Readers to confront possibilities of climate change with One Book One Community series - Daily Press

Readers to confront possibilities of climate change with One Book One Community series - Daily Press

WILLIAMSBURG — Readers will face the possible next era of life on earth in the midst of climate change when they read this year’s selection for the Williamsburg Regional Library’s One Book One Community series of events.

The program, in its fifth year, seeks to bring together the community while studying one socially relevant book.

The library, with help from William & Mary Libraries and the Friends of Williamsburg Regional Library Foundation, will host events throughout March centered on Bruce Holsinger’s “The Displacements,” a book that follows the journey and experiences of an affluent family displaced by the world’s first Category 6 hurricane.

“(They’re) living in an area of Miami-Dade, they have a house out on the bay, and they’re living what seems to be their best life,” Holsinger said in an interview with The Virginia Gazette. “Then climate change has other ideas, and the family is displaced from their home along with millions of other people.”

Holsinger, a novelist and English professor at the University of Virginia, said the events in the book could be closer than they may seem for some readers. The novel has been described as “hypnotic” by The New York Times and “cinematic” by USA Today.

“It’s not a dystopian novel; it’s not about a scary future. It’s about really right now — it could take place this summer. It could take place in five years,” Holsinger said. “It’s a story about downward mobility in the world of sudden climate change.”

The author said he’s not looking to scare people with the story, and he hopes people will find the book suspenseful and engaging. His presentation is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on March 20 at the Williamsburg Library Theatre.

“What I’m hoping is that the book will make readers think about resilience and think about survival in the face of odds, and also about wealth and inequality in this very new, dramatic situation that the world is in.”

The book conveys the situation from many points of view, including from a Red Cross relief worker and from people displaced in a shelter. Holsinger said he wants readers “to take away a sense of resilience and clear-mindedness and an idea that humans are in this thing together, and that you just never know where your next challenge might come from.”

Sandy Towers, the Williamsburg Regional Library’s interim director, said in a news release that the hope is for Holsinger’s novel “to spark thoughtful discussions on how we can care for our community now and into the future.”

The author’s sister and son both went to William & Mary, and regarding his book being selected for the community reading experience, Holsinger said he was “thrilled. I have a lot of connections to Williamsburg.”

“It’s always thrilling to have my books discovered by new readerships,” he said. “So I’m really excited about sharing my thoughts about the book and hearing readers’ experiences as they’ve read the book as well.”

As part of the One Book One Community program, book discussions, lectures, pottery making, virtual reality experiences and other activities will take place throughout the month..

The first event will be at 2 p.m. on Monday in the Stryker Center and feature the Williamsburg Community Emergency Response Team educating residents on disaster preparedness. On Wednesday, the National Weather Service will give a talk at 4 p.m. in the Williamsburg Library Theatre. On March 28, a discussion at 6:30 p.m. in the library theater will look at how coastal communities can adapt to rising sea levels.

For the full schedule of events, visit wrl.org/onebook.

Sam Schaffer, samuel.schaffer@virginiamedia.com