Area X has been cut off from the rest of the world for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, we join the …
Area X has been cut off from the rest of the world for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.
The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.
They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.
Paperback, 195 pages
English language
Published April 16, 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Very weird with lots of visuals. I feel like the book requires you to use your imagination to formulate the details of the descriptions. I liked this book. Made me curious about the sequels, but I’m feeling like I don’t want to read the next one right away.
Content warning General statements about themes and plot events
I am definitely going to come back and reread this one, because I feel there's still some tasty snacks hidden amongst the pages.
Honestly, this book was so good I'm having trouble what to talk about, so I'll just kinda free associate. The writing is amazing. The unreliable narrator is pulled off masterfully. There are scenes in the book that made me physically tense. The end was somehow both a happy ending and a sad ending, which are my favorite kind.
I could say more but honestly, you should just read the book.
Content warning General statements about themes and plot events
I am definitely going to come back and reread this one, because I feel there's still some tasty snacks hidden amongst the pages.
Honestly, this book was so good I'm having trouble what to talk about, so I'll just kinda free associate. The writing is amazing. The unreliable narrator is pulled off masterfully. There are scenes in the book that made me physically tense. The end was somehow both a happy ending and a sad ending, which are my favorite kind.
I could say more but honestly, you should just read the book.
One of the most emotionally impactful books I've read, ever. Several times I had to put it down for a moment and just let the feelings it had dug up find their way through my brain to process.
