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A review by ghostbirdz
We Were Restless Things by Cole Nagamatsu
2.0
TLDR: if annihilation was bad and also for kids
It bothers me how similar this was to Jeff Vandermeers Annihilation - only poorly executed. Let me explain.
Magical lighthouse appears but can’t be captured on camera, the lighthouse has a tower which is actually a basement with a door at the end of it, doppelgängers, weird forest creatures, female lead who went looking for explanation about missing boy can’t leave/is at the mercy of her environment/something that transcends everyone’s understanding/nature that has gone wrong. Only nothing interesting is actually said.
The romance was unbelievable, annoying and just…gross. The female lead Noemi is described as independent and strong willed and oh yeah, asexual, yet turns into an entirely different character every now and then because of…the plot? Because stepbro Jonas has a piece of her heart? She tries to have sex with him even though she won’t enjoy it right after Gaetan, a bully who she supposedly hates, has confessed his feelings for her in a way that a high school bully never has and never will. What the hell? Her asexuality isn’t explored beyond surface level and because of that I honestly don’t see how it adds to the story at all, except to reinforce the idea that women should have sex they don’t want so people won’t leave them.
The concept is interesting and could’ve been great, the cover art is amazing and I LOVE the title but the book itself was very disappointing.
It bothers me how similar this was to Jeff Vandermeers Annihilation - only poorly executed. Let me explain.
Magical lighthouse appears but can’t be captured on camera, the lighthouse has a tower which is actually a basement with a door at the end of it, doppelgängers, weird forest creatures, female lead who went looking for explanation about missing boy can’t leave/is at the mercy of her environment/something that transcends everyone’s understanding/nature that has gone wrong. Only nothing interesting is actually said.
The romance was unbelievable, annoying and just…gross. The female lead Noemi is described as independent and strong willed and oh yeah, asexual, yet turns into an entirely different character every now and then because of…the plot? Because stepbro Jonas has a piece of her heart? She tries to have sex with him even though she won’t enjoy it right after Gaetan, a bully who she supposedly hates, has confessed his feelings for her in a way that a high school bully never has and never will. What the hell? Her asexuality isn’t explored beyond surface level and because of that I honestly don’t see how it adds to the story at all, except to reinforce the idea that women should have sex they don’t want so people won’t leave them.
The concept is interesting and could’ve been great, the cover art is amazing and I LOVE the title but the book itself was very disappointing.