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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
This was even weirder than Borne, and much harder to get into. Maybe it's the dreamlike quality of the prose, meandering from one weird detail to the next without a lot of commentary, or maybe it's because none of the characters are fully human, unlike in Borne, so we don't get a human POV on this world. Worlds.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dead Astronauts is a compelling work of experimental, somewhat avante-garde, decidedly weird fiction. Thematically, it continues pursuing the world and concepts of Borne: living in a post-human world, flat ontology, beauty in inhospitable places, centrality of love and caring for others, connections between past and future and present, etc. I think Borne is a much more complete, accessible, and moving distillation of those themes (its an amazing book), but Dead Astronauts expands some of the surrounding characters and presences from Borne while also playing with the material form of the novel (font, italics, layout, opacity, narrative structure, linearity, voice and perspective, etc) in such a way that it challenges you to move deeper into the non-human world. Often times, I found the structures of the novel challenging to understand and process, but I think thats the point. Finishing the book left me feeling somewhat detached from the world as if I was spinning through time and space guided by only a messianic, unknowable blue fox, which is in my mind the core aesthetic pleasure of a book like Dead Astronauts. That temporary detachment from the world gives you the chance to reexamine your preconceptions and existing relationships to the life around you in a way that is profoundly impactful: I think Dead Astronauts succeeds in pushing you toward that space in a way that a story grounded in human dialogue and a human timescale (such as Borne) cannot.
Wow. Jeff Vandermeer normalmente opera con el principio de moverte el piso para que no sepas qué está ocurriendo, sacarte de onda totalmente para después darte un buen golpe de sentimiento justo en el pecho. Esta vez el golpe, aunque esperado, fue más intenso de lo normal.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Horrifying yet hidden with moments of hope and beauty. This may be one of the darkest of VanderMeer's works yet.
Reading Dead Astronauts is like someone taking a panorama of space printing it on glass, smashing it, handing it back to you slowly in pieces. You try and put the pieces together but often got lost trying to figure out if you lost any. All and all a worthy use of time
A very challenging reading and not for everyone. It motivates your thinking and very gratifying at the end.
It doesn't quite hit the heights of the Southern Reach, but VanderMeer's love for nature and the pain of humans destroying the natural world is clear. It's a worthy read.
