AJ Dunn Reads

  Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer I'm not really a science fiction reader, but I thought I'd give the Southern Reach trilogy a shot. Annihilation is the first book in the series by Jeff VanderMeer. One of the weirdest things about this book, and I think the thing that most inhibited it for me was that there are zero descriptions of what the characters look like and they are not named. As a result, I couldn't get a picture of them in my mind as I was reading. The story vacillates between the present mission of a group of researchers in the abandoned Area X and the main characters past relationship with her husband, who was a part of the previous expedition's team. I liked the bits about the biologist (the main character) and her husband and could have read a whole book about that. But the present parts were pretty boring to me until about the last third of the book, where some interesting stuff happens. I will read the other two books in the triology, Authority and Acc...

 The Stand by Stephen King Stephen King has a fondness for the name Sally. He uses it at least three times, if not more, in The Stand . I've read this book twice before and it is still one of his best works. My main issue with the book is that the climax, the undoing of Randall Flagg happens so quickly; the point the whole book builds up to is over in a couple of short paragraphs, which is kind of disappointing. That and the Sally repetition are my only qualms with it. This book is especially interesting to read right now during the Covid-19 epidemic. You imagine, "What if this is the way this all turned out?" It's a solid 4-star effort for King. The characters are well fleshed out and memorable, the stakes are high, the descriptions are vivid and fresh, the settings alive. All of the things King does best. I'll likely not read this book again; I did so this time as I read through King's works in order (I still need to get to the Bachman books!). But I'm g...

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara This is a beautifully written and thoughtful exploration of friendship, love, and loss, and how the trauma of youth never really leaves you. I'm unsure why the author has received so much backlash for the writing of this story, which I see myself reflected in so much. Never did I feel manipulated into feeling a particular way; isn't that what fiction writing is supposed to do anyway? There is also the matter of readers having such strong reactions to this book, some having cried and others revulsed by the graphic depictions of violence. In full disclosure, I only felt visceral reactions twice while reading A Little Life : the first with the scene of violence with Caleb, which I admit was difficult to get through; the second the end of the story where we find out what happened to Jude, but more than what happened to him, Harold's feelings about it, especially on the last two pages. I felt deeply in touch with this book, as if my own experie...