One of the most intriguing parts for me of Oil on Water by Helon Habila was the point that although the novel was fiction, it was rooted in fact and relatable occurrences. While dystopian novels I have read in the past have depicted a world destroyed by powerful industrial forces and ruined lands from climate change, I have never read a novel that felt as close to our threatening future reality as this novel did. The way Habila describes the effects of the oil companies through words of birds draped over branches and oil staining their wings and fish floating on the surface reminds me of times I was rowing on the Chicago River and seeing dead goats float past, mysterious furry something’s on the bank, and golf carts scraping my oars. The language in the novel balanced between frighteningly relatable and compellingly pessimistic. Habila also wrote of the livestock depletions, which has been something I have been talking a lot about recently in my daily life. I am working on my Program II proposal, and my intention is to analyze the future of agriculture given the pressing nature of our decreasing farming culture and a continuous population increase, and how to re-localize our food sources to avoid something that I imagine to look quite like the world that Habila describes.
In class, we discussed the intention behind making both Zag and Rufus journalists. We spoke about accessibility, neutrality of their characters, and how they are both removed and the most innocent of observers in many ways. I was pondering the fact that while journalists are all these things, they are also out to seek and report the truth of situations. This can always be skewed, and often is, in our daily lives with competing intentions of politics. I believe Habila’s intention by making the two main characters journalists was to reveal a rawness behind discovering the truth that many people are blind when they read the news or media reports. Journalists seek information and to uncover the truth, which is one of the most vulnerable and genuine jobs that exists. Yet, many see this job as deceitful and complicated. I think Habila wanted to challenge this perception of journalists through the characters.
Habila, H. (2010). Oil on Water New York, USA: W.W. Norton & Company.
