The acclaimed and bestselling author Jeff VanderMeer discusses new novel Hummingbird Salamander (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021), with Joseph Planta.

Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Hummingbird Salamander

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Jeff VanderMeer joins me now. The acclaimed author has just published a new novel, Hummingbird Salamander. It is a speculative thriller involving a dark conspiracy, endangered species, wildlife trafficking, and the end of the world. It is his long-awaited new novel following the success of his Southern Reach Trilogy which was comprised of Annihilation (that book was made into the 2018 film), Authority, and Acceptance. I’ll ask Jeff about the characters in the book, about the very near future we might encounter, as well as the urgency around us what with environmental catastrophe, climate change, and mass extinction. The book evokes paranoia and claustrophobia, as well as the Pacific Northwest. I’ll ask Mr. VanderMeer about this part of the world, and how familiar he is with the West Coast of the United States, and I’ll ask him about his home in Tallahassee, Florida, where he joined me from last week. Jeff VanderMeer is an acclaimed and bestselling author, and his book Borne, was added to the National Endowment of the Arts prestigious Big Reads program. His work has been compared to Jorge Luis Borges, Franz Kafka, and Henry David Thoreau. This new book has been optioned by Netflix. It is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Jeff VanderMeer; Mr. VanderMeer, good morning.

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