Kree: A Post-Exotic Novel

by Manuela Draeger, Lia Swope Mitchell (translator)

A warrior struggles through an apocalyptic landscape and the world after death  

Kree Toronto has been raised as a warrior in a ravaged postapocalyptic, posthuman world, the population decimated by wars and civilization long since collapsed. After her attempt to avenge the death of her dog, Loka, goes horribly wrong, Kree finds herself lost in a world after death and wanders into the city of the terrible mendicants.

Under the Brothers’ totalitarian rule, Kree can lead a quiet life and forget her violent past, even if needles grow in her skull and hallucinatory blood rains pour down now and then to remind her. She can make friends: a shamanic healer with a shaking tent, a mysterious stranger hatched from an egg, and a gruff Tibetan electrician in a world without electricity. And she can have her Loka, as long as she toes the Party line and does as she’s told. When she can’t—when her friends start to disappear and the Brothers turn against her—Kree sets out on a quest, searching for a new way forward.

Multiply reincarnated and unstuck in time, Kree is the characteristically marvelous creation of Manuela Draeger, whose extraordinary stories, in the words of author China Miéville, “are as close to dreams as fiction can be.”

Genres: Novels, Science Fiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Manuela Draeger is one of several pseudonyms used by the author Antoine Volodine (which is also a pseudonym).

She is a fictional character in his book "Minor Angles".

Books published under her name tend to be very short stories said by Antoine Volodine to be "related both to surrealist imagery and to British nonsense literature..."

Reviews

[endrju · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps one of the more approachable novels in the post-exotic universe of Antoin Volodin, Manuela Draeger, Lutz Bassmann and others. I'm always fascinated by the ways in which each of the post-exotic novel tries to invent means to talk about the breakdown of human civilization as it exists now, and I chuckle every time I see Marxist-Leninist Lamaism. Or, perhaps, the bardo of post-exoticism very precisely speaks of where are we at right now with its hallucinatory implosion of spacetime.

[Paul Dembina · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's post-exotic, what more can I say?

One aspect of these novels I really appreciate is the ambiguity between who is alive and who dead.

[Stefani Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are mine. Thank you Edelweiss and University of Minnesota Press!**

This book has to be one of the most confusing books I’ve ever read. So let’s start with the fact that the author’s name is a pseudonym. Manuela Draeger is a character in this author’s larger “post-exotic” world. So a character of this world is telling us a story within that world. I really loved that idea. And based on the synopsis I expected a story of a woman looking for revenge for what happened to her dog. Sort of like a combination of John Wick and Omega Man. I got what I expected but also an awful lot of stuff I didn’t expect. Also, the story uses the word “what” in a strange way. It is used interchangeably or “that”, “what”, “when” and several other words. I am not sure if this is an artifact of the language translation or is just part of the writing style. Regardless it was easy to overlook once you realize the pattern.

This book introduces us to Kree. She lives in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity exists only in little groupings of survivors. Someone steals her dog to eat and Kree goes to kill them for it. The revenge goes badly and so we follow Kree on a journey between being alive and unalive. We follow her as she is reincarnated into various locations and existences that may be a layer of the underworld or another reality altogether, and every time she dies she is reborn into another scenario in this eternal quest to find her dog.

This book was beautifully written. It is atmospheric and gritty. The writing style was quite unique and carried me along for the ride wonderfully. Even though the timeline can be very jarring the writing style made it easier to follow along. After awhile I got used to turning the page and all of a sudden we were in a completely different place and time with completely different characters. Turning the page and all of sudden we have people hatching out of eggs in the middle of a mass grave. Honestly, this book made me feel like it was a hallucination. Ultimately maybe that was the point. Kree’s afterlife is spent desperately searching for something she will never find, but she can’t stop searching. And so we, as the reader, search with her.

I was so torn with how to review this book. On one hand I wanted to give this book 2 stars and a mediocre review and never read anything from this world again. Because it was confusing. And I felt like a moron while reading. But on the other hand, it intrigued me so much that I want to give the book 5 stars and read everything else this world has to offer. So, I settled with 4 stars. Because this book is weird and confusing, but it’s also pretty amazing.

[Kiyomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is highly ambitious. Its focal point is its dark, dismal atmosphere. If you are looking for a book that makes sense, this book is not for you. If you don't mind trudging through the ash and clay of a decaying world (or perhaps several worlds) alongside a woman who is both living and dead, you may find this book to be an ideal companion. Kree has several ideological and abstract threads that connect its chapters and sections. These threads were not always satisfying to me because it didn't feel like there was anything substantial for the threads to string together. The characters are illusory by choice, their behaviors are animalistic, and their motivations are ephemeral. This book has the angry coherency of a fever dream. While I feel it is more ambitious than successful, I can appreciate the many paths Kree tried to take.

This book was provided to me courtesy of NetGalley.

[Jillian Marlowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kree is an abstract wander through a desolate wasteland left behind after a vaguely described apocalyptic war and environmental crisis. This is the kind of story that is going to connect to a particular kind of reader who enjoys a more abstract and atmospheric type of writing as opposed to the more traditional plot heavy and linear story telling. A lot of the best parts of this book are the descriptions of a dismal grey world that is strange in every conceivable way from the world we live in today. The story and characters are intentionally confusing and bizarre leaving readers disoriented and always guessing if what they are witnessing is real life, the after life, or something in between. It will leave you grappling for understanding both of the plot itself and any underlying themes and messages. The cast of characters are strange and sometimes off putting. The timeline jumps back and forth from life and into death. And none of the mysteries that it establishes are easily answered. Again I think this is the kind of book that people will either really love or really hate completely based on their reading preferences.

Unfortunately for me I am one of those readers who prefers a linear plot. I had an extremely hard time following where the story was going at any given point in time thanks to frequent perspective changes as well as a lot of traveling through different time points and sometimes dipping into environments that were likely hallucinations but never explicitly confirmed to be so. Add to that an open ended ending that honestly created more questions then it answered and I just couldn’t get invested in any of it. The writing style was also something I struggled with and I had to go back and forth through a couple of passages to get a handle on what was actually being written.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary eARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and given voluntarily

[Katie]

Kree Toronto is roaming around during a restless time, through apocalyptic type landscapes and among occasional survivors. We get her story in stark flashes and vignettes, unclear sometimes on the chronology.

I ultimately did not finish but made it 61% into the book. The writing is atmospheric, gritty, and each chapter seems to drop the reader somewhere new, at least between sections. Like Kree, it feels like we are kept off balance. I am confused about the use of the word "what" throughout this book; understanding that it was originally written in another language, I do wonder if something was lost in translation. The way the word is pervasively used, but not in a manner that makes sense, makes me feel like it's supposed to mean something else or indicate a dialect of some kind. Ultimately this wasn't for me but I could see those who enjoy cerebral and post apocalyptic stories with futurism enjoying this.

Thank you to University of Minnesota Press for an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book is due to be published 10/22/24.

[Beatrice Tibaldini · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark novel with dense atmospheres and a complex, chaotic plot. This is how *Kree* presents itself to the reader.

Personally, I find that novels like this are captivating when well-crafted, and their intricate plot, with ample room for the inherent chaos of hazy descriptions, is perfect for drawing the reader into the pages. For this book in particular, I believe the work done was masterful. There's a constant tension and a detailed world-building effort that makes the atmosphere unique. I found it very enjoyable, suitable for readers who like to be carried away by sensations without necessarily needing a linear plot in front of them.

[claerysa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and University of Minnesota Press for the arc!

Unfortunately couldn’t finish this one. I tried so hard but it was way to confusing, the way the word „what“ was used really confused me. I’m not a native english speaker or reader but I do pride myself on being quite advanced when it comes to understanding the language and being able to follow the story and understanding everything. This book made me feel really stupid.

What I did understand I found really interesting and would’ve loved to know more. Unfortunately my brain could not follow.

[Demailly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pseudo de Volodine .
Un univers totalement original et totalement glauque. Les derniers êtres humains s'efforcent de continuer à exister dans un décor postapocalytique, sans savoir s'ils sont encore vivants ou déjà morts, entre amitiés, cauchemars, croyances chamaniques, totalitarisme communiste.....

[kingboycar · Rating 3 out of 5]

[received an advanced copy from netgalley and university of minnesota press, thank you!]

very dense world-building done in a very approachable way--like taking a small peek into a large, uncomprehensible world! written very beautifully, i'd like to see more of this author's work in the future. 3/5 stars.

[Venneh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a weird one, and unfortunately, it didn't quite hit for me. If you would just like some straight up bad post apocalyptic dystopia vibes, this is for you. Unfortunately I just couldn't follow what was happening a solid 60% of the time I read this, and the remaining 30% wasn't enough to hook me. Better try next time?

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting novel. The world building is great, the characters super interesting in a post apocalyptic world. It’s is pretty bleak, I really enjoyed the author’s writing. Will be checking out more of their books. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

[roan ⟡₊⋆∘ ⊹ · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was… interesting to say the very least. i went into this completely blind so i really didn’t know what to expect. the non linear plot line was not the most ideal for me and maybe the concept was a little bit much. there wasn’t enough solid material for me to grasp but maybe this is the perfect book for someone else. i just didn’t connect with anything and felt really dumb by the end of it.

forever grateful for the arc as always -

[Night · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like this before. Loved the world building. This immersive fantasy novel will take you on one hell of a ride.

[Caroline Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, chilling, and more than a little confusing. There doesn’t seem to be a transition or break between when she’s trying to punish the people that killed her dog and when she’s captured.

[Flibberflopje · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was weird.