Tense present tense: Nathaniel Rich’s ambivalent temporal rut in Odds against tomorrow

This article argues that while an inability to move beyond the present is the root of our growing climate crises, the present is integral to any solutions for these crises. In Odds Against Tomorrow, Nathaniel Rich exposes the causal role of a focus on the present to climate issues and vigorously ridicules both the hedonism of the characters and their various failures to understand the structural complexity of the present. These failures are a response to the sense of fragmentation and alienation capitalism produces, and characters seek solace in the sense of wholeness that they mistakenly believe synchronizing time proffers. In fact, such synchronizing obscures the reality that it is multiple temporalities that define the structure of the present. This is dangerous because it is precisely our limited perception about the structure of the present that defines both our current, destructive trajectory and our inability to take the actions against climate change that would allow us to escape the rut of the present we are in. Paradoxically, while the present is the core of our current and future crises, a focus on the present remains necessary: failing to see the temporal and structural complexity of the present will only lessen our odds against tomorrow.