Genre: Horror, Magical Realism
Author: Samanta Shweblin
Translators: Megan McDowell, Ruth Sepp (Afterword)
Year published: 2017 (English translation)
TWs: Child endangerment, Illness, Death
Rating: 3.5/5
Have you ever woken from a nightmare with your heart racing, unsure of what was real? That’s what reading ‘Fever Dream’ by Samanta Schweblin feels like. This short Argentinian novel traps you in its pages from the moment you pick it up and never lets you go. It’s haunting, surreal, and deeply unsettling…which makes it exactly my kind of book!
“There’s something like mutual fascination between us, and also at times, brief moments of repulsion; I can feel them in very specific situations.”
Synopsis
The story opens with Amanda lying in a rural clinic, unable to move. A young boy named David sits beside her, urging her to remember how she ended up there. He’s not her son, yet the two share a strange, intense connection. Through their dialogue, we piece together fragments of Amanda’s recent trip to the countryside with her daughter, Nina, and her encounter with her neighbor, Carla.
Carla’s son, David, once became ill after drinking poisoned water. In a desperate attempt to save him, Carla sought help from a local healer who performed a mysterious ritual that left the boy somehow different, distant. When Amanda learns this story, she becomes fixated on protecting Nina from the same invisible threat spreading through the area, one linked to the water, the animals, and maybe something more sinister.
“The sheets are rough, they bunch up under my body. I can’t move, but I’m talking.”
My Thoughts
I’ll start by saying that ‘Fever Dream’ is unlike anything I’ve ever read. Schweblin creates a pervading sense of dread using only two voices and very few details. There’s no traditional plot or structure; it feels more like being pulled into someone’s hallucination which I think was both: the novel’s greatest strength and its biggest weakness.
The writing, translated beautifully by Megan McDowell**,** is beautifully rhythmic, mirroring Amanda’s growing panic. The dialogue is filled with urgency; David pushes for answers while Amanda struggles to hold on to her clarity. This constant back-and-forth kept me on edge, though it also made me crave a pause or a bit of context.
This is absolutely a book to read in one sitting. The tension builds gradually and uninterrupted, and if you step away from it, the spell breaks. Immersing myself completely made the experience a lot more enjoyable.
I also loved how the book captures the terror of parenthood, the helplessness of not being able to protect your child from unseen dangers. Schweblin uses environmental poisoning as a backdrop, hinting at Argentina’s real-world pesticide crisis without ever naming it outright which added a subtle but interesting political angle to the novel.
That being said, I will admit that this book also frustrated me at times. Its vagueness, while purposeful, was sometimes a little confusing to keep up with. I wanted some more emotional grounding or more explanation to hold on to the story. There were moments when the dialogue started looping, and I got lost in the different voices overlapping in the book, making me drift off a bit.
Overall, though, if you’re looking for a truly unique book that will both fascinate and completely baffle you, this Argentine read is definitely one I would recommend!
Happy Reading!
About the Author
Samanta Schweblin was born in Buenos Aires and is widely regarded as one of Argentina’s most original literary voices. Her short story collections, ‘Mouthful of Birds’ and ‘Seven Empty Houses’, have earned international acclaim for their blend of realism and nightmare. ‘Fever Dream’ (Distancia de rescate in Spanish) was her debut novel and was nominated for the International Booker Prize in 2017. Schweblin now lives in Berlin, where she continues to write fiction.
Find more on her Goodreads page!
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