‘108: An Eco-Thriller’: A Tale of Hope in the Face of Ecological Grief Provoked By Environmental Loss
- Pick up this thought-provoking novel by Indian American Dheepa Maturi that will ease you into a world of healing, greenery, and natural harmony.
While Western novelists are getting increasingly drawn to South Asia as an arena for exploring their most significant concerns about climate change, highlighting the region’s fragile ecologies as the center for impending climate catastrophes such as droughts, wildfires, and food shortages, the climate fiction genre itself is still relatively new in the Indian literary landscape. Although some South Asian writers have started contributing, the category remains underrepresented. So, a new cli-fi novel from a writer with South Asian heritage is always a welcome addition.
New York-born, Midwest-raised Indian-American writer Dheepa Maturi’s debut novel, “108: An Eco-Thriller,” released last month, is a bold and raw interpretation that touches on deeply philosophical topics, dipping into religion, spirituality, and myth to weave together a tale of hope in the face of ecological grief, the kind which is felt in response to experienced or anticipated environmental loss.
With a multifaceted background in Law, Business, and Nonprofit management, Maturi started writing ten years ago on ecology, culture, identity, and their intersection. She began by penning essays and poetry, and eventually, the idea of the character, Bayla, emerged, inspiring her to write a full-length novel.
Readers shadow the protagonist as she journeys halfway around the world to India, where agrochemical corporation ZedChem tests its latest innovation—a chemical product publicized as the solution to topsoil erosion.
Bayla, the protagonist of the story, is an Indian American woman in her twenties who lives in California and is a yoga practitioner with a background in Eastern philosophy. Set in 2040, the story follows her as she experiences a deep vision of an Indian forest from her past, where she witnesses a toxic liquid spreading through the soil. Readers shadow her as she journeys halfway around the world to India, where agrochemical corporation ZedChem tests its latest innovation—a chemical product publicized as the solution to topsoil erosion. But her instincts tell her that the test will further deplete the soil and render it unusable. Her instincts also suggest to her that she can do something to stop it, and take her back to her childhood when she had acquired powers she had forgotten as she grew older.
A True Visual Treat
Maturi’s lyrical style of writing is tactile and mesmerizing, rendering the book a true visual treat; her prowess as a poet is evident in the sheer fluidity of her language. The voice is soothing and nurturing, expounding on the elaborate concept of how ancient wisdom, modern science, and technology are interconnected. It explores how rediscovering long-held traditional practices and beliefs, as well as tested methods for stewarding the natural world, can provide strategies and inspiration for a better future.
However, it is essential to note that this book is for a niche audience. Those who are looking for a plot-driven story might find it a complex read, as the characters, except for the protagonist, have not been given that much space or defined backstories, so in places their roles seem a bit woolly. Although the descriptive language might effectively pull the reader into the world of the story, the plot twists seemed predictable.
However, one must be mindful that not all novels are entirely plot-driven; some have other motivations, such as building a world that demands the reader’s active interpretation. The primary focus of this book is on constructing a thread of positivism, suggesting an incremental shift towards a community-based world that is ecologically centered, with humans and other life forms living in harmony with nature. That is the powerful message that stays with readers seeking a ray of hope, given the grim prediction of a dystopian future.
Silent Stealth
108 brings to the forefront an important theme: as climate threats have been growing in an exponential proportion, dangerous technologies, advertised as ‘solutions’, are being introduced into our lives without the application of the precautionary principle, a foundational principle of the Biosafety Protocol. The story draws attention to this silent stealth. It also travels deeper and reveals the personal tug of war between reason and faith, as the protagonist initially resists her instincts and struggles to accept her out-of-body experiences.
If you are in the mood to read climate fiction but wary of its gloom and doom, pick up this thought-provoking novel that will ease you into a world of healing, greenery, and natural harmony. In Maturi’s own words, “I wanted to put a more hopeful climate thriller into the world. I was worried that there was a lot of despairing stories out there, and I just really wanted to put a story out there that showed that our individual efforts really matter and our collective efforts can really make a difference.”
“108: An Eco-Thriller” is available on Amazon. To know more about the book and the author, visit: https://www.dheeparmaturi.com/
Sreya Sarkar is a public policy analyst based out of Boston. She is the author of the novel “Beneath the Veneer” published last year.