drollgorg 's review for:

Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer

4.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Not a book I'd recommend to someone who hadn't already read some Vandermeer or similar authors or who I knew was into this kind of thing, but it's a book that gave me an experience I really enjoyed. And I would characterize it more like I was experiencing the book than following a story- the text is here to muddle the idea of a narrative, to explore how the world is made sense of by minds other than the empiricist tyranny of a human perspective. One of the most important characters is actively hostile to having their thoughts conveyed through language, acceding in order to use their words against the reader and humanity itself. Poetic and moving and strange.