An amazing and haunting book
5 stars
I've seen some reviews that I think were a bit confused by the framing, or maybe some for whom it just didn't work for them. The framing is that you are reading a sort of letter left by a woman after the world is ending, hoping but uncertain if her last writing will ever be read. I think there are some "I'm writing my story" narratives that are really no different from the usual way a story would be told except for the use of personal pronouns and perhaps some perspective differences, and perhaps that's what some were expecting. But nope. This lady is baffled by her past actions, and pretty bitter, even a bit self-loathing maybe. It really makes sense though, and the way that Vandermeer weaves in factoids and statistics about extensions sticks with you.
I won't lie, it's a grim read. And it hits close to home. …
I've seen some reviews that I think were a bit confused by the framing, or maybe some for whom it just didn't work for them. The framing is that you are reading a sort of letter left by a woman after the world is ending, hoping but uncertain if her last writing will ever be read. I think there are some "I'm writing my story" narratives that are really no different from the usual way a story would be told except for the use of personal pronouns and perhaps some perspective differences, and perhaps that's what some were expecting. But nope. This lady is baffled by her past actions, and pretty bitter, even a bit self-loathing maybe. It really makes sense though, and the way that Vandermeer weaves in factoids and statistics about extensions sticks with you.
I won't lie, it's a grim read. And it hits close to home. This was published in 2021, probably written in 2020 and IT SHOWS. But in a beautifully subtle way...this witness to the end of the world is so busy she barely records it ending.
There's a quote I doubt I'll ever forget. I listened so I can find it or copy it easily, but in one of the narrator's meditations, she talks about the petering out of the last hummingbirds, about their great migrations, and how there must have been a last migration. The valor of those last birds. Both their fading hope, but also the moments of rest and peace and joy along the way. Before the end.
It's a fairly short read. If I have any critique of the book, I think it probably could have been shorter. I think it might have tried just a bit too hard to be a "normal" thriller. On the other hand, I'm not sure the author could have sold her emotional journey quite as well.