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#Falling Neighbors A Most Peculiar Man by Simon & Garfunkel @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

This is a history of conspiracy theories centered on the United States, from the founding to the war on terror. It is highly disturbing, interesting and amusing, entertaining even, to see the lengths and mental acrobatics humans will go to in order to make sense of their world in a way which plays to their pre-established fears. While it‘s focused on the US, that‘s not to say that US culture produces more conspiracy theories than any other.

(2023) A small group of workers is isolated at a polar research station where nobody is doing research (or not *supposed* to be) and are given repetitive make-work tasks to pass the time. Then through a window they notice something in the snow. It's part Kafka and part VanderMeer, a touch of psychological thriller and existential angst, with a heavy dose of office satire. I liked it much.

I'm torn on this book. The pace is slow and it leaves the reader with more questions than answers. However, what this book did very well was create psychological drama in an isolated setting that left me feeling unsettled and made me keep reading because it kept me on edge. I did also like the satire about the workplace scenario. In the end though, I needed more answers to the slow build-up.

This feels like the essence of 21st-century labour distilled into a novel. It's about the absurdity of work & the grim, tedious Sisyphean nature of repetition & lack of meaning. The mood is like if you were laughing while screaming on the inside. It's like if The Office met The X-Files with a dash of Authority, the 2nd book from Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach trilogy. The slow ennui of psychosis & alienation. Full of dread! And so damn funny.

This book tried to be very cerebral....tackling subjects like the mundane nature of work, isolation, madness even. But as interesting as that sounds, nothing happens. At all. I like an open ending but there are no answers. I feel uneasy and disappointed after reading this one.

got about six inches of snow today. figured it‘d be perfect timing to start this #snow

An unsettling book about the worst kinds of ghosts -- those who take up residence in your mind through outside suggestion. A magnificent film also by Roman Polanski.
#SavvySettings #hauntedhouse @eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks