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I mostly picked this book up because of the gorgeous cover and the Jeff VanderMeer comparison in the blurb, both of which are A+ strategies for getting me interested in reading something.Ìý I'm a total sucker for books that are generally a) strange or surreal in a WTF sort of way, b) have a supernatural premise, and c) are written in a vaguely literary style.

I'm starting to think that I need to stop getting lured in with that bait, though, because while this checks all my boxes on a superficial level, it really failed in a lot of essential ways.

I mean, there are definitely things I liked about it; the writing really pulled me in and I was pretty engaged up until the final act. I love that it doesn't assume default whiteness/straightness (the main character, Trina, is a 51-year-old Native American trans woman in a long term relationship with a woman, for instance).Ìý

I also loved the whole setup for this world and a lot of the ideas that it introduces. The majority of the book is set 20 years after an amorphous alien species called The Seep first entered our water system. Once they infiltrated or bodies, they showed us that they just want to help us be happy, and that we are all connected- to each other, to the Earth and the animals and plants- and that violence and capitalism are silly.Ìý

A "soft" alien invasion where is seems as though the aliens only want to give humans everything they desire? Heck yes, sign me up!

Overall, though, I had huge problems with the execution.

I'll give one example that I think most clearly illustrates what I found so frustrating about this book. (view spoiler)[First, you need to know that The Seep make humans feel the lives and deaths of the things they eat, which fundamentally changes how people consume food. One way this plays out is that Trina is a vegetarian or vegan (it's not made totally clear), which makes sense. But how else does this play out in the story?

There's one striking scene where we see a woman sitting on a park bench crying as she eats little live fish one by one. Morbid, right? I was spooked, I was intrigued.

So given our setup, Trina should immediately know at least one reason why the fish lady is upset, right? Meat is murder and all that. Seems like an excellent place to show how The Seep informs Trina's understanding of the world around her and the actions of this woman, particularly because she has had several decades to get used to the intricacies of this reality.

Nope. She apparently has no idea why the woman might be upset and has to ask her what's wrong.

Uh... ok?

Well, maybe we can at least explore why this woman is eating these fish when it's obviously causing her so much distress? There are some interesting possibilities for looking at how people have reacted under this alien influence. Maybe we'll explore the idea that humans need pain to feel human? Or how living in a Utopia might compromise some folks' mental well-being? Something?

Nope. No deeper meaning here. Zero, nada, zilch.
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So without using this scene to actually tell us anything, then, it becomes gimmicky. It becomesÌýempty shock value.Ìý

And this is the crux - this book's sense of creepiness and weirdness feels too centered in our world today, in our normal reactions to our normal world. That event would be fucked up inÌýthe here and now and that's why we read it asÌýdeeply wrong. Sure, it takes on an extra level of fucked when you consider that the person is feeling each of the fishes' deaths. But the story doesn't DO anything with it. We get a base level creep out moment without ever exploring any of the implications.

That's my problem with the whole book- it's all style over substance. There are just so many missed opportunities here for exploring the complexities of this radically changed world.Ìý

Like-Ìý

Does it explore the complex emotions a trans person might have if they were suddenly able to alter their body easily and without consequence? Nope.

Does it look at what happens to the people who don't imbibe The Seep? Nope.

Does it look at how the lives of anyone except the super bougie are changed? Nope (why this book promises "searing social commentary" I have no idea).

Do we see character growth at pivotal moments? Nope.ÌýWe see the night of the seep, then fast forward 20 years. We see the main character's wife leaving her, then fast forward 5 years. We are constantly skipping over the parts that matter.

My second main complaint is the ending. I am ok with weird, surreal endings that don't really make sense if they feel intentional on the part of the author, and if they actually fit with the rest of the story. For example, I reached the end of the Southern Reach series with SO MANY questions, but the ending was all so in-line with everything that had come to that point that I couldn't bring myself to be upset. I wouldn't have expected anything different. These unanswered questions didn't feel like a lack of vision, they felt like they were fundamentally unknowable.

I'm not ok with a weird, surreal ending, though, that just feels like the author didn't quite know where to go with it or how to make it work. This ending felt like a bit of dramatic hand waving, hoping the reader won't notice that it's as holey as Swiss cheese. It also tried to convince me, after absolutely no character growth or emotional development, that the main character suddenly works through her mountain of shit. The whole thing felt abrupt and unearned in the extreme. (hide spoiler)]

The finale also has a jarring tonal shift that I thought was entirely unsuccessful, taking it to a comedic, surreal place when the narrative up to that point had been actually quite serious and concrete.ÌýIt just utterly failed in almost every way for me.

I'm giving it one extra star for being very readable and having interesting ideas and imagery, but that's where it ends.