A review by minnowslibrary
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin

4.0

The name says it all! This book was made to be read in one feverish sitting. I started and picked it up over the course of about three sittings and made it halfway through before I gave up, restarted, and devoured it in one sitting. 

Fever Dream is a hallucinatory horror, perfect for your Summerween TBR. I was hypnotized by the story the characters were telling alongside each other. The story follows Amanda and her daughter, Nina, as they start their summer vacation in a countryside rental house. They meet Carla and her son, David, and the feeling shifts, everything begins to feel not quite right. The narration is through Amanda and David, as Amanda lies in a hospital bed and David sits beside her, asking questions and drawing attention to the important details. 

I don’t even know where to begin to explain how unsettling and nightmarish this short novel was. By page 30 I was completely captivated, and the edition I read is only 183 pages that were impossible to stop turning. Once I was in, I was IN! It gives you no time to wonder what’s going on, you just have to buckle in and go along for the ride with the characters. The motherly love and worry radiates off the page, it’s like a ghost story and a psychological horror and a cautionary tale all in one. Intoxicating, dreadful and beautifully written. 

Fever Dream was adapted into a film, directed by Claudia Llosa. After I finished reading Fever Dream, I immediately opened Netflix to watch the film. The book was translated from Spanish, and I watched the film in its original Spanish language. Netflix tried to start it with the English dub! Watch it in Spanish! The actors, especially Amanda, played by María Valverde, and Carla (Carola in the film), played by Dolores Fonzi, were spectacular in their performances. Their portrayals of the emotions were almost more gripping than the book! A truly fantastic adaptation that’s very true to the original story. Maybe leaned a little more into Amanda being a little bit in love with Carla too lol. I don’t think I’m projecting but feel free to call me out if I just make everything gay. This was gay to me!!