mikerickson reviewed Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer (The Southern Reach Trilogy, #3)
Review of 'Acceptance' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This was one of the most challenging books I've ever read. Not challenging in terms of content, but more so the structure. And not in a gimmicky House of Leaves kind of way, but this book bounced around between five different characters POV's across multiple non-consecutive timelines, while using first-, second-, and third-person narration. It felt like it was actively trying to shake me off (which is thematically on-brand with the central nature of the setting). This must have been a bitch to plan out, let alone write.
Being the final book of a trilogy, there's some built-in expectation that some key questions of the overall story will get answered and wrapped up. Although the recurring theme from the first two books where the setting itself resists being understood carries through here, and I eventually realized that no such payoff was coming. But I didn't necessarily mind because it would've …
This was one of the most challenging books I've ever read. Not challenging in terms of content, but more so the structure. And not in a gimmicky House of Leaves kind of way, but this book bounced around between five different characters POV's across multiple non-consecutive timelines, while using first-, second-, and third-person narration. It felt like it was actively trying to shake me off (which is thematically on-brand with the central nature of the setting). This must have been a bitch to plan out, let alone write.
Being the final book of a trilogy, there's some built-in expectation that some key questions of the overall story will get answered and wrapped up. Although the recurring theme from the first two books where the setting itself resists being understood carries through here, and I eventually realized that no such payoff was coming. But I didn't necessarily mind because it would've taken some of the magic away from all this worldbuilding if the reader actually did manage to peek behind the curtain too much.
This was not a simple read that I could just pick up for a chapter or two when I had a free minute; I felt like I had to devote active attention to this story, yet I still couldn't give a summation of the central conflict in a traditional sense with much confidence. This trilogy was definitely unlike anything else I've read to date, and I did enjoy the ride and the characters (oh, to be a solitary gay lighthouse keeper with a burly blue-collar lover...), but I do think I will treat myself to something simpler and lighter as my next read.
