Movies based on novels can be a hit or miss, depending on how much the director sticks to the actual content of the book. In the case of Jeff Vandermeer’s novel Annihilation, the movie was a complete misrepresentation of the actual events that occur in the fictional Southern Reach setting. Due to Friday night boredom, I came across Alex Garland’s interpretation film of the same name. If I can be completely honest, I only skimmed through to the interesting sci-fi parts of the movie because it was quite confusing. However, the film is loosely based on Vandermeer’s novel and only transfers the characters and the setting onto the silver screen, but not the plot. The novel does not baby the reader with obvious clues and exposition that allows a clear understanding of what’s going on. Instead, it gives us the same amount of information and understanding that the main protagonist has. The contaminated environment, referred to as Area X or the Southern Reach, is meant to remain mysterious with possibly no answers. Personally, the lack of information is what makes this novel intriguing and oddly satisfying because maybe some things are better left unsolved.
Long story short, Annihilation follows an unnamed biologist who enters a contaminated zone called Area X with a team of highly trained strangers. Their mission is to find out what’s causing this contagion that has changed the natural into something unnatural. One example of this happens when the Biologist comes across a dolphin swimming inland with human-like eyes. Unfortunately, after being contaminated by a specialized type of pollen, the Biologist begins to uncover the truth behind their mission and whatever is causing this contamination. The environment has a negative effect on everyone and immediately starts to impact how the rest of the team sees the world around them. After becoming mentally unstable, each member falls into a state of confusion that leads to their inevitable demise. Despite the purpose of the mission, the Biologist remains in line with reality (if you can really call anything in this novel reality) and decides to find her own answers to both the Southern Reach and her past.
The people that I’ve talked to have mentioned either a strong like or dislike towards this book. It’s truthfully easy to read, but you need to rely on your imagination and not overthink the details in order to enjoy it. Almost no questions are answered in the book and the progress of finding out what caused Area X remains a mystery. Yet, it is a completely satisfying book because it gives you quite a bit of evidence, but leaves you with the conclusion that maybe whatever is happening is happening for a reason. The Biologist mentions how the ‘normal’ world is full of pollution, while the contaminated environment is cleaner and full of life. Perhaps the Southern Reach is extraterrestrial, man-made, or maybe it’s just mother nature trying to reset the world one square inch at a time. Although there is no definitive answer, you can decide which one you want it to be, but it doesn’t change the issue to find a preventative action against the contamination’s progress.
Putting aside the characters and politics within the novel, Vandermeer connects the reader to an immense new unnatural world. Despite the high populations of wildlife, the setting acts as a direct opposite to the polluted world that exists in the setting. Above everything else, I had to find a tea that would connect with this wilderness factor while also representing a rejuvenation of both the environment and the novel’s originality. Green tea with plenty of floral elements came to mind, specifically in the form of a tea called Delicious Detox. Unlike most detox teas (that I’ve tried), the flavour is not overpowering and is also incredibly light. This tea is perfect to enjoy because of its refreshing ingredients of lemon verbena, ginger, lemon myrtle, apple bits, and calendula petals. The distinctive tastes lie primarily in the lemon and calendula petals, which seems odd when you realize how strong ginger is. The smell is a little deceiving because it just comes off as a straight green tea, so don’t second guess your decision to buy some if you’re smelling it at a tea shop. The best way I can describe this tea is how natural it tastes due to the light flavours that don’t come off as artificial. Steeping it longer will also not increase the strength of the flavour. Since it’s a green tea, and one without an intense amount of heavy ingredients, only steep it for 1-3 minutes, any longer than that and you’re just wasting the opportunity to remake another cup of tea with the same leaves. Just like the refreshing taste of the tea, Annihilation provides a revitalizing interpretation of a science-fiction novel that remains grounded (pun intended) in observation and experimentation. Many novels out there forget that sometimes the stories should be at least partially left up to the reader’s interpretation. When you pick up Vandermeer’s novel prepare to detox yourself from what you think you know about sci-fi books because this one will leave you wanting more.
Tea Literature 