Ecotopia revisited

Ernest Callenbach wrote Ecotopia during a golden age of speculative fiction. It was published during the era when Harlan Ellison was producing his Dangerous Fiction series and Kurt Vonnegut was red hot. Good stuff came out during my childhood...the seventies.

For whatever reason, I missed out on Ecotopia during its heyday. However, during a discussion about my book, Monkeyplanet.com editor Perry Waddell cited Ecotopia as a good fictional example on which to compare one key thrust of my work: what would tomorrow be like if mankind made some key changes in our near future. So, while recently browsing around a dusty old book store on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, I found a copy on the shelves, paid the clerk and proceeded to soak in Callenbach's vision.

It is interesting...lots of thought went into a future mindset that takes hold in a part of the U.S. and causes a regional secession. The book covers the alternative worldviews that form: in building, energy consumption, transportation, governance, interpersonal relations, rituals. Think of an aspect of life and Callenbach touched on it...I think. It will take some deep meditation and life reflection to mull over this widely nuanced world he created in the book. Perhaps he missed an aspect -- I'll get back to you if a stone was left unturned.

The format is a bit unusual but he uses a clever mechanism for presenting two views: he publishes his "reported stories" that are his formal works that we're to understand people outside of Ecotopia are reading. Then there are his journal entries. These touch on how he's really feeling about what he's learning in this strange land and his more personal experiences. There is not a grand drama running through this story...no cryptic plot making you toss possible outcomes through your head. But, it is a comprehensive story.

By the time you get to the end, the worm has indeed turned. The protagonist has gone through his change. So, it is a complete story that never rides the drama too high. It's a bit more of a collegiate exploration to me. It's a story that would have fit perfectly into many discussions I had as an economics student. If you enjoy thinking about real life circumstances enfolded into a work of speculative fiction, this might be for you. It was a meaningful read for me.

Please comment and add more to the discussion.