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A review by anusha_reads
Not a River by Selva Almada
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
#IBPCHALLENGE2024 BOOK 2: NOT A RIVER, SELVA ALMADA, TR. ANNIE McDERMOTT, LONGLISTED FOR #INTERNATIONALBOOKER2024
The story revolves around an island and its inhabitants -three fishermen, their memories and a ray. It gave the vibes of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, minus the children, plus the adults. This is an island whose inhabitants are welcoming as well as not-so-welcoming.
The book begins with the fishermen Enero Rey, El negro, both in their fifties and Tilo, a young man who is the son of their late friend Eusebio, who drowned in the river. The names sounded similar and caused a bit of confusion. On a fishing trip, they catch an enormous ray after shooting it and the story unfurls with an air of tension. There is Enero’s dream which causes a stir and is interpreted as a projection of the future.
A dark, short novel, portraying aggressive masculine pride, the culture, and the superstitions of the island. A community where the women are not treated well, objectified and which has incest, cheating, and adultery.
I enjoyed reading this lyrical excerpt:
“SOMETIMES SHE THINKS THE FIRE TALKS TO HER. NOT LIKE A PERSON DOES, NOT WITH WORDS. BUT THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE CRACKLE, THE SOFT SOUND OF THE FLAMES, AS IF SHE COULD ALMOST HEAR THE AIR BURNING AWAY, YES, SOMETHING, RIGHT THERE, THAT SPEAKS TO HER ALONE. EVEN IF IT DOESN’T USE HUMAN WORDS, SIOMARA KNOWS IT’S CALLING HER. SAYING: COME ON, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. JUST LIKE ALL THE MEN SHE FELL FOR, JUST LIKE THE FATHER OF HER DAUGHTERS, JUST LIKE SO MANY OTHERS.”
The brilliant use of personification to describe the fire talking to her and comparing it to a man, symbolic of how they both cause hurt, was fascinating.
The story is written without chapter breaks, allowing the past and present to mingle like a river with a confluence of narratives.
The translator's note at the end of the book talks about how she had to read books by various authors that influenced Selva. She talks about how the author has removed speech tags, chapter division etc to make her prose lyrical or poetic.
“IT’S NOT A RIVER, IT’S THE RIVER.”
“IT WASN’T A RAY. IT WAS THAT RAY”
“PULLED FROM THE RIVER TO BE THROWN BACK IN LATER”
“DEAD”
Truly captivating! A straightforward yet remarkable read!
The story revolves around an island and its inhabitants -three fishermen, their memories and a ray. It gave the vibes of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, minus the children, plus the adults. This is an island whose inhabitants are welcoming as well as not-so-welcoming.
The book begins with the fishermen Enero Rey, El negro, both in their fifties and Tilo, a young man who is the son of their late friend Eusebio, who drowned in the river. The names sounded similar and caused a bit of confusion. On a fishing trip, they catch an enormous ray after shooting it and the story unfurls with an air of tension. There is Enero’s dream which causes a stir and is interpreted as a projection of the future.
A dark, short novel, portraying aggressive masculine pride, the culture, and the superstitions of the island. A community where the women are not treated well, objectified and which has incest, cheating, and adultery.
I enjoyed reading this lyrical excerpt:
“SOMETIMES SHE THINKS THE FIRE TALKS TO HER. NOT LIKE A PERSON DOES, NOT WITH WORDS. BUT THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE CRACKLE, THE SOFT SOUND OF THE FLAMES, AS IF SHE COULD ALMOST HEAR THE AIR BURNING AWAY, YES, SOMETHING, RIGHT THERE, THAT SPEAKS TO HER ALONE. EVEN IF IT DOESN’T USE HUMAN WORDS, SIOMARA KNOWS IT’S CALLING HER. SAYING: COME ON, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. JUST LIKE ALL THE MEN SHE FELL FOR, JUST LIKE THE FATHER OF HER DAUGHTERS, JUST LIKE SO MANY OTHERS.”
The brilliant use of personification to describe the fire talking to her and comparing it to a man, symbolic of how they both cause hurt, was fascinating.
The story is written without chapter breaks, allowing the past and present to mingle like a river with a confluence of narratives.
The translator's note at the end of the book talks about how she had to read books by various authors that influenced Selva. She talks about how the author has removed speech tags, chapter division etc to make her prose lyrical or poetic.
“IT’S NOT A RIVER, IT’S THE RIVER.”
“IT WASN’T A RAY. IT WAS THAT RAY”
“PULLED FROM THE RIVER TO BE THROWN BACK IN LATER”
“DEAD”
Truly captivating! A straightforward yet remarkable read!