Asked explicitly about this hypothesis, as well as about other forms of interpretation of the text, the author offers answers that deepen the mystery rather than elucidate it. There are opinions stating that the novel is an allegory having as a starting point the problem of genetic mutations that occurred as a result of the widespread use of pesticides in soybean crops. It’s just that after it passes, you can only wonder: what was that? Half of the book I frowned, waiting for it to begin and for me to understand what’s all about, and the other half I waited for the ordeal (mine and the characters’) to end. It “comes and goes” as David obsessively repeats, referring to fever and pain. The book is very small (125 pages, pocket format), so it can be read in one breath, which is also recommended. Strange characters are passing in the dizzying scene, all of them being seen through the dying woman’s eyes: Nina – Amanda’s little girl, to whom she always refers by a “safe distance” – this is the title of the book in Spanish – „Distancia de rescate” Carla – David’s mother, Omar – Carla’s husband, the healer woman who has 7 grown-up sons, sick children etc. David seems to know when the woman will die and, if you still don’t find this story dizzying, add a plush toy in the form of a mole, dead horses, ducks buried alive, 28 graves, disabled children etc., and tell me if you changed your mind. The whole book is a dialogue between these two characters, in an attempt to find out the exact moment when the worms entered the body – these are a symbol of the poison which intoxicated Amanda. He had gone through an experience similar to Amanda’s and, in order to stay alive, the woman living in the green colored house had managed to transfer part of his soul into another body. On a hospital bed, Amanda lives the last moments of her life, with the strange boy, David. You can only say goodbye to logic and sink …

I look for my words and I can’t find them because Samanta’s dream is, rather, a delirium, which pulls you out of normalcy without notice and without giving you a final explanation for what you went through. At the moment, the writer lives in Berlin. In 2018, Samanta Schweblin published her second novel, “Kentukis”. “Fever Dream”, her first novel, won the Tigre Juan Award (2015) and it was nominated for the Man Booker International Award (2017). She is the author of three award-winning short stories volumes, including the prestigious Juan Rulfo Story Prize, the volumes being published in over 20 languages. That’s how I came to Samanta Schweblin and her “Fever Dream.”Īccording to Samanta Schweblin’s author profile from Goodreads platform, the young Argentinian writer, born in 1978, was chosen among the best 22 Spanish-language writers under the age of 35, by Granta magazine. Lately, I have paid special attention to the debut novels of contemporary writers belonging to different cultures, novels that bring into question a variety of themes.

Fever dream by samanta schweblin