Nordic Narratives of Nature and the Environment

Reviews / Votes

Nordic Narratives of Nature and the Environment is the first collection of ecocritical research on northern European literatures written in the English language. . . . [it] is an intriguing and comprehensive collection that makes the complex field of Scandinavian ecocriticism accessible to an Anglophone audience. One can only hope that it will encourage further ecocritical research in Northern European literatures. * Ecozon@ * Nordic Narratives is a scintillating exploration of the Nordic countries' green environmentalism, lands rich in fossil fuel funds yet nevertheless well-known for their quest to attain sustainable strategies in the snowy North. This beautifully conceived volume portrays a wide array of Scandinavian texts and films, demonstrating the complexity of the 'Postcolonial North' that celebrates its rugged landscapes while creating a culture in which agriculture is the norm so that the nomadic Sami-reindeer herders-are no longer able to access their once long-familiar routes across the land. The contributors provide essential and invaluable insights for ecocriticism and the environmental humanities with a well-needed and essential guide for views from Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, and the Aland and Faroe Islands in the Anthropocene. -- Heather I. Sullivan, Trinity University The still largely Anglophone focus of ecocritical research is greatly enriched by this collection of twelve diverse and insightful essays focusing on the literature and cinema of the North, ranging from the land of the indigenous Sami people and the polar expanses of northern Norway, down to Denmark and across Finland and Sweden. While the public policy narrative of the Nordic countries vaunts a strong environmentalism, these twelve cultural analyses explore more nuanced messages that reveal the complexity of the Nordic response to nature and the crisis of the Anthropocene. -- Linda Rugg, University of California, Berkeley