I know this is taboo in the literary community, but I first saw the movie version of this novel. This faux pas was because I had no idea this fantastic series existed, and it was entirely by accident that I discovered the first book of this trilogy. I loved the concept that the film presented. This idea of being invaded, but not to the point of our destruction, but to a new level of annihilation that involves absorption and a strange/ beautiful kind of evolution. So, like any sci-fi geek, I went in search of merch. I found a shirt on Red Bubble depicting the all-female expedition team entering into what the movie calls “The Shimmer.” Then, lo and behold, I kept finding links to Amazon, which led to a near orgasmic revelation that this was a book first. I ordered the first book, which shares the same title as the movie. And from that point on, I was immersed and what Vandermeer referred to as Area X. (Although, here’s another naughty confession… I like the name “The Shimmer” due to the symbolic visual it creates with the idea of hypnotic trances and all the beautiful light references in the text itself. )
Four female characters (a manipulative psychologist/hypnotist, an anthropologist, a surveyor, and our protagonist, the biologist) are dispatched into this quarantined area in an intense state of hypnosis, making the slow reveal of the surreal Giger-esque flora and fauna even more terrifying. And just another reason why I may or may not be avoiding finding a new psychologist. I love the idea that such a strange place could exist in Florida for so long without anyone else in the world questioning it outside of it just being taped off as the site of environmental disaster/ industrial oopsie. As a Florida resident, sometimes I feel like I live in Area X and the people and the animals are fascinating and occasionally frightening alien-made amalgamations and doppelgangers. I suspect my DNA has become genetically modified with Vandermeer’s philosophy writing lichen and a splash of lazy iguana. I know it is an invasive species, but I wasn’t born down here, so I feel it makes sense.
I have already ordered the second book, Authority, and when it arrives, to quote one badass biologist, “don’t follow me,” I will be tucked away in my reading chair, and “I am not returning home.” Send snacks!
Final Thoughts and Looking Forward.
It’s time to see exactly what’s happening at the mysterious Southern Reach Corporation or the ones “in charge” of this weird slice of SoFlo, which I suspect may be a subsidiary of the devious Umbrella Corporation. The logos sure look similar.
Fulton the author's blog 