91
LIST
Can’t-miss
September
fictionJACK
Marilynne Robinson revisits
the world of Gilead, Iowa, in
the fourth installment of her
acclaimed series. The novel
explores the complications
of American life through
the story of an ill-fated
interracial romance.
—Annabel GuttermanHOMELAND ELEGIES
What does it mean to
belong? The question is
central to playwright Ayad
Akhtar’s second novel, which
follows a man of Pakistani
heritage in Trump’s America.
In finding the answer, Akhtar
crafts a stunning narrative
about a fractured country.TRANSCENDENT
KINGDOM
While her debut, Homegoing,
was a sweeping saga,
Yaa Gyasi’s follow-up is
more narrow in scope,
exploring science, faith
and grief through the eyes
of a Ghanaian- American
neuroscientist.QUICK TALK
Jane FondaThe activist and actor, 82, has written a new book about her experiences leading
“Fire Drill Fridays,” where she was arrested weekly in the fall of 2019 while calling
for government action on climate change. The book, What Can I Do?, is presented
as a guide for those who are concerned about the issue but unsure how to help.Do you think your book will get older voters to think about climate change
and vote with the issue in mind? They’re already thinking about it! The young
climate strikers globally have had a lot to do with that. I’m targeting the people
who notice the climate crisis and don’t know what to do about it. I’m teaching them
more about it and then giving people things to do... Civil disobedience has to
become the new norm. No matter who is elected in November.You write that older women play a critical role in the movement. What do you
mean by that? First and foremost, older women generally tend to get braver, less
afraid of being up front in expressing their anger. Studies show that women care
more about the climate crisis. They’re willing to do something about it. But women
sometimes feel insecure about the science; I wanted to give the science so they
could be more secure in that.You note that you wanted the blessing of fellow climate activists
before getting involved. Why was that? Imagine a movie star comes
popping into D.C. and starts holding these rallies every
Friday, without ever talking to the people who have been
there for a year. We met with all the major environmental
groups and the young activists, asking for their
participation and their blessing. And we got along great.What was it like working together? Did you see
parts of your younger activist self in them?
Oh my God. They’re so much better than I was!
I’m blown away. They are really smart. They’re also very
depressed—these young people are carrying grief.How has your approach to activism evolved
over the years? Often in my younger years,
because I went pretty quickly from being
Barbarella to being an activist, I was
kind of lost and confused, so I was using
other people’s narratives. Now, it’s
my narrative that I’ve metabolized.
It’s part of me and my body.How are the stakes different this
time? It’s all-consuming. This climate
crisis is an existential issue that has to
be dealt with if anything else is going
to be achieved. There were issues that
mattered to me before, but they weren’t
life-or-death— nothing else is going to
matter if this isn’t solved—like the climate
crisis is. —Justin Worland▷
Fonda is the author of
FONDA: AMANDA EDWARDS—GETTY IMAGES four personal books