Antkind by Charlie Kaufman

Antkind by Charlie Kaufman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Phew this was a tough one to read and honestly I am going to confess I haven't finished it... but I have a promise to keep to talk about it... it's publishing soon (I am posting this about two weeks prior).

It took me two months to get past the first two chapters. Seriously. Two weeks to read about a bug getting squashed (or was it a drone) on a windshield. Then after that things really kicked into gear. And the gears directed me into a rabbit hole. A complex, swirling rabbit hole of the main character. It's really really good y'all.  Don't let the length, the complexity or that it's weird scare you off... it's really good.  I am relishing in it. 

Charlie Kaufman really loves his words. In this 720 page tome not a single complex word is wasted. Seriously. To me not a one. Wowza. That is valuable. I have loved it. The challenge of getting past those first two chapters, the challenge of learning a new pronoun, the challenge of seeing the film that is the center of this book.

Yes this is how twisty and complex this is. Charlie Kaufman's gauntlet has been thrown down and it's a joy to accept the challenge. I don't think Charlie Kaufman looks at the reader as the enemy that the knight might, but definitely is challenging the reader.

I have seen it said that this is an absurdist fantasy. But it is the connection to Charlie Kaufman and his mind that makes this less fantasy but absurdist for sure. Keep in mind the calculated deeper message Charlie Kaufman always has. This is a book about a deep love of the genre of "film" and how we get to that point is part of the journey... the fantastical, wordy, charming and imaginative journey.

Not an easy read, but one that I am very seriously enjoying as I am moving along.


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