The Water Thief by Nicholas Lamar Soutter, 2012
It’s the future and both air and water cost. Step out of line and you’re tossed into the lye vats. When Charles Thatcher finds a woman stealing rainwater, he sees opportunity to move up, to become an executive. He reports not only the theft, but suggests she’s also a revolutionary, one who believes in the long-dead institution called “government.” In this world, “like a person, the corporation only did what was in its own interest, only without the burden of consequences or conscience.” What Charles Thatcher finds could just be worse than he thought: a future where water is worth fighting for.
Quote – “It’s always been theoretically possible for a man to destroy himself. We always think it won't happen on our watch, that it will be some other generation that destroys the world. That, in the end, is what makes us blind to the possibility, which is the very thing that makes it possible.”
Book Leader Jarrett Kaufman Discusses The Water Thief
Jarrett Kaufman is the Assistant Professor of English and a new member of the Oklahoma Panhandle State University’s English department. Born and raised in Nashville, Illinois, a small town outside St. Louis, Missouri, he holds degrees in history, English and Creative Writing. Kaufman cites a love of small classes, collegial colleagues, and rural communities in general in making OPSU the perfect fit for him. He’s heard Radio Reader BookBytes, so looks forward to weighing in. In his spare time outside of the classroom, Dr. Kaufman plays the guitar. For over 20 years, he has played in a handful of bands. While in his undergraduate, he studied Jazz and received his minor in Music.