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Fever Dream: A Novel Hardcover – January 10, 2017

by Samanta Schweblin (Author), Megan McDowell (Translator)

3.8 2,227 ratings

Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

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"Genius." —Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker

"Samanta Schweblin’s electric story reads like a Fever Dream." —Vanity Fair

Shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize!

Experience the blazing, surreal sensation of a fever dream...

A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic. A boy named David sits beside her. She’s not his mother. He's not her child. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family.

Fever Dream is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story and a cautionary tale. One of the freshest new voices to come out of the Spanish language and translated into English for the first time, Samanta Schweblin creates an aura of strange psychological menace and otherworldly reality in this absorbing, unsettling, taut novel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“To call Schweblin’s novella eerie and hallucinatory is only to gesture at its compact power; the fantastical here simply dilates a reality we begin to accept as terrifying and true.... Schweblin’s book is suffused with haunting images and big questions.” —New York Times Book Review

"Samanta Schweblin’s electric story reads like a Fever Dream.” —Vanity Fair

“I picked up Fever Dream in the wee hours, and a low, sick thrill took hold of me as I read it. I was checking the locks in my apartment by page thirty. By the time I finished the book, I couldn’t bring myself to look out the windows…. [T]he genius of Fever Dream is less in what it says than in how Schweblin says it, with a design at once so enigmatic and so disciplined that the book feels as if it belongs to a new literary genre altogether.” —Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker

"A nauseous, eerie read, sickeningly good." —Emma Cline, The Girls

"Subtle, dreamy and indelibly creepy." —The Economist (Best Books of 2017)

“Never have I ever been so afraid to read a book right before bed” —Marie Claire

“A spare, hypnotic literary page-turner.” —O, the Oprah Magazine

“Mesmerizing... Schweblin, though, is an artist of remarkable restraint… Schweblin renders psychological trauma with such alacrity that the conceit of a poisoned environment feels almost beside the point.” —Washington Post

“This small debut novel packs a mighty, and lingering, punch.... [A] compact, but explosive, package. Schweblin delivers a skin-prickling masterclass in dread and suspense.... With virtuoso skill, well served in Megan McDowell’s finely textured translation, Schweblin fuses a study in maternal anxiety with an ecological horror story. She refracts both strands through the eerie prism of her narrative, almost as if Henry James had scripted a disaster movie about toxic agribusiness." —The Economist

“Elusiveness takes a terrifyingly creepy form in this dazzling short novel.” —NPR

"Unsettling... [T]he novel represents a perfect marriage of form and subject, in which its narrative instability — which is so of the literary moment — viscerally recreates the insecurities of life in the Argentine countryside today.... [Schweblin] has found ways to electrify and destabilize the physical world... [Fever Dream is] the scariest of all things: a ghost story that is, in essence, true." —Los Angeles Times

“It’s rare for a book to do exactly what its title says it will do without any caveats or reservations. It’s even more rare for a book to achieve the kind of woozy, elliptical, intimate horror implied by a title like Fever Dream. But this debut novel by Argentinian short story writer Samanta Schweblin — translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell — does exactly that.... Fever Dream is a novel stripped down to its barest elements, all dialogue and atmosphere, and working with only those elements, it manages to create an authentic nightmare… If you’re after creeping, insidious, psychologically compelling horror, then you won’t do better.” —Vox

“An absorbing and inventive tale... Schweblin is a fine mythmaker, singular in her own fantastical artistry.” —Houston Chronicle

"Mesmerizing, frightening... Schweblin's writing, translated from the original Spanish by Megan McDowell, is sparse, precise, but full of looming disquiet. It's an astonishing work from the Latin American author." —Broadly

“A remarkable accomplishment in literary suspense.” —New York Journal of Books

“If you want to read something that terrifies you and upsets you, and makes you feel like you’re going crazy, yet also makes you feel like you can’t put it down and you never want it to end because you love it so much, this is the book for you… It’s some of the most compelling, fantastic writing I’ve ever read!” —BookRiot

“This is a weird hallucination of a book—reading it feels like an experience, like something that happens to you, as infectious and mysterious and unstoppable and possibly magical as the disease that powers its plot.” —LitHub

“Fever Dream is worth reading for its inventiveness alone. Schweblin gives us memorable characters and a haunting parable, all in fewer than 200 short pages.” —Huffington Post

"A taut, exquisite page-turner vibrating with existential distress and cumulative dread.... While the book resides in the realm of the uncanny, its concerns are all too real. Once the top blows off Schweblin’s chest of horrors, into which we’d been peeking through a masterfully manipulated crack, what remains is an unsettling and significant dissection of maternal love and fear, of the devastation we’ve left to the future, and of our inability to escape or control the unseen and unimagined threats all around us. In a literary thriller of the highest order, Schweblin teases out the underlying anxieties of being vulnerable and loving vulnerable creatures and of being an inhabitant of a planet with an increasingly uncertain future." —Kirkus, STARRED review

“[A] pulsating debut…Schweblin guides her reader through a nightmare scenario with amazing skill.” —Publishers Weekly

“The unique style, the quick paced rhythm and the amazingly wise and compact storytelling create a special novel that will stay in your mind long after you put this book down.” —Etgar Keret, author of The Seven Good Years

“Samanta Schweblin is a magician, and reading her work is an intense, almost physical experience. This mind-bending book sheds new light—or, rather, new darkness—on the intense power of love in a poisoned world. You must read it. Prepare to be mesmerized, riveted, terrified, and changed.” —Helen Phillips, author of The Beautiful Bureaucrat

“A wonderful nightmare of a book: tender and frightening, disturbing but compassionate. Fever Dream is a triumph of Schweblin’s outlandish imagination.”
–Juan Gábriel Vasquez, author of The Sound of Things Falling and Reputations

“Fever Dream is a small masterpiece, a beautiful and chillingly contemporary book. Every word throbs a kind of wisdom that can only come from a meticulous and fully engaged observation of reality.” —Alejandro Zambra, author of Multiple Choice and My Documents

“Samanta Schweblin will injure you, however safe you may feel.” —Jesse Ball, author of A Cure for Suicide and How to Set a Fire and Why

“Samanta Schweblin is one of the most promising voices in modern literature.” —Mario Vargas Llosa

“She has a unique, inventive voice, and her stories have this ability to veer off into strange and unexpected territories with sublime grace. I admire and envy this gift.” —Daniel Alarcón, author of At Night We Walk in Circles

“In spare, lucid prose, Schweblin demonstrates again and again that she knows the weight of what is left unsaid in the comings and goings of everyday life. Then, in the turn of a phrase, she forces the reader to shift perspective; she has a gift for sketching comfortable worlds and then disrupting them with images of dark, startling power.” —Electric Literature

About the Author

Samanta Schweblinwas chosen as one of the 22 best writers in Spanish under the age of 35 by Granta. She is the author of three story collections that have won numerous awards, including the prestigious Juan Rulfo Story Prize, and been translated into 20 languages. Fever Dream is her first novel and is longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize. Originally from Buenos Aires, she lives in Berlin.

Megan McDowell has translated books by many contemporary South American and Spanish authors, and her translations have been published in The New Yorker, Harper's, The Paris Review, McSweeney's, Words Without Borders, and Vice, among other publications. She lives in Chile.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

They’re like worms.

What kind of worms?

Like worms, all over.

It’s the boy who’s talking, murmuring into my ear.

I am the one asking questions.

Worms in the body?

Yes, in the body.

Earthworms?

No, another kind of worms.

It’s dark and I can’t see. The sheets are rough, they bunch up under my body. I can’t move, but I’m talking.

It’s the worms. You have to be patient and wait. And while we wait, we have to find the exact moment when the worms come into being.

Why?

Because it’s important, it’s very important for us all.

I try to nod, but my body doesn’t respond.

What else is happening in the yard outside the house? Am I in the yard?

No, you’re not, but Carla, your mother, is. I met her a few days ago, when we first got to the vacation house.

What is Carla doing?

She finishes her coffee and leaves the mug in the grass, next to her lounge chair.

What else?

She gets up and walks away. She’s forgetting her sandals, which are a few feet away on the pool steps, but I don’t say anything.

Why not?

Because I want to wait and see what she does.

And what does she do?

She slings her purse over her shoulder and walks toward the car in her gold bikini. There’s something like mutual fascination between us, and also at times, brief moments of repulsion; I can feel them in very specific situations. Are you sure these kinds of comments are necessary? Do we have time for this?

Your observations are very important. Why are you in the yard?

Because we’ve just gotten back from the lake, and your mother doesn’t want to come into my house.

She wants to save you any trouble.

What kind of trouble? I have to go inside anyway, first for some iced tea with lemon, then for the sunscreen. That doesn’t seem like she’s saving me any trouble.

Why did you go to the lake?

She wanted me to teach her how to drive, she said she’d always wanted to learn. But once we were at the lake, neither of us had the patience for it.

What is she doing now, in the yard?

She opens the door of my car, gets into the driver’sseat, and digs around in her purse for a while. I swing my legs down off the lounge chair and wait. It’s so hot. Then Carla gets tired of rummaging around, and she grips the steering wheel with both hands. She stays like that for a moment, looking toward the gate, or maybe toward her own house, far beyond the gate.

What else? Why are you quiet?

It’s just, I’m stuck. I can see the story perfectly, but sometimes it’s hard to move forward. Is it becauseof the nurses’ injections?

No.

But I’m going to die in a few hours. That’s going tohappen, isn’t it? It’s strange how calm I am. Because even though you haven’t told me, I know. And still, it’s an impossible thing to tell yourself.

None of this is important. We’re wasting time.

But it’s true, right? That I’m going to die.

What else is happening in the yard?

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Riverhead Books; First Edition (January 10, 2017)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0399184597
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0399184598
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.38 x 0.87 x 7.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,009,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,483 in Psychological Fiction (Books)
- #32,416 in Horror Literature & Fiction
- #46,690 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
3.8 2,227 ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging and thought-provoking. They praise its creativity, uniqueness, and emotional impact. However, opinions differ on the horror story. Some find it frightening and real, while others feel the tale is pretty horrific. There are mixed reviews on the writing quality - some find it adequate and clear, while others find it unclear and confusing.

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Readability Thought provoking Creativity Emotional impact Horror story Writing quality Pacing Shortness

42 customers mention "Readability"30 positive12 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They find it a quick, entertaining read that deserves their time. The author, translator, and narrator are praised for their work.

"Brilliant, concise. Woman and child, from any big city (but probably Buenos Aires), arrive at a vacation house along a river...." Read more

"...It deserves your time for that reason alone...." Read more

"...and it shows here in her first novel: there is not a word wasted, not a moment to lose, and its headlong crash towards its chilling..." Read more

"...The atmosphere was perfectly done throughout this and is best read in one sitting...." Read more

16 customers mention "Thought provoking"16 positive0 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and intriguing. They describe it as an allegory that keeps them on edge with its excellent prose and surreal moments. The book is described as powerful, frightening at times, and a dark, visceral read with some surreal moments surrounding the transmigration of the soul.

"...While I applaud the author's concerns, choice of topic, and even her radical approach to storytelling, Fever Dream comes across as much more fever..." Read more

"...Lastly, there were some surreal moments surrounding the transmigration of the soul...." Read more

"...They are certainly not specific to Argentina. The book is allegorical, intended or not. The enemy is unclear, as is the nature of the disaster...." Read more

"...Mind boggling. I would have given this book 5 stars but the ending was ... OUCH!" Read more

10 customers mention "Creativity"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book creative and unique. They appreciate the cleverness and original themes. The craft is compelling and smart, making it a gripping and original allegory of our times.

"...Cleverness, even creativity, both of which this book clearly has, does not guarantee a great work of art...." Read more

"...Very unique! I've added a few of her other books to my wishlist because i enjoyed this SO much...." Read more

"Kudos to the author of one of the most unique books I have ever read. Mind boggling...." Read more

"...The craft is compelling and smart." Read more

5 customers mention "Emotional impact"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book emotionally impactful. They describe it as visceral, immersive, and imaginative.

"...For being such a short read it had a powerful emotional impact on me and I definitely look forward to reading more of Schweblin’s work in the future." Read more

"...The translation is fluid and comfortable, though I did trip over a transliteration of compromiso as compromise, when I thought it should have..." Read more

"When you sit down to read this get comfortable, be ready to read with no interruptions, no bathroom breaks, getting up to refill your coffee, nothing..." Read more

"Radically subjective, this novel is immersive and incredibly imaginative. I loved reading it." Read more

38 customers mention "Horror story"23 positive15 negative

Customers have different views on the horror story. Some find it compelling and engaging, with an unexpected storyline full of dread. Others describe it as disturbing and disturbing, with a troubling conclusion. Overall, the story has a mixed reception from readers.

"...adequate prose, this novella's real achievement is the creeping dread with which it builds, and the truly dreamlike structure of the narrative...." Read more

"...Reading the first half was more annoying than edifying, what with trying to figure out who was speaking, what their relationship was, how many..." Read more

"...I don't want to say a lot of negative because of this. The story was cohesive, and got you successfully from point a to point b in a satisfactory way..." Read more

"...A dreamlike cautionary tale." Read more

35 customers mention "Writing quality"21 positive14 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality. Some find it adequate and interesting, with good narration. Others feel the story is confusing and unclear, leaving them unsatisfied.

"...Every genre, even horror, has great writers. The resources of our world have largely been destroyed. No where to hide...." Read more

"Written with adequate prose, this novella's real achievement is the creeping dread with which it builds, and the truly dreamlike structure of the..." Read more

"...will be a very fast read,and then I started reading, and instantly became confused. What is this, who are these discombobulated people?..." Read more

"...subject of environmental pollution is an important one and the author's approach, that of giving voice to its victims, should be a powerful one...." Read more

13 customers mention "Pacing"8 positive5 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing. Some find it fast-paced and engaging, while others mention bizarre sequences and chaotic dialogue. The middle part is described as convoluted and confusing.

"...I highly recommend it. good book and a quick read." Read more

"dark, odd, and unclear if it makes any sense" Read more

"...and unique, definitely something different which is a nice change of pace." Read more

"One of those quick page turners that you just can’t put down. Literally a fever dream." Read more

10 customers mention "Shortness"5 positive5 negative

Customers have different views on the book's length. Some find it a short novella set in an emergency room, while others consider it too short with only 182 pages.

"This novel is aptly titled...." Read more

"...Thankfully this is a very short book...." Read more

"A short novel (more novella) in dialog, set in an emergency room not far from a rural town where one of the two speakers had gone earlier for a..." Read more

"When I looked at this book, really looked at it, I saw a small book, only 182 pages...." Read more

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moth
Short, fictional, Ruined World version of Blowout.
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2020
Verified Purchase

Brilliant, concise. Woman and child, from any big city (but probably Buenos Aires), arrive at a vacation house along a river. Husband will join them for the weekend. Neighbor wearing a gold bikini brings them a bucket of water, says not to drink the tap water; it smells bad. But they already have, just a little when they arrived thirsty.

Every genre, even horror, has great writers.

The resources of our world have largely been destroyed. No where to hide. Fictional version of Blowout by Rachel Maddow.

As I go into Month 5 of coronavirus lockdown, hidden away in the desert like one of a friend's rescue dogs, lines from Fever Dreams surface. Pay attention. Things that look like nothing (sitting on damp grass) are important. My friend's desperate need for social interaction. Okay, she is invested in being kind but why is Friend in our tiny Post Office lobby talking to the one man in town who tested positive for the virus? Why does his mask not cover his nose? He says masks are to block sputum from spraying. But the disease gets into the vascular system through the lungs, air going in and out through nose and mouth. Has she contracted the disease? Will she bring it home? She and I are wearing masks. Is that enough? Is my throat a little sore? My pandemic mantra is that I am safe and have a roof over my head. The second half is true. Is the woman in the book hallucinating her mother and son friends? Am I hallucinating the danger? Is neighbor downplaying the danger so he can go inside the Post Office and the Store? We had to do a 14 day self-quarantine when I returned from overseas, driven back from a country that didn't have much of a problem then and has a huge problem now. Did he? My friend in Belarus saying a huge number of children have birth defects from Chernobyl. Chernobyl is fuming again but wasn't when I was there.

Planetary pandemics. The places I paid for but now cannot get to. The crazy college kids who went to Mexico anyway. Death. Long term medical conditions. Student who tested positive but has no symptoms so he doesn't care. My lost travel deposits and purchases. Collapsed businesses, lost jobs, corruption. Suddenly the best you can hope for is to be safe and have a roof over your head.

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alex
Lives up to its title
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2017
Verified Purchase
Written with adequate prose, this novella's real achievement is the creeping dread with which it builds, and the truly dreamlike structure of the narrative. I found myself physically affected by the experience, no small feat, and something I could say about only a small handful of other works. It deserves your time for that reason alone. $13 for the Kindle edition is kind of steep for a read this short, but I found the experience worth the price.

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4 people found this helpful

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mrthinkndrink
An interesting work. Not great, not compelling, but interesting.
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2017
Verified Purchase
Not quite as stellar as the reviewers would have you believe. Thankfully this is a very short book. Reading the first half was more annoying than edifying, what with trying to figure out who was speaking, what their relationship was, how many speakers were involved and why we should care. Once you're able to sort all that out -- and as you get further into it -- the book becomes, hmm . . . sort of interesting. The subject of environmental pollution is an important one and the author's approach, that of giving voice to its victims, should be a powerful one. Unfortunately, this work seldom veers much beyond curiosity. Cleverness, even creativity, both of which this book clearly has, does not guarantee a great work of art. While I applaud the author's concerns, choice of topic, and even her radical approach to storytelling, Fever Dream comes across as much more fever than dream.

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4 people found this helpful

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prisrob
Rescue Distance
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2017
Verified Purchase
When I looked at this book, really looked at it, I saw a small book, only 182 pages. I thought this will be a very fast read,and then I started reading, and instantly became confused. What is this, who are these discombobulated people? I went back and started reading again. This is a book like no other, the blurb tells us, but who is to believe book blurbs? I am telling you, start out slowly, and savour the words.

Amanda, whose story this is to tell, is dying in an Argentinian emergency clinic. She is talking with David, who at times takes over the conversation. .What we surmise is that Amanda has come in contact with some sort of poison, toxin, maybe. In her fever dreams we meet Nina, Carla, the father, the husband, the horses, the lives gone by. What we are left with is the reason, and then we each have our own conclusions.

What is apparent very quickly, is that the term 'Rescue distance', is important to Amanda and Nina. Rescue distance is the amount of distance it takes to rescue someone from danger. We each have our interpretation of what this would mean to us. In fact, the entire novel leaves each of us alone, wondering what 'Fever Dream' means to us.

Recommended. prisrob 01-17-17

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Top reviews from other countries

Rio
Weird and compelling
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2024
Verified Purchase

What I really liked about this book was the way the author got across the sense of the fever in the writing. It was unnerving and disjointed, as though the reader is going through the fever with the narrator. Quite a disturbing read.

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Mayavie
Argentine Gothic at its finest
Reviewed in India on May 29, 2021
Verified Purchase
“I’m wondering whether what happened to Carla could happen to me. I always imagine the worst-case scenario. Right now, for instance, I’m calculating how long it would take me to jump out of the car and reach Nina if she suddenly ran and leapt into the pool. I call it the “rescue distance”: that’s what I’ve named the variable distance separating me from my daughter, and I spend half the day calculating it, though I always risk more than I should.”

Rescue distance, which is also the exact translation of the original Spanish title, is something parents of little children (I say parents but I really mean mothers) are constantly calculating throughout their day, but lacked the vocabulary to describe it. Schweblin takes the elemental fear of all parents as well as the real environmental toxicity caused by indiscriminate soy farming in Argentina to create a taut psychological thriller of motherhood vs environmental pollution. The result was the tensest 192 pages of my life. One word review: Terrifying.

Argentine gothic is a genre in it’s own right and Schweblin’s Fever Dream, with just a hint of the supernatural (if you choose to find the narrator reliable) can proudly find its place therein.

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Mayavie

Argentine Gothic at its finest

Reviewed in India on May 29, 2021
“I’m wondering whether what happened to Carla could happen to me. I always imagine the worst-case scenario. Right now, for instance, I’m calculating how long it would take me to jump out of the car and reach Nina if she suddenly ran and leapt into the pool. I call it the “rescue distance”: that’s what I’ve named the variable distance separating me from my daughter, and I spend half the day calculating it, though I always risk more than I should.”

Rescue distance, which is also the exact translation of the original Spanish title, is something parents of little children (I say parents but I really mean mothers) are constantly calculating throughout their day, but lacked the vocabulary to describe it. Schweblin takes the elemental fear of all parents as well as the real environmental toxicity caused by indiscriminate soy farming in Argentina to create a taut psychological thriller of motherhood vs environmental pollution. The result was the tensest 192 pages of my life. One word review: Terrifying.

Argentine gothic is a genre in it’s own right and Schweblin’s Fever Dream, with just a hint of the supernatural (if you choose to find the narrator reliable) can proudly find its place therein.

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Amazon Kunde
Absolutely riveting
Reviewed in Germany on October 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
It's one of those rare books that brought out a physiological response in me. The idea of rescue distance really moved me. A quick, satisfying read.

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Obinson
One of the best of 2017
Reviewed in Canada on December 30, 2017
Verified Purchase
The first time I read it, my heart started racing within minutes - and continued for the entire read. Same thing happened the second time. This is an extraordinary novel, wildly original, deeply affecting. One of the best of 2017!

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K Green
maybe a second read?
Reviewed in Australia on March 14, 2023
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. The writing is great. I felt like, as an Australian reader, I lacked some of the context I needed to make the ending as impactful as I wanted it to be. Overall incredibly solid, would recommend

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5.0 out of 5 stars Short, fictional, Ruined World version of Blowout.

4.0 out of 5 stars Lives up to its title

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting work. Not great, not compelling, but interesting.

5.0 out of 5 stars Rescue Distance

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4.0 out of 5 stars Weird and compelling

5.0 out of 5 stars Argentine Gothic at its finest

Argentine Gothic at its finest

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5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely riveting

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best of 2017

4.0 out of 5 stars maybe a second read?

Short, fictional, Ruined World version of Blowout.

Lives up to its title

An interesting work. Not great, not compelling, but interesting.

Rescue Distance

Weird and compelling

Argentine Gothic at its finest

Absolutely riveting

One of the best of 2017

maybe a second read?