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issymaae's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Medical content and Body horror
ribbenkast's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.25
This book is exactly what the title suggests: a complete fever dream.
The prose and storytelling devise were interesting enough. I liked the themes of motherhood, grief and the various motives used by the author. Overall I think this book is very clever and has all the checkmarks of becoming a future classic.
But (and this might be a translation issue) I found it hard to understand what was going on. Despite It's overall literary quality I couldn't quite manage to connect with the book personally. I like unreliable narrotors, especially ones that also have no clue about what is actually happening, but I felt like the hints that are supposed to tell the reader what was actually going on where too hidden away in throwaway lines and are easily missed. You have to be paying attention to every single little word in every sentence and whilst I can respect that whenever an author is doing that, I just didnt care much for it with this particular story.
Also, the back blurb and especially the recommendation qoutes on the inside promised me a bone chilling horror story that would "make me lock the doors at night". Why? The "danger" in the book (if you could call it that) has nothing to do with horror and does not leave you spooked.
The prose and storytelling devise were interesting enough. I liked the themes of motherhood, grief and the various motives used by the author. Overall I think this book is very clever and has all the checkmarks of becoming a future classic.
But (and this might be a translation issue) I found it hard to understand what was going on. Despite It's overall literary quality I couldn't quite manage to connect with the book personally. I like unreliable narrotors, especially ones that also have no clue about what is actually happening, but I felt like the hints that are supposed to tell the reader what was actually going on where too hidden away in throwaway lines and are easily missed. You have to be paying attention to every single little word in every sentence and whilst I can respect that whenever an author is doing that, I just didnt care much for it with this particular story.
Also, the back blurb and especially the recommendation qoutes on the inside promised me a bone chilling horror story that would "make me lock the doors at night". Why? The "danger" in the book (if you could call it that) has nothing to do with horror and does not leave you spooked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Child death, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Pandemic/Epidemic
gotnoculture's review
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
amyteurhour's review against another edition
3.5
Content warning: death, medical illness/trauma
I started reading this book years ago, but never finished because I got a bit creeped out. I finally decided to give it another try, because of all the good reviews that made me pick it up in the first place. It was still really tense and a bit creepyI kept thinking that Clara would turn out to be a bad guy and try to steal Nina . The end was so abrupt and I'm not really sure how we were supposed to know that's what happened, since the whole book is from Amanda's POV, and I'm pretty sure she died? . Anyways, creepy, but I'm glad I finally read it.
I started reading this book years ago, but never finished because I got a bit creeped out. I finally decided to give it another try, because of all the good reviews that made me pick it up in the first place. It was still really tense and a bit creepy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Animal death
librarymouse's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'm really not sure what to think of this book. It's very consumable. I read it in just over an hour. At a few points, I wondered if this book is an allegory for the changes that occur when a child starts showing signs of autism, since both David and Nina are noted to line up things just before their poisoning becomes severe. I'm not sure that that is the case, but this book, as per the title, reads like a fever dream. There's definitely a commentary being made on the visibility of disabled children, how they're viewed when the disability is developed, and on a wealth disparity between the urban well to do and the rural poor.
I'm sure if I were to read this again and again, I'd find a new understanding each time.
the confirmation of the migrations being done in the greenhouse being real, at the end, is an interesting twist (?). I don't know that it can be called a twist because David is co narrating, and were told by Carla that it is real, but Amanda's scepticism is infectious. Nina being in David's body at the end of the book, unrecognized by her father is heartbreaking. Carla saying that if she could have another child, she'd want one like Nina is made all the more unsettling and sad with the ending. Her tying knots, as if trying to reinstate the snapped, ineffable rope that connects her to her mother
I'm sure if I were to read this again and again, I'd find a new understanding each time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Terminal illness
Moderate: Grief, Medical content, Animal death, Child death, and Confinement
books_onthe_ground's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Worms and anxiety. That’s this book in two words. This book was short, tense and intriguing; I read it in one sitting. I am a horror reader and as this book was marketed as creepy I will say that I was a tiny bit disappointed that it wasn’t as creepy as I thought it was going to be. That said, I really enjoyed the suspense of this book and I read it so quickly because I desperately wanted to know what the hell was going on! Personally I wanted a little more of a creepy atmosphere but other than I loved this book. If you are looking for a short, suspenseful and confusing novella this is for you and I absolutely recommend it. I’m still confused, but the good kind, you know? Fever dream is definitely an accurate title.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, and Animal death
f18's review
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Ableism and Medical content
autumnrevisited's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I like how this book kinda makes you stumble in a way where you expect it to go a certain way and it keeps changing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Medical content, and Death
keen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Terminal illness
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, and Medical content
Minor: Miscarriage
savvylit's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This short novel is incredibly immersive and creepy. Schweblin is an expert at building a realistic sense of dread. Fever Dream doesn't go one page without unsettling detail - everything about this vacation town seems like a potential threat.
Almost immediately in the story, it becomes apparent that something is wrong with Amanda. Carla's son David urges Amanda to recount her memories so that she can discover why her body is failing. What happened that is making Amanda so disoriented? Where is her daughter Nina? When Amanda finally gets her answers, the devastating nature of the truth hits her and readers like a ton of bricks. Mothers can't always protect their children, and perhaps that's the most horrifying thing of all.
Almost immediately in the story, it becomes apparent that something is wrong with Amanda. Carla's son David urges Amanda to recount her memories so that she can discover why her body is failing. What happened that is making Amanda so disoriented? Where is her daughter Nina? When Amanda finally gets her answers, the devastating nature of the truth hits her and readers like a ton of bricks. Mothers can't always protect their children, and perhaps that's the most horrifying thing of all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Animal death