All the Water in the World

Content Warning: This section discusses death and racism.

Climate change is a central element of All the Water in the World. The novel constantly compares and juxtaposes the world before and after climate-related collapse. The novel starts in November, which is described as much warmer than is typical in the modern day, and centers strongly around collapse, both emotional and social. The climate is increasingly hostile, creating massive flooding and unpredictable storms. Society has long since fallen apart, and no central authority controls the US any longer. Trust among people has eroded; communities are small and often insular, and many are xenophobic or actively racist against any nonwhite travelers that pass through. Drifters are called “the Lost” and are regarded as a danger severe enough to discourage campfires even on cold nights. Even the archetypal bond between man and dog has collapsed: Domesticated dogs have gone feral and rove in vicious, predatory packs. However, the way people react to these various forms of collapse is what defines them in “The World As It Is.”

As climate change worsened before the novel’s present, floods submerged large swathes of the US coastline, human-built infrastructure disintegrated, and military and federal staff eventually broke up and went rogue.