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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The world of this book is too close to ours for comfort. Clearly inspired by current events, as well as, I suspect, Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, this book is like Annihilation from the other direction, Annihilation with all the metaphor and pretense stripped away. For that reason, it's not as good of a book. It retreads some old ground in Vandermeer's repertoire. However, it was good enough, new enough, real enough that it gripped me and I could not stop reading. I finished it in two days. I love Vandermeer's characters, his language, and the way characters and language collide. If you like his other stuff, you'll probably like this one. If you don't, I'd recommend you start with Annihilation and Borne, which are both more original and more accessible in my opinion. Nonetheless, 4/5 stars. Reading it in Portland probably helped.
like kinda good but weirdly not compelling at the same time
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Weird and mysterious, like Vandermeer's other books, except not quite as otherworldly. I'd be interested to find out why he likes to make so many of his main characters unapproachable women.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So dang strange. Unique writing style. Just bizarre, a bit confusing, slightly disjointed. Reminded me of writings in my philosophy class…. Not recommended.
Big DNF for me. Made it halfway. I found it all incredibly depressing bc I am the type of person who thinks about ecological collapse pretty constantly, and reading about it as well was pretty rough. Loads of animal harm.
I didn't get that it was set in a dystopian future? Everything seemed reasonable, maybe near future with some drone action but really, not far off. Hated the main character who is probably a sociopath and just... why does she do things? No idea. No idea what her motivations were to solve this "mystery" it didn't even seem like a mystery. Also I didn't like the first person distance, it was too close for such an opaque character. It made her seem flat. She had a family for some reason, not that she ever considered them. So much of the book reads like a character building sheet but then it's never implemented.
I didn't get that it was set in a dystopian future? Everything seemed reasonable, maybe near future with some drone action but really, not far off. Hated the main character who is probably a sociopath and just... why does she do things? No idea. No idea what her motivations were to solve this "mystery" it didn't even seem like a mystery. Also I didn't like the first person distance, it was too close for such an opaque character. It made her seem flat. She had a family for some reason, not that she ever considered them. So much of the book reads like a character building sheet but then it's never implemented.
I was hesitant to return to Vandermeer’s writing as I felt let down by Authority and Acceptance. But now I think that was more because I read those novels an extended period of time and so the story threads got lost. I think I also was expecting more action and plot from both of the novels but that is not the story Vandermeer is telling and so I let me expectations cloud my judgment of those books. But getting to Hummingbird Salamander, I felt refreshed and ready to dive into his world of weird and I was not disappointed. I love the concept of this being an eco-thriller. The pacing feels at times tight and quick and then he lets off the gas and allows the story to breathe. He takes time to interweave little tidbits about the world outside of our main character and the focus of the plot. He intersperses bits of his own ideas and thoughts filtered through our narrator and I found so many of these resonating so strongly with me. There’s a chapter about our main characters' marriage and home-life that I thought was so well done, and another chapter on humanities connections to nature and the world around us, and others about society and government and what our not-so-distant future may hold. But more than any of these, the ending Vandermeer gives us is incredible. The essentially two-part ending of “Jane” rediscovering her home, losing her husband, and finally being rid of Langer and “Jack” pairs so well with the final discovery of Silvina’s major project. That reveal of the terrarium inside the mountain is so delicately written and the simple way that Vandermeer writes about the small stream and the squirrels stopping to drink really hit me hard. There is such beauty in this little Garden of Eden hidden away where these animals are safe and protected and have all they need to live, and that couples with the bittersweet knowledge the reader has that they won’t ever escape. Their lives are confined to the walls of what is essentially a verdant cave, even if there is a future point where the roof will open and they will be free to the outside world and the outside world will finally infiltrate this little pocket. I read this pessimistically and believe that the world of the novel will devour Silvina’s garden when the roof opens. But Vandermeer purposefully leaves this up to the reader’s interpretation. Maybe I can look back on this in 5-10 years time and have a different read, but the current state of the world does not give me the hope to read this as an optimistic ending.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix