His comments ring all the more true in 2025, as residents of the Los Angeles area grapple with the horror and despair of the deadly wildfires that have razed thousands of homes and businesses and have left at least 25 people dead. From coast to coast, from hemisphere to hemisphere, once-in-a-lifetime environmental catastrophes are now regular occurrences. Large-scale burning occurs out of season, and fires burn hotter and spread farther than ever before. Latour has called it 'living in the end times'; he points to a need to find different ways to live, as extreme events that were once just the subject of dystopian films simply become a part of everyday life. Works about fire often emphasize recovery and resolution, while also offering a space to work through complex emotions. If these are, as Latour fears, 'end times,' literature can help readers learn how to survive, cope and keep hope alive. Stewart's biographer, Donald M. Scott, described 'Fire' as 'the first novel about fire...
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