Staff Review: THE NAMES OF THE NEW WORLD

NAMES OF THE NEW WORLD by Kawai Strong Washburn
9780374619701
10/6/26
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Fiction / Literary / Nature & the Environment

When an unprecedented superstorm tears through Minneapolis, it shatters the lives of three strangers whose fates collide in the aftermath. Naomi, a sharp lawyer and amateur MMA fighter, joins Amaré, an ambitious investment banker, to trek through the destruction. Along the way, they rescue Raheem, a diesel mechanic left clinging to life while others passed him by. In a single night of survival, an unshakeable bond is forged.

Seeking a brief reprieve, Naomi travels home to Hawaii to visit family, only to find her native island suffering its own quiet ecological collapse. When she uncovers evidence that corporate energy giants helped trigger these climate disasters, she returns to Minneapolis with a fierce resolve: to launch a fierce legal war against the corporations responsible, enlisting a recovering Raheem as her star plaintiff.

The trio embarks on a twenty-five-year journey through the halls of power, corporate corruption, and personal sacrifice. Amaré’s high-stakes financial world collides with Naomi’s crusading spirit, while Raheem, a small business owner, finds his livelihood as a diesel mechanic tied to the very energy Naomi is fighting against. And as ambition tests their morals and the battle threatens to tear them apart, they must ask themselves: how much are they willing to compromise to reshape a fragile world?

This book is sharp, exacting, and deeply moving. If you’re looking for a story that reimagines the climate crisis in a way that is smart, informative, and emotional, this is for you. It made me see the world in a new light while offering a surprisingly optimistic vision of how we can survive an era of overwhelming change. As someone interested in climate research—specifically ecology—I loved how the novel highlights the oceans and landscapes we so often overlook in the name of progress. You’ll journey alongside complex, flawed characters as they face environmental devastation, each navigating trauma and having to find their way forward.

NAMES OF THE NEW WORLD is a bold social novel that is timely and blends the narrative urgency of classics like BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES and the currency of TOMORROW, TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW. This is one you will absolutely want to add to your climate fiction reading.

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“An epic account of the fight for human dignity and an intimate, unforgettable story of love, ambition, and resilience.”—Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of THE WAYFINDER

“A tender look at what is maimed and spared when the physical world collapses around us, this book is a testament to the enduring worth of our fragile human bonds.”—Tessa Hulls, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of FEEDING GHOSTS