The Wager and the Bear by John Ironmonger (Fly On the Wall Press)
Greenland has been in the news a lot lately but not because of the polar bears or anything similar - just politics, and thanks to map projections it also features large on my map where I'm marking my reading journey so it was fortuitous that I saw lots of people talking about this book recently.
The Wager and the Bear starts gently with a slightly drunk student confronting his local MP in a Cornish pub regarding climate change. The MP is a real climate sceptic and Tom, the student, is more passionate about the planet especially when confronted with inaccurate statistics from the MP. The pair's conversation is being filmed and live streamed on social media however and what starts as a drunken bet becomes a bête noir for both characters as they spend the next 50 years crossing paths in the UK and Greenland as they try to persuade each other of their view points.
To say more about the book will spoil it for readers but I found it a very clever read, and far more effective at showing that climate change is real than a lot of other cli-fi novels and drier non fiction books.
I recognise a lot of the arguments used in the book and having a time frame that does encompass a human life span (rather than generation spanning apocalyptic novels) really added an extra dimension to this book. While it starts in the here and then moves forward in time it always felt very real and not too fantastical or presenting of an unreal possible future.
There is a lot of humour in the book, as well as genuine peril and I found it a thoroughly absorbing read that I've already recommended to others.
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