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A review by planetesastraea
The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
It has taken me a little while to wrap my head around this book and write a proper review of it.
From the very first pages, The Vanished Birds has been haunting.
The book kicks off painting a world in which time goes more slowly for a group of mysterious technologically-advanced off-worlders. This perspective gives the tone for the whole novel: how small human lives can be, how fragile and fickle, a blink in the span of human history, and a speck of dust in the universe.
As I read this book, anxiety followed me with each chapter.
Even during the most light-hearted parts of the crew's every day life, the weight of the deranging unknown that has carved its shape into their lives can't be shaken off. Something inescapable looms in the dark- something that they know to be wonderful but bound to be the key to their demise.
And this incredible build-up only works because of its even somber unfolding.
Jimenez's writing speaks to his knowledge of what it is to be human, for better and for worst.
The length of humanity's cruelty only finds an equal in the endless hope and love that comes with finding a family, and fighting to keep it.
If I usually turn to more light-hearted reading I can't say I regret having read The Vanished Birds. It's a powerful read that has stayed with me ever since.
From the very first pages, The Vanished Birds has been haunting.
The book kicks off painting a world in which time goes more slowly for a group of mysterious technologically-advanced off-worlders. This perspective gives the tone for the whole novel: how small human lives can be, how fragile and fickle, a blink in the span of human history, and a speck of dust in the universe.
As I read this book, anxiety followed me with each chapter.
Even during the most light-hearted parts of the crew's every day life, the weight of the deranging unknown that has carved its shape into their lives can't be shaken off. Something inescapable looms in the dark- something that they know to be wonderful but bound to be the key to their demise.
And this incredible build-up only works because of its even somber unfolding.
Jimenez's writing speaks to his knowledge of what it is to be human, for better and for worst.
The length of humanity's cruelty only finds an equal in the endless hope and love that comes with finding a family, and fighting to keep it.
If I usually turn to more light-hearted reading I can't say I regret having read The Vanished Birds. It's a powerful read that has stayed with me ever since.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Medical content, Medical trauma, Slavery, and Torture