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A review by _inge_
The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernández
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Read as part of the octa finals translated fiction of the BookTube Prize 2022, rating and review forthcoming when this round of judging ends.
This book was my absolute favourite of this round. Unfortunately, it did not proceed to the quarter finals.
In this book, we learn about a difficult time in Chile under dictatorship. I suppose that there may be a lot of literature in Chile that commemorates and tells the stories of (fictional) people who were among the disappeared, their loved ones and the people who knew them. This reads like a plea to not forget. It's from the perspective of someone who grew up in violent social circumstances and pieces together just how violent and how close it was later in life. Many of the events in the book are not made up (as she keeps mentioning that 'she knows, is not imagining').
The author masterfully mixes jumps in time, makes storylines tie together, trying to make sense of things by drawing parallels, putting puzzle pieces together of memories that turn out to have been about the same events or people, and creating a timeline by using cultural references (TV shows, books, songs). Repetition is used as a means to show the relentlessness of what was happening.
As always when there are a lot of characters in a book I did sometimes lose track of who was who, but that didn't lessen the impression this book made on me. I listened to it on audio, maybe a print copy would have helped to flip back pages to remember how some loose ends connect. Definitely recommend picking up this book though!
This book was my absolute favourite of this round. Unfortunately, it did not proceed to the quarter finals.
In this book, we learn about a difficult time in Chile under dictatorship. I suppose that there may be a lot of literature in Chile that commemorates and tells the stories of (fictional) people who were among the disappeared, their loved ones and the people who knew them. This reads like a plea to not forget. It's from the perspective of someone who grew up in violent social circumstances and pieces together just how violent and how close it was later in life. Many of the events in the book are not made up (as she keeps mentioning that 'she knows, is not imagining').
The author masterfully mixes jumps in time, makes storylines tie together, trying to make sense of things by drawing parallels, putting puzzle pieces together of memories that turn out to have been about the same events or people, and creating a timeline by using cultural references (TV shows, books, songs). Repetition is used as a means to show the relentlessness of what was happening.
As always when there are a lot of characters in a book I did sometimes lose track of who was who, but that didn't lessen the impression this book made on me. I listened to it on audio, maybe a print copy would have helped to flip back pages to remember how some loose ends connect. Definitely recommend picking up this book though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Torture