The Female Perspective in Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction) By Vanessa Lee

The Female Perspective in Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction)

By Vanessa Lee

I personally only heard of the genre “Cli-Fi” (Climate Fiction) recently, and ironically it was after I wrote my debut novel, High Rise, which, as I have since found out, sits squarely inside it. 

High Rise as my chosen title has a double meaning; it refers on the one hand to scientists’ predictions of sea level rises that will affect a huge part of Australia’s coastline and communities. These predictions are constantly being revised, and unfortunately, only upwards. The title also refers to the many high-rise apartment blocks that line the Australian East Coast and, having been built in the 70s or 80s, are not engineered to withstand the increasingly violent storms, winds, and heavy rainfalls that are now hallmarks of the Australian climate. I use these environmental pressures as a dramatic device to expose fault lines in a “typical” Australian beachside suburb and within a close group of friends. 

After being told I was a “Cli-Fi author”, I immediately did some digging to find out which club I had naively entered into and was delighted to find arguably two of the most famous contemporary female authors as fully paid up members; Margaret Atwood and Barbara Kingsolver. 

In fact, Atwood has been credited as the pioneer of the genre with her MaddAddams Trilogy that she started in 2003, which in typical Atwood style is terrifyingly dystopian. It presents a future where corporate greed, genetic engineering, and environmental degradation have led to the collapse of civilization. 

Kingsolver’s contribution to the genre is a contemporary novel that follows Dellarobia Turnbow, a young woman living in rural Tennessee, as she discovers a miraculous phenomenon brought about by climate change: a vast colony of monarch butterflies that has unexpectedly taken refuge on her family’s property. 

Another notable example of Cli-Fi include Edan Lepucki’s California (2014). In it, readers are thrust into a post-apocalyptic California, where Frida and Cal, a young couple, navigate the harsh landscape in search of community and safety. As they confront external dangers and inner struggles, the novel explores themes of survival, resilience, and the human longing for connection in a world ravaged by environmental and societal collapse.

The Cli-Fi genre prominently features strong female voices, both among its authors and protagonists. Many of the issues explored in Cli-Fi, such as inequality in access to resources for adaptation and survival, and the importance of empathy towards vulnerable populations, naturally resonate with women.

Cli-Fi narratives often convey a sense of rebellion against power structures responsible for the climate crisis and against institutions like insurance companies, perceived as neglecting emerging issues in places like California and Florida. Women frequently find themselves at the forefront of advocating for change in these narratives, positioning themselves as agents of counteraction against the status quo. As Cli-Fi inherently seeks to address the need for structural and societal change, it becomes a genre particularly receptive to the female perspective.

I believe there is another significant reason why Cli-Fi as a genre often features a high representation of female authors. Much of the Cli-Fi narrative revolves around themes of loss – loss of life, land, livelihood, and heritage – and the accompanying grief. Women frequently serve as the linchpins of their communities, offering strength, support, and stability in various capacities and are therefore pivotal in facing threats of danger head-on and in rallying others to be a part of the solution.

The pain and anxiety stemming from the disintegration of and threats to their communities are powerfully conveyed through their eyes, as is their determination to find paths to self-preservation. Therefore, I believe that women will continue to lead the charge in fiction exploring the myriad ways climate change is reshaping our lives. 

In my own novel, High Rise, there are two main female protagonists; Sam, the bored and dissatisfied wife of one of the community’s main real estate developers, and Renata, whose parents were immigrants to Australia from Portugal, seeking a better life. They both experience the looming climate disaster in their charming beachside suburb from two completely different perspectives.

Sam thinks about it from a purely economic perspective; she just wants to get out before real estate prices fall through the floor. Renata, on the other hand, loves the ocean and can’t imagine living anywhere else, having been raised by two hard working immigrants who fought hard for their place in this community. Leaving does not feel like a viable option nor one that she can afford.

As the narrative evolves, the women become unlikely allies in the effort to protect the community from an impending storm. Through their differing perspectives, readers are exposed to the diversity of emotional reactions to the current environmental crisis that faces us all.

Through the eyes and hearts of female authors and characters, the true loss we face due to the climate crisis can be expressed and made emotionally tangible, particularly when discussing the intergenerational loss we are handing down to our children and their children. Often depicted as “Mother Earth,” the planet’s plight resonates deeply from a feminine perspective within Cli-Fi narratives. Through their eyes and hearts, the emotional toll of environmental degradation becomes palpable, urging us to confront the urgent need for action and change.

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Vanessa Lee is an author and poet who was raised in a beachside community on Australia’s East Coast. She currently lives in Europe where she is at her happiest when hiking the solitary Alpine peaks of Italy, Switzerland and Austria with her family. Instagram: @vanessa_lee_writes. High Rise by Vanessa Lee is available from all good book retailers: https://bit.ly/HighRiseCliFi 

HIGH RISE

“They predicted the storm. They could never have predicted the toll.”

An eye-opening book set on the Australian East Coast a few years from now. None of us know exactly when the sea level rises will start to force change – whole families moving en masse away from their coastal communities – but we know it will happen eventually.

This book traces two intertwined families as they can no longer ignore the impact of storms, king tides and erratic weather on their beloved home.

Constant storms have already damaged Bombora’s coastline and no end is in sight. When rising tides force Vaga, the beloved beachfront restaurant, to finally close it is seen as a grim omen. Community rifts deepen, old friends clash, and some flee the idyllic suburb for safer ground, while others stand firm, defying the increasingly erratic weather.

Mick, a charismatic local figure, faces a family crisis as he grapples with the impending threat. A chance encounter with Renata, an old schoolmate, and her son Guil, a local surfer, forges an improbable alliance. As a menacing storm looms on the horizon, Mick and Guil rally Guil’s surfer friends to form a ragtag “tinnie army.” When the tempest strikes with unrelenting force, it triggers a chain of events that will alter their lives forever.

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing