– I think we talk far too little about the emotional aspects of the climate and nature crisis. How do we feel? What is the crisis doing to us and to our children, asks Lunde. It is precisely these feelings that Maja Lunde has investigated in novel form. Since the publication of “Bienes historie” in 2015, Maja Lunde has depicted various scenarios for how bad things can get if we don’t open our eyes to the value of nature. In its breadth and with impressive sales figures in Norway and 40 other countries, Lunde’s novel quartet is among the works of fiction that have reached the most readers with a message about nature’s vulnerability. Facts about the climate quartet “The Climate Quartet” is an unofficial term for Maja Lunde’s novel series for adults. As of 2022, the books have sold a total of 4 million copies. Several of them have been translated into 41 languages. They all revolve around the value of nature and the threat to natural diversity, and raise questions about man’s place as a species on earth. The relationship between parents and children is central to all four books. The books can be read separately, but two characters recur in several novels, and the stories are connected. All the books have action that takes place on different timelines, including the future. The four novels are: “History of the bees” (2015) About bees and their importance for food production in the world. Takes place in England in 1852, in the USA in 2007 and in China in 2098. Became a global bestseller, especially in Germany. The novel became the best-selling book in Germany, regardless of genre. When book three came out, all of the first three novels were on the German bestseller lists at the same time, Dealing with the importance of water in various ways, such as glaciers, waterfalls, drinking water and sea water. Takes place in three timelines: Western Norway in the 1970s and 2017, and in southern France in 2041. It deals with endangered animal species and especially the wild horse, which was almost extinct. Takes place on three timelines: St. Petersburg in 1881, in Mongolia in 1992 and in Norway in 2064. It deals with seeds and trees and plants, especially the international seed chamber on Svalbard. Takes place in 2110, about a small group of people who live on Svalbard, but also in the Soviet Union in the 1940s. The climate has been pointed out as man’s greatest battle going forward, and during the climate summit in Egypt, the UN Secretary General issued a grim warning: – This is a battle for life, and we are losing. We are approaching the point where it is no longer possible to turn back, António Guterres said from the podium. – Literature gives feelings a space Lunde finds it discouraging when readers say they recognize the action in her books in the world around them. Book two in the quartet is, among other things, about extreme water shortages: – When “Blå” came out in 2017, there were some who thought that I had set the story far too close in time. It takes place in 2041. Then came the dry summer of 2018. After that, more and more often I hear people say that what they see in the world around them is just like in “Blue”. I wish it wasn’t like that. Readers she meets often have strong feelings after reading her literary future scenarios: – I find more and more often that people I talk to start crying. They have taken the seriousness to heart, especially after this summer. The summer of 2022 has offered extreme heat and drought in Europe, the USA and Africa, extreme floods in Pakistan and water shortages in otherwise humid Norway. – We face an uncertain future, and feel fear and powerlessness. Fiction can give the bad feelings a space. Many readers thank me for that. The books give them a mirror for their feelings, which they cannot find anywhere else. RESEARCH: Maja Lunde has been to Svalbard several times to acquire knowledge for book four, “The Dream of a Tree”. Photo: news Has started talking about green emotions Psychologist Ole Jakob Madsen is participating in an interdisciplinary project on climate where he focuses on climate and emotions. He agrees that Lunde is partly right that there is little talk of feelings about the climate crisis, but believes that something has happened in recent years. – Although it has not quite reached ordinary people’s lives, there has been a greater acceptance of talking about what can be called green feelings. This type of emotion that Maja Lunde talks about is called, for example: ecological care, climate anxiety or climate fear. – Eco care, for example, you can experience the loss of nature with which you have a relationship. Or you are sorry that your children will not experience skiing, or will not hear the sound of the familiar owl in the tree outside the window. Climate anxiety may be a bit of a strong term, but climate fear is quite widespread. Madsen refers to a survey of 10,000 young people in 10 different countries in which 63% percent of young people said they felt anxiety, i.e. climate fear. Do you feel climate fear? Fear can lead to powerlessness and paralysis of action, but emotions are considered a necessary bridge between thought and action: – Previously it was thought that as long as people received enough and proper information about the climate crisis, enough people would get involved in living in a climate-friendly way . Now people think that emotions are what is needed to make people act. Billionaires were moved by Lunde’s books Jens Ulltveit-Moe is an investor and environmental activist. He is among the readers who have been moved by Lunde’s books; – It was “Blue” in particular that made an impression on me. It got under my skin with how serious the climate crisis is. Ulltveit-Moe lives part of the time in southern France. In “Blå”, this very area is hit by an extreme drought, which sends southern Europeans fleeing northwards in search of water. – I could observe in reality what I read about in the book. Photo: Robert Rønning / news Ulltveit-Moe signed up in 2020 to leave Høyre and join MDG. The investor allowed himself to be moved to concrete action: He has donated NOK 70 million to Klimahuset on Tøyen and financed a media center at Bremuseet in Fjærland. Ulltveit-Moe says that he has thoroughly familiarized himself with research and statistical material about the climate crisis, but that it was Lunde’s novels that made it come alive for him: – The climate crisis for me has been somewhat academic. You hear that the temperature will rise by 1.5 or 3 degrees. It doesn’t sound like much. Geez, so great then, in cold Norway, one thinks. When you read Lunde’s books, you really get to experience that it is absolutely terrible, what is going on. – It made the big difference for me between realizing something analytically and realizing it emotionally, and that difference is big. Inspire action, not impotence But what if the gloomy future scenarios in the quartet of novels lead to paralysis of action? Maja Lunde says she herself hovers between optimism and impotence every other day. The fact that people make bee hotels or change from a lawn to an insect-friendly flower meadow after reading “The History of the Bees” makes her happy. – If I can contribute to making the world a slightly better place through my novels, then there is nothing that makes me happier and more grateful. It helps with the feeling of powerlessness, she believes. – I think that’s how it is for many of us. It helps to know that you are part of the solution, not part of the problem. Photo: Oda Berby and Aschehoug When readers express despair because they do not feel that it is useful to do something as an individual, Maja Lunde emphasizes that with small actions you can influence the small community that is your workplace and your local environment: – Every single person can actually do something. The whole is, after all, the sum of all the tiny choices we make. If the neighbor gets solar panels on the roof, there is a greater chance that you will want it, and if all the neighbors turn off the outside lights in the evening, I can guarantee that you will too. – Humans are social beings, and they can be used for something good. Read more about culture and climate:
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Maja Lunde believes we must talk about how the climate crisis affects us – news Culture and entertainment
