SURRENDER

Joanna Pocock (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

Any point until the cessation of humanity will likely be a ‘good time’ to publish a book on the subject of radical environmentalism, but if most of us are fiddling while Rome literally burns, many people encountered by Joanna Pocock in this illuminating memoir-travelogue hybrid are not. Finisia Medrano, a sixtysomething transwoman who’s dedicated her life to rewilding – planting wild foods across the expanses of the western United States – is its standout voice for her colourful anecdotes and withering views on environmentalists half-assing it. Pocock, a Canadian long settled in London, attempts an ill-fated move to Montana during Surrender’s timeline; when her family return, she remains, attempting to locate the heart of this fringe at an excruciating-sounding ‘ecosex’ festival and while boiling various strange roots.

Price: £12.99. Info: www.fitzcarraldoeditions.com