In “CODON,” Arreshy Young crafts a kaleidoscopic collection that defies easy categorization, blending elements of speculative fiction, philosophical meditation, and experimental prose into a dazzling if sometimes bewildering whole. Published in January 2025, this work pushes the boundaries of conventional storytelling while exploring themes of identity, transformation, and the intersection of biology with human consciousness.
The collection opens strongly with “Funeral Stories,” a series of interconnected vignettes that establish the book’s preoccupation with death, rebirth, and metamorphosis. Young’s prose here is richly textured, moving effortlessly between darkly comic scenarios (like a recipe for preparing “crudo” from live chicks), extracts of code that many readers will not be able to follow and more contemplative pieces examining the nature of God.
The book’s centrepiece is arguably “The Garden of Fire,” a complex meditation on genetics, identity, and social organization told through the lens of a fictional society called the Sanhadjans. Young introduces the concept of the “Ajami Private Diction” (AJPD), a kind of biological-linguistic inheritance that shapes individual destiny while allowing for endless mutation and variation. This section showcases Young’s ability to blend together scientific concepts with mythological and philosophical ideas, creating a unique way of examining human nature and society.
Throughout the collection, Young demonstrates a remarkable facility with different literary forms, and a very large vocabulary. “The Girls Guide to Ghost Fucking” provides a sardonic take on paranormal romance, while “The Stars in Middle Age” presents an intricate astrological system that serves as both cosmology and social commentary. The author’s range is impressive, though sometimes the rapid shifts in style and subject matter can be disorienting and one isn’t sure if humor is intended.
The writing itself is dense with allusion and wordplay, drawing on sources ranging from classical literature to Islamic mysticism to modern genetics. Young’s prose is challenging, often requiring multiple readings to fully grasp the layered meanings, but it rewards careful attention with striking insights and unexpected connections. The text unfolds like a genetic sequence, each segment encoding multiple potential meanings that express themselves differently depending on context. Young draws from an astonishing breadth of sources – Sufi mysticism sits comfortably alongside bacterial genetics, while Greek mythology interweaves with quantum physics.
However, this complexity can also be a liability. Some readers may find the book’s more experimental sections, with their nested narratives and shifting perspectives, difficult to follow. The dense network of references and allusions, while impressive, sometimes threatens to overwhelm the emotional core of the stories. The book’s structure mirrors its themes, with stories that split, recombine, and mutate like the genetic material they discuss. This approach is both ambitious and appropriate to the subject matter, though it may frustrate readers looking for more traditional stories.
Much like “House of Leaves”, “CODON” is not an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one. Young has created a unique literary hybrid that challenges our understanding. This is a book that demands engagement rather than passive reading, one that will likely reveal new shades of meaning with each return visit. While not for everyone, readers willing to embrace its complexity will find a work of startling originality that pushes the boundaries of what speculative fiction can achieve. Young has created something genuinely new here, and for that we applaud him.
You can buy “Codon” by Arreshy Young here!
