Blog #13 - Fever Dream
Reading Fever Dream, written by Samanta Schweblin, felt just like that… a fever dream.
I ended up listening to this book through Audible last week. had a long 4 hour round trip to Abbotsford and back and felt that it was an ideal time to multitask and finish the last book of the course. But just a few short minutes in I realized I was in for an unnerving listen.
When I first read this novel, I felt as though I was reading a novel set in some dystopian world with unusual rules. There was so much unclarity and anxiety, and the intense and drastic description of what the children in this novel look like made me feel as though it could not exist in this world. The fear that Carla had of David left me feeling startled… and the anxiety-provoking chapters left me waiting for some sort of explosion. It felt as though I was waiting for this explosion, or for some sort of resolution or relief for the entirety of the book, and I was left feeling shaken up when I didn’t get that release of emotions through some sort of answer.
As I was listening to the novel, I found myself trying to piece together the what’s and how’s. Through my pretty weak detective skills, I thought I had solved the mystery of the “worms” Carla said that she always wanted a daughter… she poisoned Amanda so that she could take Nina for herself… Carla was missing her child because David was really dead and talking to Amanda in the afterlife… Well, I tried.
After listening to Jon’s lecture, and understanding the actual context of the novel and that it is based on environmental concerns in South America, it really shed a new light and understanding on the novel. How ignorant of me to think that something this terrible could only happen in a distant universe.
Out of all of the books read this semester, this was definitely my favourite… I felt as though I was Amanda, feeling the emotions and confusion as she tried to piece together her reality by playing by David’s rules of the game. Of all the games I’ve played this semester, and the rules I’ve learned, this one really had me.
My question for discussion: Where did your imagination go when reading this story? Did you pick up on the clues that the cause of the “worms” were related to the environment, or did you think there was a more sinister power at play?
I am intrigued by your experience of listening to this novel, since it has a strong dialogical component. Perhaps it is the best way to know this story... even if it is the most disturbing. Do not be afraid to propose hypotheses about what happened in the plot, in fact I thank you for sharing them with all of us. :) "The intense and drastic description of what the children in this novel look like made me feel as though it could not exist in this world." This sentence is very interesting. It seems that the author has been inspired by unfortunately everyday events in Argentina to write this text. She maybe found a way to tell us about those "sinister powers at play" in her country. Isn't reality more threatening than we think?
ReplyDeleteHi Cadence! I loved your blog post and I sympathize a lot with how you felt throughout the novel because I felt the same way too. To answer your question, my mind was a jumble when reading it. There was so much and yet so little going on, that I didn’t really imagine much. I feel like I felt more then I pictured. I didn’t pick up on the worms being related to the environment right away but after some time, it kind of clicked. I thought the worms had to have some importance just because they were mentioned right from the start.
ReplyDeleteHey Cadence, this book was one of my favourites from this course too! I agree that I felt as if I was right there with Amanda through it all. I personally developed a theory that David was actually partially a ghost, and thats why Amanda was able to talk to him right before she was about to die, and that the other half of David is in his real body. So a lot of times when Carla is freaking out, she actually sees the other half of David, which is a ghost. I think I also caught the feeling that a more sinister power was at play as opposed to the scientifically backed reason, but I also think that that was an intentional choice by the author, and overall really adds depth and complexity to her storytelling.
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