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Jeff Vandermeer is new york times-Best-selling author, editor, critic, and one of the pioneers of the New Weird movement in detective fiction. Vandermeer has published more than ten novels, including Nebula and the Shirley Jackson Award-winning Nebula. annihilation, is the first in his Southern Reach series that has been translated into over 35 languages. In 2018, annihilation It was made into a feature film by Paramount, starring Natalie Portman.
A special 20th anniversary edition of Jeff VanderMeer’s first novel. Venice Undergroundwill be published on April 11, 2023, with 5 bonus stories and a new foreword by Charles Yu. Venice Underground The stage is set in the futuristic city of Venice. There, biomaterials are recycled into art, and a terrifying darkness lurks in the maze-like world beneath the city.
We recently had the pleasure of discussing with Mr. VanderMeer about: Venice Undergroundthe Southern Reach series, etc.
[GdM] Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of the publication of your first novel. Venice Underground. What made you want to revisit this story?
[JV] MCD/FSG and Picador US were releasing the rest of my backlist in new editions such as the Ambergris Trilogy. I also became more and more involved in environmental issues, writing novels such as: hummingbird salamander It’s very direct about environmental issues.I went back and read cameI felt that it fits comfortably between the direct environmental messages such as . hummingbird salamander and the lyrical and experimental of my novels dead astronaut. So considering that he will be celebrating his 20th anniversary in April, which is also the month of Earth Day, a reissue felt appropriate.
[GdM] How did you first come up with the idea for this novel and how did you develop it into its final form?
[JV] I wrote the first part from the point of view of Nicholas, the struggling poet and writer, and wondered what that meant. I sold that part to Interzone under the title “Quinn’s Shanghai Circus”, which is also the title of the novel. By little-known American author Edward Whitmore. This novel contains a crazy and terrifying circus animal slaughter scene, and it was also one of the most unique and intuitive scenes I’ve ever read. Somehow, for me, it matched the biotechnology theme of my story, and also the idea that in the distant future, even obscure works of our time might serve as inspiration for things in that future. also matched. And it wasn’t until I realized that the characters in the first section would be their respective point of view sections that I got the rest of the novel.
[GdM] Preface to the new release Venice Underground Written by Charles Yu. How did he get involved with the project?
[JV] Charles and I have known each other’s work for quite some time and I’ve always liked the way he blends formal experimentation with great emotional intensity. He is not abstract, even if meta. Structurally, Venice moves from ‘I’ to ‘you’ to ‘he’, and there are dastardly experiments in how those parts fit together, and this book may appeal to him. I thought I couldn’t. He kindly said yes and told me some very interesting things about Venice.
[GdM] Charles has a great opening statement. “In Venice, the reader sees within Vandermeer’s first novel, the many interests found in his later work, the conceptual DNA of the larger project already in existence, more books and more beings. and the world and ideas.” Looking back 20 years, do you think this is true?
[JV] Yes definitely. As a writer who grew up surrounded by incredible biodiversity and lush habitats, one of the things I bring to his novels is his understanding of how important the world’s natural systems are. is to As part of that, I always try to see things from a non-human perspective. as well as the human point of view. This pervades my view of biotechnology as well.
[GdM] Diverse narrative styles Venice Underground It’s especially effective at building an emotional connection with the three point-of-view characters: Nicholas, Nicola, and Shadrach. Why did you decide to employ first, second and third person narration across these three perspectives? Did you face any particular challenges within these three narrative styles?
[JV] I once read a novel with 16 different first-person perspectives, which demonstrated that sometimes changing perspectives can be the most effective way to create characters that don’t blend into each other. Nicholas is definitely ego-driven, so “I” seemed appropriate. The reality of Nicola’s situation required second person, but it felt like Shadrach’s quest through a very strange realm required the ability to visualize as much as possible in third person. Deciding on this approach felt very natural, as it solved all the problems instead of creating challenges.
[GdM] Venice Underground Known as one of the defining works of the New Weird movement.How would you describe New Weird today? How has it evolved since its first publication? Venice Underground 20 years ago?
[JV] Someone once said it was a moment that was more than just exercise, but likewise for most of us who were involved with The New Weird, the moment was just passing, engrossing and exhilarating. But we weren’t New Weird writers. Admittedly, I’ve bounced back and forth on how I feel about the term, and sometimes look skeptical to see new generations discovering and redefining the term without knowing its history. There was also But at the same time, more than most “movements,” the term “New Weird” still reveals a kind of instinctive yet intellectual approach to an unnamed and marginal place. I think it helps. Should I keep finding and losing names, or should I remain anonymous?
[GdM] Venice Underground Various forms of meerkats appear. When did your interest in meerkats begin? Does this relate to the etymological relationship between meerkats and your surname?
[JV] [laughs] No, it has nothing to do with my last name, which means “of the lake.” I was fascinated by esoteric mammals and loved their little community. But it was fun. Because when I first saw a picture of them without a wider context, I assumed they were 5 feet tall. In the middle of writing a novel, I saw a video and realized, “Oh, how tiny!” And that’s why Venice’s big genes are explained as biotechnology combined with genes from other animals. When the novel was first published, one reader referred to Venice as “the manor of Thor and the Meerkat”, which also irritated me a bit.
[GdM] How has your writing process evolved since the publication of Venice UndergroundIf you could give yourself one piece of writing advice early in your career, what would it be?
[JV] My advice to young people is this. Keep doing exactly what you are doing now. It’s just that I’ve always written things that are personal to me, things that I’m passionate about, and I wouldn’t write them any other way. Even if it was never published, I would still write. I have been very fortunate to find readers for books like Venice. After all, the book features the disembodied head of a wise meerkat superglued to a dinner plate. There must be many timelines where that kind of work doesn’t cost much.
[GdM] You are known as a passionate environmental activist and have been called “Strange Sorrow”. New Yorker magazine. You have restored a natural ecosystem to your backyard in Tallahassee, now with amazing biodiversity. What was the most surprising animal or plant you discovered at Vanderwild?
[JV] It’s great to see both gray and red foxes, but the amazing variety of insects was also great. We can’t keep track of all the bees, butterflies and wasps that live here right now. And it’s all because we’re planting so many native plants, each of which has evolved over millions of years to become not only a host for, but also sometimes food for, similarly independently evolved insects. It can also be. That’s what you lose when you clear cut an area, build on top of it, and then replace the existing habitat with common lawn and a few sheets of myrtle you buy at the hardware store.
[GdM] You obviously find a lot of inspiration in the infinite complexity of nature. Do you feel your connection and appreciation for nature influence your writing? If so, how?
[JV] When you’ve been surrounded by something your whole life and you feel like you’re part of it instead of being cut off, how do you analyze the impact? For the most part, I have always understood the intrinsic value and individuality of the inhuman in this world, but I have never understood how it can be countered in so many self-destructive ways. I don’t think so. This is the world, not the built environment of parking lots and shopping malls. When we give up thinking about how the world really works, we doom ourselves. So this is the one urgency that drives my novel, along with the strange fascination with how complex and amazing the Earth is, especially when you don’t destroy parts of it for no good reason. .
[GdM] we are very excited pardon, is the next and fourth entry in the Southern Reach series. Can you tell us something about this latest work?
[JV] Driven by how much we don’t know about the first three books of the Seance and the Science Brigade, Old Jim’s role in all of them, and previous covert biological missions unrelated to the South. , I’m letting it build organically and slowly. Upon reaching, a sudden awakening vision appeared of white rabbits appearing here and there on a forgotten shore 30 years before the border collapsed. That’s all I can really say at this point.
[GdM] How do you develop the concept of a new book? Do you tend to start with the world, the characters, or the overall theme?
[JV] Novice writers try to accumulate techniques so that they can write novels in as many different ways as possible. Stop and start many times to understand your process. I’m still very much committed to continuing my education as a writer these days, but the writing process has definitely changed, and I now spend a lot of time thinking about novels before I write them. Over time, I’ve learned that I used to write too early, but never too late. As a result, I tend to draft less, take notes and scene snippets, and know exactly when to start drafting in earnest. It is always about a character’s point of view tied to an initial situation or image or relationship to the landscape. However, you also need to know the ending, or approximate prediction, before you start.
[GdM] Do you have any news about the next TV animation adaptation? boneHow does the experience of adapting a book for television compare to the experience of adapting a feature film?
[JV] All I have to say is that the team at AMC and the people currently working on the Borne adaptation have been great and great progress has been made. This option has just been updated with some final pieces in place. But the treatment I’ve seen is incredibly true to the book while deviating in meaningful ways to the change of medium. I would love to share more, but for now this is all I can say.
Interview with John C. Mauro and Beth Tableler
Read “Venice Underground” by Jeff VanderMeer
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