Instructions for responding to Emmi Itaranta’s Memory of Water

Emmi Itaranta’s cli-fi novel Memory of Water presents a dark vision of the world. It is a fantasy of what life on earth could be like if the worst predictions about climate change come true. We come to understand the changes through the eyes and experiences of an 18-year-old girl who is receiving training from her father on how to become a tea master, a position that was once revered in her culture but is now coming under suspicion.

As you read, underline words, images, phrases and lines that speak to you. Post these to the blog (using direct quotes) and explain why you chose them. What do these lines or images evoke in you? What strikes you about Itaranta’s style and language? Finally, what have you come to understand about the form and function of the tea ceremony?

Also pay attention to and comment on how life in New Quian is different from life as we know it (before the climate totally changed). Do you find this dystopian vision at all plausible? If so, how and why? If not, why not?

When you get to the end of the novel, please think a bit about why Itaranta would end her book the way she did. What do you think is her intention as a writer? What is she trying to do or say to her readers?

We will do the reading in three sections so please post your responses to each section separately. Due dates are below:
PP: 1-91                                 Due by Oct. 6

PP: 92-168                            Due by Oct. 13

PP: 169-263                          Due by Oct. 20