Jeff VanderMeer in New York on September 22, 2024. VanderMeer, recognized for his hit Southern Reach trilogy, discusses his haunting new addition, “Absolution,” preserving the enigmas and misconceptions surrounding alligators. (Dustin Miller/The New York Times)
By ALEXANDRA ALTER
Jeff VanderMeer has been referred to as “the poet laureate of bizarre fiction,” the “monarch of strange narratives,” and “weird Thoreau.”
Thus, it’s significant that VanderMeer asserts his latest novel, “Absolution,” is his most peculiar work to date.
“Absolution” serves as a chilling and disquieting finale to the books forming his acclaimed Southern Reach trilogy, released rapidly in 2014. The trilogy has since sold over 1.5 million copies in the U.S. alone and has been translated into 37 languages. In the initial three installments — “Annihilation,” “Authority,” and “Acceptance” — a mysterious agency dispatches doomed explorations of scientists into a tainted area on the Forgotten Coast known as Area X, where human inhabitants have vanished without a trace, and the flora and fauna have transformed in bizarre ways, evolving into something otherworldly. As the series wrapped up, Area X was expanding, leaving readers to contemplate the destiny of mankind and Earth.
This year, VanderMeer thrilled his fans by revealing he had crafted an unexpected fourth book. In his characteristic dreamlike style, the new novel offers as many queries as it does resolutions.
During a virtual interview from his residence in Tallahassee, Florida, VanderMeer discussed his motivations for revisiting Area X, how he’s sustained the intrigue for ten years, and why he believes alligators are often wrongly judged.
This dialogue has been summarised and refined for coherence.
Q: What inspired your return to Area X?
A: In 2017, I conceived an idea for a team of biologists exploring the same site two decades before the incidents in “Annihilation.” I penned the initial pages of “Absolution,” and then contemplated its implications, including who is guiding this encounter. For quite some time, I lacked an answer, so I put it aside.
Q: What reignited your interest?
A: There was a lengthy incubation period. Following what I would describe as a grim period during the pandemic, I hadn’t written anything for a spell. Then, I awoke with a complete vision for the narrative in my mind. I found myself writing at all times of the day, engulfed by it; the words flowed effortlessly. There are certain scenes I have no recollection of creating.
Q: Many readers were eager to discover what occurs after the trilogy’s conclusion, where the scenario is dire: Area X is uncontrollably proliferating, threatening to envelop the planet. Why did you choose to delve into the past instead?
A: To portray the aftermath of “Acceptance,” when Area X dominates, would be nearly unfeasible. It would be so strange or detached that it felt like a viewpoint I couldn’t authentically capture. However, this book serves as a sort of prequel that relates closely to the earlier volumes, while also functioning subtly as a sequel. Thus, it enabled me to explore what I didn’t feel I could tackle directly, which was exhilarating.
Q: Why do you think you and numerous readers are still preoccupied with Area X?
A: I believe it’s because it emerges so profoundly from my subconscious. The fact that I was unwell while writing it, recovering from dental surgery, and that I was still unpacking its significance in my mind even after its completion, added layers. Moreover, it has garnered a multitude of interpretations due to the elusive nature of the books. Readers can perceive a variety of elements within the texts, and when they reflect those back to me, it prompts me to reconceptualize the books as well.
Q: How have readers’ responses influenced your perspective on the series?
A: There are approximately 17,000 academic papers focused on the Southern Reach trilogy. For instance, Alison Sperling authored a paper titled “Second Skins,” raising intriguing questions concerning contamination, permeability, and the environment, which I found compelling.
In writing “Absolution,” there’s a crucial facet I credit to her: Lowry’s anxiety regarding contamination from the suit. It truly enriches his character and your insight into him, and I wouldn’t have included it without that analysis.
Q: One unique aspect of these works is the extent to which ambiguity remains by the conclusion. How do you maintain the equilibrium between providing readers with a gratifying resolution while also engaging them with questions that might lack definitive answers?
A: It’s a dilemma of the series: if I clarify too much, I undermine the core idea of investigating the unknowability of existence. It’s vital in fiction to occasionally depict our standing in relation to the universe, as we often perceive ourselves as having more authority or understanding than we truly do. But it also hinges on the readers. They are prepared to complete this in their minds. It’s a partnership where you grant the reader space to engage their imagination. In doing so, they fill in a more comprehensive explanation, in a sense.
Q: Some readers and critics interpret an urgent commentary on the climate crisis within the series. Is that a takeaway you hoped readers would gain?
A: I must tread carefully with such interpretations, as I genuinely dislike didactic literature. Regarding the environmental themes, I think they exist indirectly and are posed more as inquiries. These themes are never fully resolved within the story since I don’t believe fiction is intended to provide definitive conclusions. Instead, it can provoke thought-provoking questions and elicit discomfort.
Q: What are your thoughts on being dubbed the “king of weird fiction?” That’s quite a title.
A: I have no objections. I would argue that “Absolution” delves deeper into that label than many of my previous works, even those within Southern Reach. It’s the most uncanny of the quartet. I appreciate the term “weird fiction” as it provides the flexibility for my books to escape rigid classifications, and the nebulous nature of weird fiction assists in that.
Moreover, it reflects the essence of these works, emphasizing that weird fiction offers a unique way to interpret reality, enabling literature — rather than religion, philosophy, or science — to elucidate the unknowable.
Q: You reside in Florida, and there are significant moments in this book revolving around a rather extraordinary alligator.
A: I didn’t address alligators until this book. It feels like they have become a stereotype in Florida, so when I finally chose to include them, I aimed for something monumental and distinctive. I’ve had considerable experience navigating around alligators, and I wanted to encapsulate that experience as a heartfelt homage, leading to the creation of the Tyrant. Alligators are highly misunderstood. They are nurturing parents and remarkably social creatures. No one seems willing to accept that.
