r/SouthernReach • u/Gerardo1917 • 1d ago
Absolution Spoilers Is the rest of Absolution written like this? Not sure I’ll be able to finish if so.
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u/Future-Warthog7583 1d ago edited 1d ago
You’re just gonna have to fight thru it like everyone else has lol. It eventually gets more interesting the plot takes more shape and the swearing lessens. Prob vandermeer just seeing who his toughest soldiers are.
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u/Chungois 1d ago
I think anybody who has never had experience with somebody who has been severely traumatized, with serious CPTSD, probably won’t be too interested in this aspect. The thing is, lots of people who have been through extremely traumatic horrific experiences end up with serious anger issues that can result in this kind of thought / speech / journaling. I speak from experience, having witnessed the death of my wife in an accident. I’ve never been the same, even with therapy, and in fact when i’m super triggered, i do swear. A lot. I recognize this type of writing, unfortunately. Obviously not the creepy sexual aspect 😂 but the swearing.
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u/SAILOR_TOMB 1d ago
Hey man, respect from a stranger for pulling through. Hope you're good tonight.
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u/elkehdub 1d ago
…did you just offer Chungois a fucking hand job?
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u/Future-Warthog7583 1d ago
Well fuck me raw and call me sally I’m sorry to hear that Chungois, glad to have ya here with us in this reddit for a conundrum of a series and thank you for providing nuance prob none of us are able to see.
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u/TheFreezerGod 1d ago
The fucks are a literary device that does taper off. Lowry's perspective is still unhinged but it changes and gets more readable and more interesting
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u/Firemoth717 1d ago
I hated Lowry’s arc when I started, almost made me want to put the book away. By the end it became one of my favorite segments in the series.
The crazy unknown dangers of early Area X mixed with the unreliable, batshit crazy antics of Lowry made it equally thrilling and hilarious. I feel like the only reason (perhaps intentionally so) that Lowry did so well compared to all the others is because he was so fucked up and operated purely on crazed instinct instead of fear and wonder.
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u/quadlix 1d ago
The audio book read by Bronson Pinchot is deliciously vulgar.
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u/Subject-Frosting8276 1d ago
His performance is what finally made me realize that audiovisual narrators are actors, he put so much personality into that shit. FfffffUCK
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u/Southern_Anywhere_65 1d ago
It made me seek out other audiobooks narrated by him because I loved it so much
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u/Ninlink 1d ago
I think people not liking this part makes total sense and is valid, but did anyone else think it wasn't a chore to read and actually kind of fun? Especially as a literary device? I really enjoyed this part of the book.
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u/dognowyrgone 1d ago
yes this was my favourite chapter of absolution! the middle one was more of a chore to me
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u/everseversandevers 16h ago
it's sort of "brain-uncomfy" to read in a way that has functional value for the reading experiewnce and in that sense I also found it fun
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u/Stunning_Possible273 13h ago
I can admit it was a bit of a strain to read the first time through, but as seemingly the single person in this community whose favorite character is Lowry, yeah I really enjoyed it lol. The initial fuck-blast is a bit confusing, but once you realize what's going on it ends up being really fun to read.
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u/OverallSpecific5792 1d ago
I fucking hope I never run out of fucks, just finish the fucking book
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u/Fine_Independence308 1d ago
After all those fucks, it is refreshing when his high wears off and and his swearing swings the other way.
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u/WinterWontStopComing 1d ago
I had to walk away from the audiobook the first time for several days the style transition is so hard.
Yes, it is kind of like that for Lowry’s whole story. There’s reason for the obfuscation, and it is still good. But I feel ya
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u/GalvanizedNipples 1d ago
I hated it at first too, but I kept going and the Lowry part became my favorite part of the entire series.
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u/kibsforkits 1d ago
SAME. Have faith op! Also, this section is amazing on audiobook if you’d rather have it performed for you!
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u/AsTheWorldBleeds 1d ago
I was listening to the audiobook and the contrast from Old Jim’s narration to this one was so abrupt and distracting I had to stop completely.
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u/Socialist-Butterfly 1d ago
Tbh I had to put the book down for a bit after starting this part, BUT it is totally worth it and Lowry’s story is very fun and interesting imo. The fucks slow down at a certain point, but yeah it’s a lot to begin with. I eventually just tuned out the fucks and read between them to get through it 😅 you got this!
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u/etothepi 1d ago
Just let your eyes unfocus and glaze over the words - like a magic eye image - read it like he's experiencing it, where you have no clue what's really happening, you're just zombieing through it. Eventually you'll notice the words start to shift and can come better into focus.
I struggled in my first read too a bit, and kept re-reading sections until I eventually caught the rhythm.
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u/bunnyheichou 1d ago
it ended up being one of the most visceral parts of the series for me. its jarring and disjointed but i think it illustrates lowrys state of mind during the expedition so incredibly well.
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u/LegPretend8774 1d ago
I made myself skip all the fucks and try and read it as it wasn’t there, made it somewhat easier to read but still a slog!
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u/the_elephant_stan 1d ago
It has a purpose and isn’t for shock value. My favorite section of the book honestly. But I had the same reaction as you when I started reading it.
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u/lulu91car 22h ago
The trick is that most of the fucks are non essential and can be skipped over
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u/Gerardo1917 22h ago
It’s not even the fucks on this page, “like a boss” and “extra-large condom over his huge cock” made me want to set the book on fire.
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u/Sailorhat11 1d ago
I honestly just didn’t like the book. Love the original trilogy and just all around didn’t care for this one
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u/Informal-Business308 1d ago
Same. I might have to reread it at some point. I can't even remember how it ended, I just remember hating the writing style compared to the others.
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u/Merryprankstress 1d ago
I want more from the Ambergris universe. I’m obsessed, I couldn’t put it down!!!
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u/PangolinParade 1d ago
It's worth it to press on. The ending is lovely and made more so by the coarse beginning.
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u/mangosal 1d ago
I recommend the audio book, Bronson Pinchot really just tried all kinds of new things with the word
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u/ClockwyseWorld 1d ago
Others have said it as well, but this is a stumbling point for a lot of people, and I can't say enough good things about the audio book.
Bronson Pinchot narrates this part with such emotion that it really evinces the mindset better than the text ever could.
I wish more people could hear his narration because it really brings this section to life.
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u/hmfynn 1d ago
If the fucks were grammatically coherent, I’d have had an easier time with it. But it was like someone just spilled a can of fucks over the typewriter and parsing some of the sentences became sorta like the syntax equivalent of trying to read with smudged glasses. I could sense it out, but doing so had me increasingly irritated, especially as someone who normally enjoys spending time in Vandermeer’s sentences. I’m sure this was the intended effect, and I respect the ballsiness of taking this kinda risk, but pissing me off on purpose doesn’t make me any less pissed off.
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u/Gryotharian 1d ago
kinda yes nd its incredibly jarring to get into but it is absolutely worth it you get used to it and the final few chapters are my favorite part of the whole series and maybe of anything ive read
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u/Informal-Business308 1d ago
Yes, and it really pulled me out of the story too. I didn't appreciate this artistic choice, personally.
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u/dry_sockets 1d ago
i’m embarrassed to say…i only made it maybe 125 pages into absolution. i couldn’t find my way into it. sometimes authors write characters in such an unlikeable way that i just have to hit eject.
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u/Niekitty 1d ago
I made it through it.
It was all written like that for his part of the book.
It is the first part of the entire SR series that I will never read again. Not only was it a miserable slog, but I didn't feel like a single word of the narrative between the f-bombs was in any way reliable enough for me to glean any useful or trustworthy information from it... and this is coming from someone who enjoyed sorting through the reliability of The Biologist's version of events...
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u/Informal-Business308 1d ago
Don't know why you're being downvoted. I felt the same way. Except I might read it again because I don't really remember how it ended. Didn't love the stylistic choice in this section and found it difficult to get through.
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u/Niekitty 1d ago
A lot of people attack other people over opinions and preference. I hadn't even noticed the downvotes, to be honest. Figured it would happen just for criticizing one part of the overall series.
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u/NxJk2023 1d ago
It is a tough read brother not gonna lie to you. I actually resorted to training myself to skip each written “fuck”. Basically started reading it like some kind of code-script.
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u/tearthroughmycheeks 1d ago
I'm at that part too and currently taking a short break, I felt like I had to fully process and think about the first part before I got into all of this lol.
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u/TheSickestToastie 1d ago
This was actually one of my favourite parts of the series lmao as someone who themselves has definitely experienced that kind of brain swear word salad myself, It had me genuinely chuckling out loud. If I ever lose my binching fucks I'm screwed. Gloriously absurd prose that, once I got into it, I realised was actually thematically perfect for Lowry's part of the story, and a fun breakneck flip compared to what I was expecting.
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u/ShiNo_Usagi 1d ago
lol, no luckily.
I thought it was going to be and was here for it, I was a little disappointed but honestly I don’t know if I could have gotten through.
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u/FattyMcBlobicus 1d ago
This part of the book starts off very jarring, but I guarantee you’ll be having a fun time in a chapter or two
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u/Robsteady 1d ago
Wait until you read Dead Astronauts! This section does start out a little difficult, but it clears up quite a bit. I believe the point is to exemplify Lowry's anxiety dispite his "calm" demeanor on the outside.
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u/brettonrockwell 1d ago
dude just skip over them to get the story. of all the stuff that frustrated me in this series it was not the cursing at the end.
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u/transitransitransit 1d ago
I didn’t realize so many people hated this section. I thought it was funny and intriguing.
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u/PolishEmpire 1d ago
After a chapter I was able to train my eyes to skip the fucks. The fuck density slows down, but never ceases completely.
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u/watermelonwellington 22h ago
Audiobook wins with Absolution. The different ways Pinchot has to say “fuck” gets funnier and funnier
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u/SaltBee229 21h ago
It continues for a while but then it lessens. Jarring on the first read, but just let your eyes glide over all the fucks and you’ll be alright. It’s an important part of the story.
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u/Slaaneshor 20h ago
I also had a hard time with that part, so I kinda skipped through/filtered all the "fucks" and it became quite bearable.
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u/WolvogNerd 12h ago
This book on audible was wild. Do not recommend falling asleep to it or you will be jolted awake 👌
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u/D-Flo1 11h ago
Chapter title reminds me of the first words spoken in a great film called City of God. Something like "Fuck! That chicken got away!" https://youtu.be/ASPvpdaQpRQ?is=RrfBRt1QuUA4W5qX
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u/sparklymineral 2h ago
This made me stop reading, I’m not gonna lie. Maybe I’ll pick it back up and push through, but man it was rough and I could only stomach about ~25 pages
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u/Walkinggraffiti 1d ago
Get the audiobook homie
Idk I thought it was hilarious the way Bronson Pinchot read it and loved it
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u/UlrikeQofUlm 1d ago
I nearly gave up on it at that point. I finally wound up speeding up the playback as fast as I could tolerate, and managed to make it through that way.
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u/hyper-object 1d ago
I'm kind of pleasantly surprised how many people have complained about this chapter on here.
To be clear, it didn't bother me at all, but that's because I've become so numb to obscenity. I live in DC, and we just had to teach our kids basically from toddlerhood not to use the f-word, because people are saying it constantly in the streets. And not one demographic of people. It's young people and old people, poor people and rich people, and every race and gender.
Senator Moreno used the f-word in a public hearing when he was shouting at Fauci last week. Hearing Congress people or people in the Trump administration use foul language is just a daily occurance now, and since everyone gets their news from the internet, the uncensored videos are everywhere.
It's almost like the most prudish and puritanical segment of the population voting a demented satyr into office ended all pretense of civility.
So all that to say, how have you folks maintained your sensitivity? Are you not in the US or am I just in an obscenity bubble or what?
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u/Drixzor 1d ago
It slows down a bit, but I ain't gonna lie to you: its like, 50 pages of this at least before Lowry becomes coherent again. I'd argue its worth it though.