Paonia author Paolo Bacigalupi

Thirsty for change

‘Agro-punk’ author takes futurist view of the West’s worst nightmare

by Joy Martin

Grab a glass of water and settle in for a thirst-inducing, page-turning adventure into the not-so-distant future. Colorado sci-fi writer Paolo Bacigalupi’s latest national bestseller, The Water Knife, is guaranteed to make your mouth smack of cotton and your next shower the best thing ever as you step into the desert Southwest’s greatest fear come true: the Colorado River reduced to a trickle.

With Phoenix on the brink of total collapse, following the dehydrated demise of Texas, water sources are cut by the merciless knife of “The Queen of the Colorado,” an uncompromising business mogul determined to keep the invaluable resource for Nevada. Power struggles and blood baths ensue as the fabric of suburbia is reduced to rubble.

Dust storms, water scarcity, dead bodies, border patrols, flying bullets and a dirty game of control keep this NPR, Paste Magazine and Amazon Best Book of 2015 moving at an alarming rate. Characters are brought together in a race against time to save their lives – and thwart the direction our modern-day selves are heading toward.

And as the harsh reality of climate change strangles the Southwest, “Merry Perrys” continue to pray for rain.

“There are those people who look around and accept reality,” says Bacigalupi of climate change. “And then there are those who live in their magical thinking bubble, praying for rain.” 

Born and raised in the farmlands of Paonia, Bacigalupi, 43, grew up with a heightened awareness of water mechanics, rules and regulations.

“From the valley I live in, you can see the snowpack and how quickly it’s melting,” says Bacigalupi. “You can see the reservoir fill and then become depleted. You can see how it connects to the irrigation canals that irrigate your family’s land ... and know that it might get shut off in July.” 

While he spent a few years involved in local issues, he found politics to be a “real burnout experience.”

“Now, I just vote,” says Bacigalupi – and write his extrapolations, of course.

His fiction and nonfiction essays have appeared everywhere form Salon.com to the Albuquerque Journal, Salt Lake Tribune and the High Country News, where he also worked a stint as webmaster.

“I don’t write predictions,” says Bacigalupi. “So far.”

Bacigalupi’s writing career started in the 1990s when he left internet development to write a novel. Writing, says Bacigalupi, moved from a weekend hobby to an obsession.

“I realized it was the only thing that I actually enjoyed in my life. I told everyone I’d be fabulous when it sells,” says Bacigalupi. “It didn’t work out that way. I basically quit my job, spent all my savings, got an agent, got rejected, and then did it all over again.”

And then he wrote two bestselling novels: The Windup Girl, named by Time magazine as one of the top 10 books of 2009, and a young adult novel, Shipbreaker.

“Hopefully after spending 10 years slamming your head against the wall you get better,” laughs Bacigalupi.

Critics have struggled to fit Bacigalupi’s writing style into one genre. Science fiction doesn’t quite capture it, as that phrase conjures up images of monsters and spaceships, says Bacigalupi. 

“I’ve thought of myself as more ‘agro-punk’ recently,” says Bacigalupi, a sci-fi sub-genre that takes a futuristic look at agriculture. “I’m looking at a present trend and thinking if this continues, what will the world look like? The superpower that science fiction has is that it takes the present moment and extrapolates outward. How bad can it get starting here?”

As far as the future of his writing? “As soon as everybody starts looking like they’ve got their shit together, I’ll write something more positive,” says Bacigalupi.