Author Charlotte Mendel’s new novel is Reversing Time, a gripping tale of a young environmental activist with the ability to time travel. It is her first novel for young adults. Her first novel, Turn Us Again, won a number of awards including the HR Percy Novel Prize, the Beacon Award for Social Justice and the John Savage First Book Award. Her follow-up, A Hero, was shortlisted for the 2016 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and was a Finalist in the 2016 International Book Awards. Mendel’s fiction has always been willing to tackle big ideas and real-world events, but this is her first foray into writing with a young audience in mind. She generously shared her thoughts on Reversing Time with our managing editor.

Chris Benjamin: CliFi (Climate Fiction) seems a hot sub-genre at the moment. Usually it’s set in the near future in a climate-altered world, and it’s almost like a morality tale, a warning. You took a different approach, setting it in roughly the present, but with key characters having the ability to time travel. They see what’s coming and they aim to prevent the worst. What inspired this approach?

Charlotte Mendel: I don’t think we need another morality tale focussed on what will happen if we don’t act. We need to empower people to see what will happen if we do act —because it’s possible to change the future if we act now. We need to use our art to inspire people to imagine a different future. A future which the experts tell us is attainable. So why can’t we imagine it, since it’s so attainable? Because  we hear gloom-and-doom predictions every time we plug into media. Churchill didn’t predict disaster when he spoke under threat of a German invasion after a huge military disaster. He said, “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the fields and in the streets. We will never surrender.” That is what Simon and his mother are doing. That’s what a growing tsunami of people are doing, across the globe. This is actually an exciting time to be alive, and I hope that people feel that after reading this book. 

CB: I loved the development of your protagonist, Simon. The book starts with him always on the run (quite literally) from bullies. By the end he is staring down much more frightening forces, those who use violence to further their agenda. Was his growth something you planned, or more a case of you organically following a character where he seemed to want to go?

CM: I have always been jealous of authors who say that they follow where their characters lead.  My characters stare at me reproachfully, while I wrack my brains to think what they might do next.  I knew I wanted Simon to grow from wimp to hero—this transformation is meant to be an analogy for the hordes of young people who feel despair about the future. I feel the only way to conquer this is to enable readers to understand how important their role is in the face of the climate crisis. That’s why Simon is dubbed “Gandhi” at the end—in Gandhi’s first protest in South Africa he continues to burn the racist passes, even though he is being beaten up. Simon had to conquer his fear of physical violence in order to make a difference. People need to conquer their despair in order to act.  

CB: A lot of Simon’s arc also had to do with learning to be an effective activist, figuring out how to influence people, and how power works. Can you talk a bit about your process there, what research was required or if you drew on any personal experiences or observations about the world?

CM: Alas, I wish I had the personal influence Simon learns! My verbal communication never influences (in fact, it usually seems to piss people off), but I still have hopes of my writing.
There needs to be less focus on what we think other people should do, and more focus on encouraging people to do … anything at all. All eight billion of us are emitting too much. If we become aware of how our everyday actions impact the biggest challenge any of us will ever face, then we are half-way there. What does that mean, to become aware? Who am I to say? It depends on you. If you love meat, don’t let anyone tell you to give it up. Sanctimony  does NOT influence. Enjoy your meat, but walk more. Or fly less. Maybe cut out one meat meal a week. Invest your money in renewables rather than oil and gas (you’ll probably make more). It doesn’t matter what you do. Just do something. 

CB: Simon and his mother are rightfully afraid about the future, but ultimately adopt a can-do attitude about it. There seems to be a lot of anxiety about the future, but it doesn’t always lead to action. Do you think taking action–being an activist–is also a way of dealing with that anxiety?

CM: Yes. You nailed it. That is the essence of the book—to give a sense of agency. Passing the buck doesn’t lessen despair. We’ve all heard people say that it doesn’t matter what we do as individuals, it’s the corporations. I’ve even heard people say that it doesn’t matter what Canada does, if China isn’t on board. If Canada gets on board, so will China, believe me. They’re already starting to realize the cost (in health) of not doing anything. But more importantly, such thinking induces despair. If you do something, you will start to feel part of a massive, global change—because you will be! It is during times of great challenge, when we can realize our greatest potential. This is an exciting time to live. 

CB: In your novel there’s a special island. Not only are the people there able to time travel, they also live in a timeless sort of way. Modern, yet traditional, minimizing environmental impact. It’s something of a Utopia that parallels our world. What was your vision with the island? Is that something you think we can achieve in the real world?

CM: No, I don’t envision most of the world living on their own little plots, growing their own food, like the people of the Island do. Most of us will still live in cities, but instead of concrete walls there will be living walls and roof-top vegetable gardens. 

The Island isn’t a vision; it is simply autobiographical.  At the time of writing I lived on a homestead farm and grew/raised much of my own food. It seemed to me an idyllic way to be self-sufficient and I enjoyed weaving my experiences into the Island’s story. For example, the scene where Simon was gobbling a stew one day, until he realized who he was eating. My son also “…spat out his mouthful” and exclaimed, “What? Churro? I loved him!” My legs were also black and blue for months from my own Rambo and I really did relish every bite of that bully, just like Rakita in the book. In fact, one of my hardest edits was being forced to cut back insanely long narratives about the Island animals! It was so fun to write and I have so many stories.

CB: This book features elements of fantasy, but it’s not pure escapism. What do you hope readers, especially young ones, will take from reading it?

CM: That’s true, it’s not escapism; in fact, it’s steeped in reality. Simon starts his journey in 2022. Although he helps to galvanize a fundamental change in society in time to avert catastrophic climate change—which is our exact situation now, according to the experts—the temperature has still risen and the impact is still big. No spoilers, but the end is not idyllic. It shows what will truly be, if we make change happen now. And it’s still a hell of a lot better than what will happen if we don’t.  So second, I wanted to convey a sense of agency to readers.

But first, I hoped readers would be gripped by every page—not because of ego, but because they won’t finish it if it’s not a good read, so they won’t take away anything. So I wove elements of science fiction, mystery, family drama, and a coming-of-age saga together to try to create a fun, engaging read. 

Once I had trapped my readers’ attention by entertaining them, I needed to ensure that every reader could identify with Simon. How can one convey a sense of agency if readers don’t see themselves in the protagonist? Simon talks with people across the political spectrum and knows polarization is not the issue. He realises that ‘lefties’ might talk the talk, but by and large their footprint is just as big as the ‘righties’—so who cares how they talk? Humans are all very similar. We all resist change. And we all love our families.

Another way I tried to ensure readers saw themselves in Simon was to ensure that what Simon does, every one of us can do. That’s why the leaders prohibit Simon from using his talisman—so that he achieves his goals, big and small, all by himself.  And in the beginning his goals are small. He turns off lights and reuses his lunch bag. If one reader stops idling their car because they understand that their actions matter, then this book has achieved its purpose.

It’s a no-brainer, once you realize that you matter.