Odds Against Tomorrow by Nathaniel Rich

The novel, Odds Against Tomorrow is approved by Nathaniel Rich and it revolved publicist’s dream, a work of serious-minded and ambitious literary fiction with instantaneous, theatrical, and almost a cache of prophetic current affairs. Rich’s story focuses on a cataclysmic flood that demolishes much of New York City since this article was posted only a few months following the Hurricane Sandy that attacked New York City. This writer has provided extra opinion concerning disaster readiness as well as human outlooks in future stuffed with tremendous weather events. Currently, as a new writer, Rich has come up with a context set in an unstipulated near prospect that mulls over that very hypothesis. In fact, there are a few allusions to Hurricane Sandy that occurred in 2012, self-evidently belatedly inserts in an intact manuscript, though these overstress a bleak point that this novel has already outlined. Indeed, the major theme of this context is the natural disaster (Rich 5).

This novel starts at Seattle’s destruction, an event that looks like to have emerged roughly at the same time of 9/11 event. There are hints that possibly this article is an alternate history into which a nature catastrophe dictates Mitchell’s generation instead of a terrorist act. For instance, our unnamed storyteller has engraved that a phrase, ‘They called us Generation Seattle’ when he remembers in a lascivious way what it appeared like to view the Space Needle as it stabs the swelling top of Seattle’s planetarium. Despite Mitchell being destined to become the generation’s unenthusiastic fate saying prophet, he recalls the quiver only as the time he first met Elsa. This character is portrayed suffering from Brugada, atypical heart disease, which could lead to an unexpected heart attack at any moment. Mitchell has been obsessed with Elsa and her peril-filled future since he haphazardly gets a glimpse of her medical results at the college sanatorium. This is the reason behind the aspect of Elsa collapsing after the earthquake (Rich 14).

Moreover, the relationship between Mitchell and Elsa during the post-graduation epistolary offers a narrative substrate for the philosophical discussion at the heart of the book. Indeed, their young livings emerge allegories for two courses that we come to apprehend the future after enormous disasters. It is at this time when Elsa relocates to an off-the-grid ranch in bucolic Maine, whereas Mitchell moves to the dreamlike Future World’s New York offices, a consulting agency providing numerous companies with advice concerning preparation for adversities. The aspect of Elsa encountering death daily by residing miles from the nearest hospital looks fearless; though Mitchell’s aspect of formulating possible means of responding to and preventing catastrophe has been consumed by self-hatred, nightmares, and fear (Rich 17).

Moreover, through analyzing Mitchell, it is clear that this character has developed a theory about reasons behind individuals in disaster-prone environment appearing being in love with worst-case scenarios. For instance, Mitchell is spotted thinking that frightened people don’t want happy predictions, expressions of hope and bromides but they instead craves for nastiest-case incidences and dread since they argue that future will cost them nothing. Through the above statement, we understand that majority of people faced with natural disasters always lives hopelessly since they hold that the price of living is exorbitant (Rich 24).

This author of this novel has also indicated that majority of individuals within the New York City are subjected disastrous situation because of the flood. At this point, the novelist is saying that Mitchell’s dark scenario is only looking appealing to a given class of people who can afford a helicopter to fly out of this metropolis when it becomes flooded. There is a vivid description of the mess which residents are facing and this include flooding accompanied by droughts as well as epic proportions of the sandy-like hurricane. Moreover, the desiccated lands around the municipality are unable to absorb water quick enough hence making the overflowing more rapid and horrific. In fact, the writer indicates that Mitchell and his coworker, the junior Jane, are trapped in midst of the disaster and they have to watch the real devastating scenario as it unfolds (Rich 56).

Still while in his own most horrible case situation, Mitchell starkly realizes that the future is not a linear tale. When he was in Red Cross camp set aside for refugees, he mingled with individuals who can’t afford live by themselves due to poverty and he gets irritated. At this point, he finds out that there is something which is more complicated, that is, the human feeds and conflict fuels on disaster. Out of these rivalries, there emanates all the countless of future which appears like a tragedy to some and economic opening to others. Throughout the entire confrontation, Mitchell has come to realize the way human communities and human agency are at odds with each other, and the way they can contour natural catastrophe as much as weather systems and tectonic plates do. While summing, the novel has provided a comprehensive understanding about natural disasters through showing the scenery’s harshness that the victims encounter in such situations (Rich 44).



Works Cited

Rich, Nathaniel. Odds Against Tomorrow: A Novel. Macmillan, 2013.