I have started re-reading the Southern Reach trilogy. Since I read the novels (or rather one long novel) a few years ago, certain scenes and images continually surface into my mind from time to time. The lighthouse. The tower. The dive into another dimension. The breathing wall with glowing text. The girl on the beach.
The novel is a journal both outward and inward. The characters hike into Area X, an alien but familiar place. From the start I had a strong feeling that Area X is also that incomprehensible, impenetrable world also known as the mystery of the heart. The further they journey out into this world, the deeper they plunge into their own mind, where words float meaninglessly on the wall.
Of all the characters in the trilogy, I often think of the relationship between Control and his mother in the second book, Authority. All of the characters defy conventions and categories, but they are all imbued with a loneliness and longing, which eventually resolve, sort of, in Area X.
The Southern Reach trilogy has stayed with me, not only because I have never seen anything like it, but also because the mood and the feels ring true.
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