The Southern Reach

Matthew Keeley · 21 Sep 2014, 23:07 · from 2014-September.txt.gz

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From: matthew.keeley.1 at gmail.com (Matthew Keeley)
Date: Sun, 21 Sep 2014 19:07:16 -0400
Subject: (urth) The Southern Reach
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References: <CAM0v-i5zorA83FX_MePbabjJOfsW4GaQhUHK2ZG2DwZCa_SXZg at mail.gmail.com>
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I liked the series very much. I think the first and third books are the
best, but I admired all three volumes, and I suspect I would enjoy the
second volume more if I were to reread it.

Vandermeer has a real talent for the unnatural, but I've rarely encountered
a sf writer who is so good on nature in its quotidian and sublime aspects.
I think in a parallel universe, he's one of the most acclaimed nature
writers, a Peter Mathiessen or Annie Dillard.

And perhaps that talent for the quotidian carries over into the book's
ending: We don't see the puzzle put together, we don't even see all the
pieces, but don't we have that experience everyday? "Acceptance" isn't the
same as giving up.

-Matt

On Sun, Sep 21, 2014 at 11:50 AM, Antonin Scriabin <kierkegaurdian at gmail.com
> wrote:

> Just finished Acceptance. Anyone else finish the trilogy? What do you
> think?
>
> Overall, I was satisfied. There were enough answers to make it worthwhile,
> and enough unanswered / new questions to keep it intriguing well after
> having finished.
>
> There were some serious Lovecraftian themes towards the end as well, and
> some stuff that reminded me of BOTNS and UOTNS.
>
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