A review by nhnabass
Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Here’s the thing— Vandermeer’s *writing* is flawless. The language he uses enables sweeping feelings of existentialism, of dread, of grief all for characters we really know nothing about. I appreciate how he described the complex feelings of grief a regular person may stumble into when realizing the weight of extinction. Despite this, I am having hard time deciding if I actually enjoyed this book at all. It was such an interesting read because I can’t quite figure out if it really matters what actually happened to the characters or if this was even supposed to be read straight at all. I think this is my least favorite fever dream of his, but I have finished the book with similar feelings of climate grief and awe over the sheer amount of life at stake that is unceremoniously obscured by the day to day of capitalism. More on the mystery thriller side of things that I personally don’t enjoy, so probably not one I will revisit again.