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A review by maylajoy
Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy: Annihilation; Authority; Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer
4.0
*Note: This is not a coherent review in any way, just some thoughts I had on the books. It may contain some kind of spoilers.
There is so much to say about this trilogy as there are many underlying themes surfacing while reading. There is the overarching theme of mirroring, doppelgangers and symmetry - found, for example, in the twin lighthouses and the tunnel/the tower, the latter acts as some kind of distorted mirror image of the lighthouse, in the creature dubbed as the crawler, that resembles the lighthouses lenses, its surface endlessly mirroring and reflecting the light of past and present times as well as in numerous plot lines and actions. There are also the questions of human versus nature and human versus alien - who has the upper hand, which power does the one have over the other, what defines us as human etc. Which in turn brings us to the theme of symbiosis and mimicry - what even is real, how contaminated are our surroundings, our thoughts, are we still on earth, even if it looks like something we know?
All these questions are asked in a very scientific approach; at the beginning Area X seems to be a restricted, developed zone but over the course of the three books the protagonists and the reader slowly, very slowly, are beginning to lose the grip of reality, starting to lose control. The formerly impermeable border breathes and it is even starting to expand. More and more the course of the books, as well as the journey through Area X, change its nature, the act of reading is like lucid dreaming through the Strugatzki brothers’ [b:Roadside Picnic|331256|Roadside Picnic|Arkady Strugatsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173812259l/331256._SY75_.jpg|1243896] and Tarkowski’s Stalker - the Southern Reach-trilogy shares the same sujet with the two works: A widely unexplored and above all inexplicable area (in the sense of its creation but also its essential purpose), confined by an invisible border lies adjacent to human civilization. What happens inside is beyond imagination and nobody is able to explain the origin of these alien-like creatures and mythical ongoings, because everyone who tried to find answers came back somewhat changed - if he came back at all.
As readers, we are only presented small hints of the truth, piece by piece, and we have to search for shreds of evidences, like the protagonists, only to be left with a shattered image of what might be. We follow the white rabbit(s) over the border and are faced with overlapping layers of time, memories and fears. And in the end, we remain with as many questions as all the protagonists that visited Area X.
This trilogy is fascinating, eerie, speculative and very interesting to read. It provides us with no answers but lingers in the head long after finishing the read, trying to make some sense of it. At times it was a bit tedious, especially the second book Authority, but all in all very enjoyable and suitable for newcomers to dystopian/ speculative fiction.
There is so much to say about this trilogy as there are many underlying themes surfacing while reading. There is the overarching theme of mirroring, doppelgangers and symmetry - found, for example, in the twin lighthouses and the tunnel/the tower, the latter acts as some kind of distorted mirror image of the lighthouse, in the creature dubbed as the crawler, that resembles the lighthouses lenses, its surface endlessly mirroring and reflecting the light of past and present times as well as in numerous plot lines and actions. There are also the questions of human versus nature and human versus alien - who has the upper hand, which power does the one have over the other, what defines us as human etc. Which in turn brings us to the theme of symbiosis and mimicry - what even is real, how contaminated are our surroundings, our thoughts, are we still on earth, even if it looks like something we know?
All these questions are asked in a very scientific approach; at the beginning Area X seems to be a restricted, developed zone but over the course of the three books the protagonists and the reader slowly, very slowly, are beginning to lose the grip of reality, starting to lose control. The formerly impermeable border breathes and it is even starting to expand. More and more the course of the books, as well as the journey through Area X, change its nature, the act of reading is like lucid dreaming through the Strugatzki brothers’ [b:Roadside Picnic|331256|Roadside Picnic|Arkady Strugatsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173812259l/331256._SY75_.jpg|1243896] and Tarkowski’s Stalker - the Southern Reach-trilogy shares the same sujet with the two works: A widely unexplored and above all inexplicable area (in the sense of its creation but also its essential purpose), confined by an invisible border lies adjacent to human civilization. What happens inside is beyond imagination and nobody is able to explain the origin of these alien-like creatures and mythical ongoings, because everyone who tried to find answers came back somewhat changed - if he came back at all.
As readers, we are only presented small hints of the truth, piece by piece, and we have to search for shreds of evidences, like the protagonists, only to be left with a shattered image of what might be. We follow the white rabbit(s) over the border and are faced with overlapping layers of time, memories and fears. And in the end, we remain with as many questions as all the protagonists that visited Area X.
This trilogy is fascinating, eerie, speculative and very interesting to read. It provides us with no answers but lingers in the head long after finishing the read, trying to make some sense of it. At times it was a bit tedious, especially the second book Authority, but all in all very enjoyable and suitable for newcomers to dystopian/ speculative fiction.