“Perhaps so many journals had piled up in the lighthouse because on some level most came, in time, to recognize the futility of language. Not just in Area X, but against the rightness of the lived-in moment, the instant of touch, of connection, and for which words were a sorrowful disappointment, so inadequate an expression of both the finite and infinite.”
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Again, Vandermeer created a very intense atmosphere of anticipation, which was excellent for this book. I loved how we got to see the rightness, and wrongness, of so many theories from books 1 and 2 through Saul and Gloria’s POVs. It was also extremely novel for this series for Vandermeer to change POV at all in the book. 

I enjoyed the second tense “you” for Gloria’s chapters. It created a sense of predetermination, like her actions and outcomes couldn’t have happened differently. It was interesting that Saul interpreted the beginning of his transformation as existential dread. I loved the way that Saul’s log entries evolved each time to reflect his changing state.

The way these characters read as authentic in an almost ridiculously unbelievable landscape is a testament to Vandermeer‘s authorship. Much of the time I thought about how we can never fully understand anything or anyone, but can constantly seek to be open to adjusting our interpretation of the world and people around us.

I had sort of guessed at the passage of time, but not the explanation for the difference. I appreciated that it ended with an uncertain/ambiguous ending, similar to Inception. We get to draw our own conclusions about the outcome. This series in general has been extremely thought-provoking and I’ve been glad of the experience. An excellent trilogy.