Scan barcode
A review by jnzllwgr
Dead Astronauts by Jeff VanderMeer
5.0
"Dead Astronauts" is an absolute prize of a novel.
One does not need to read "Bourne", but
there are overlaps and in reading it first,
you get a bit of the world building out of
the way…which clears the palate for a
whole new something-something. This is a
psychedelic meditation on the living
universe. It does not conform to linear plot
developments that puny humans require to
make sense things. While still English (I.e.
you don't need a special dictionary like,
say, in Dune), the structure is mangled/
manipulated to the author's purpose. In
short: it can be difficult to keep things
straight. The book explodes with sensorial
images, both endearing and repulsive. The
language is more conversational, or
perhaps even more abstract, like thought.
There's a big emphasis on the non-verbal
aspects of communication. Or perhaps it's
better to say on the limitation of humans
senses in how we relate to other living,
non-human persons in the world. Like
Joyce's Finnegans Wake or Faulkner's The
Sound and the Fury, I believe will be
considered one of VanderMeer's greatest
work. Someone termed VanderMeer as
"the weird Thoreau". And that kind of
makes sense in the way he celebrates big
"L" LIFE. Magic realism is at play. A bit of
Bill Burroughs/Brion Gysin vibe with the
structural nature the book serving a
purpose to reorient (or reprogram,
perhaps) the reader. It's the first chapter of
Mark von Schlegell's Sundogz extended to
300+ pages. VanderMeer's interest in the
writings of Timothy Morton is in maximum
overdrive. Honestly, I'm at a loss to really
describe it other than to say, it reshapes
your understanding of the world we are
intertwined -shot-through- with.
One does not need to read "Bourne", but
there are overlaps and in reading it first,
you get a bit of the world building out of
the way…which clears the palate for a
whole new something-something. This is a
psychedelic meditation on the living
universe. It does not conform to linear plot
developments that puny humans require to
make sense things. While still English (I.e.
you don't need a special dictionary like,
say, in Dune), the structure is mangled/
manipulated to the author's purpose. In
short: it can be difficult to keep things
straight. The book explodes with sensorial
images, both endearing and repulsive. The
language is more conversational, or
perhaps even more abstract, like thought.
There's a big emphasis on the non-verbal
aspects of communication. Or perhaps it's
better to say on the limitation of humans
senses in how we relate to other living,
non-human persons in the world. Like
Joyce's Finnegans Wake or Faulkner's The
Sound and the Fury, I believe will be
considered one of VanderMeer's greatest
work. Someone termed VanderMeer as
"the weird Thoreau". And that kind of
makes sense in the way he celebrates big
"L" LIFE. Magic realism is at play. A bit of
Bill Burroughs/Brion Gysin vibe with the
structural nature the book serving a
purpose to reorient (or reprogram,
perhaps) the reader. It's the first chapter of
Mark von Schlegell's Sundogz extended to
300+ pages. VanderMeer's interest in the
writings of Timothy Morton is in maximum
overdrive. Honestly, I'm at a loss to really
describe it other than to say, it reshapes
your understanding of the world we are
intertwined -shot-through- with.