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Fluke review: A vivid account of chaos and life's unpredictability

A rare family murder adds piquancy to Brian Klaas's account of "chance, chaos and why everything we do matters"

31 January 2024

FIMMVORDUHALS, ICELAND - MARCH 24: Hikers are silhouetted against rivers of lava flowing from a volcanic eruption between the Myrdalsjokull and Eyjafjallajokull glaciers on March 24, 2010 in Fimmvorduhals, Iceland. A major eruption occured on April 14, 2010 which has resulted in a plume of volcanic ash being thrown into the atmosphere over parts of Northen Europe. Air traffic has been subject to cancellation or delay as airspace across parts of Northern Europe has been closed. (Photo by Helen Maria Bjornsd/NordicPhotos/Getty Images) — The 2010 eruption of an Iceland volcano grounded thousands of flights
Helen Maria Bjornsd/NordicPhotos/Getty Images

Fluke
Brian Klaas (John Murray (UK) Scribner (US))

IN HIS 1987 bestseller Chaos: Making a new science, James Gleick introduced chaos theory to the public. Basically, it is the study of nonlinear events and how minuscule actions can cause far-reaching disruption. Or, as actor Jeff Goldblum explained in Jurassic Park: “It simply deals with unpredictability in complex systems.”

Brian Klaas, an associate professor in global politics at University College London, is all too aware of the unpredictability of modern life:…

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