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A review by thepurplebookwyrm
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Video series review: https://youtu.be/vHVAiKMm9-8.
The Southern Reach trilogy is an all-time favourite of mine, and I'm glad to report that book one still lives up to the glowing and intense appreciation I first developed for it four and a half years ago. Unfortunately, given the abysmal state of my mental health, I couldn't feel much of it, or much of anything really, while reading it, and going through it took way longer than it should have, considering I originally devoured Annihilation in less than a day.
But on purely intellectual and artistic levels, I remain positively amazed at what this novel manages to deliver to the reader, and enjoyed (as much as I was able) finding new depths within it. There is a lot said, to my mind, about loneliness, masking one's true self, grief, honesty, and of course environmental destruction, amidst the wonderful and horrific weirdness unfolding around the Biologist, a - possibly readable as autistic? - character I found more interesting and thought-provoking this time around. And the weirdness itself of course has a lot to offer as well in terms of emotional engagement, intellectual stimulation, and grim entertainment.
Trying to crack the mysteries of Area X was a huge part of the fun for me when I first read about it in 2017, and it still is today; though part of the point of the thematic world-building of The Southern Reach is undoubtedly that the feeble human mind will never be able to wrap itself around everything... And that, if nothing else, should teach us a little humility.
The Southern Reach trilogy is an all-time favourite of mine, and I'm glad to report that book one still lives up to the glowing and intense appreciation I first developed for it four and a half years ago. Unfortunately, given the abysmal state of my mental health, I couldn't feel much of it, or much of anything really, while reading it, and going through it took way longer than it should have, considering I originally devoured Annihilation in less than a day.
But on purely intellectual and artistic levels, I remain positively amazed at what this novel manages to deliver to the reader, and enjoyed (as much as I was able) finding new depths within it. There is a lot said, to my mind, about loneliness, masking one's true self, grief, honesty, and of course environmental destruction, amidst the wonderful and horrific weirdness unfolding around the Biologist, a - possibly readable as autistic? - character I found more interesting and thought-provoking this time around. And the weirdness itself of course has a lot to offer as well in terms of emotional engagement, intellectual stimulation, and grim entertainment.
Trying to crack the mysteries of Area X was a huge part of the fun for me when I first read about it in 2017, and it still is today; though part of the point of the thematic world-building of The Southern Reach is undoubtedly that the feeble human mind will never be able to wrap itself around everything... And that, if nothing else, should teach us a little humility.