Rebecca Solnit Releases New Book on Progress
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- Rebecca Solnit released "Hope in the Dark" in 2004, a collection of essays responding to the Iraq war.
- Hope in the Dark surged in popularity after the 2016 election of Donald Trump, selling out quickly.
- The Beginning Comes After the End is a novella‑length essay organized into short, wide‑ranging chapters that draw on history, philosophy and contemporary writing.
- The Beginning Comes After the End highlights recent gains in women’s rights, racial justice, environmental protections and Indigenous movements in California.
- The Beginning Comes After the End acknowledges “destructive forces” such as white supremacy, misogyny, authoritarianism, transphobia, hypercapitalism, consumerism, ecocide and climate denial, framing them as a detour.
- Granta publishes the book at £14.99, with purchase options via guardianbookshop.com.
Why it matters: The book gives readers a hopeful narrative that validates recent advances in gender, racial and environmental justice, while urging a shift toward interconnectedness; readers seeking concrete policy steps may be disappointed, but the emphasis on incremental change offers a cultural framework for those engaged in ongoing social and environmental movements.
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