cyprus, Palestine, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Dominican Republic, Myanmar, Monaco

Endorsements

As the ravages of climate change throw our species' future into question, many of our stories are turning to the subject of extinction. This book is about what they are saying and why it demands our attention. Humanity has always imagined what lies beyond frontiers such as dark forests, deep caves, open oceans and night skies. Today, on our mapped earth amidst the sixth mass extinction event, our most foreboding terra incognita is the time directly ahead. So, for decades, we have been filling this place with zombie videogames, post-apocalyptic quest narratives, political dystopias, ecological horrors, to the point that the future is now saturated with competing narratives of disintegration. In charting a course through such stories across literature, children's fiction, videogames, theatre and film, We all die at the end shows a species trying to come to terms with the unthinkable prospect of its own demise. But this is not a book about giving up. Rather, it argues that hope for survival means accepting that everything is at stake and says that our stories can help us to do this, if we will only listen.

Reviews

As the ravages of climate change throw our species' future into question, many of our stories are turning to the subject of extinction. This book is about what they are saying and why it demands our attention. Humanity has always imagined what lies beyond frontiers such as dark forests, deep caves, open oceans and night skies. Today, on our mapped earth amidst the sixth mass extinction event, our most foreboding terra incognita is the time directly ahead. So, for decades, we have been filling this place with zombie videogames, post-apocalyptic quest narratives, political dystopias, ecological horrors, to the point that the future is now saturated with competing narratives of disintegration. In charting a course through such stories across literature, children's fiction, videogames, theatre and film, We all die at the end shows a species trying to come to terms with the unthinkable prospect of its own demise. But this is not a book about giving up. Rather, it argues that hope for survival means accepting that everything is at stake and says that our stories can help us to do this, if we will only listen.

Author Biography

Sam Haddow is Senior Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Drama at the University of St Andrews

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Manchester University Press

Manchester University Press

Manchester University Press is a leading UK publisher known for excellent research in the humanities and social sciences.

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Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Manchester University Press
  • Publication Date March 2025
  • Orginal LanguageEnglish
  • ISBN/Identifier 9781526175281 / 1526175282
  • Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
  • FormatPrint PDF
  • Pages200
  • ReadershipGeneral/trade; College/higher education; Professional and scholarly
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Dimensions216 X 138 mm
  • Biblio NotesDerived from Proprietary 5969
  • Reference Code15883

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