‘A shifting, unstable fantasia inspired by fears about GM and environmental degradation’

Fever Dream
Now a major Netflix film
Samanta Schweblin
SHORTLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE 2017
‘The book I wish I had written’ Lisa Taddeo, author of Three Women and Animal
A young woman named Amanda lies dying in a remote Argentinian hospital. A boy named David sits beside her.
She’s not his mother. He’s not her child.
At David’s ever more insistent prompting, Amanda recounts a series of events from the apparently recent past, a conversation that opens a chest of horrors. Together, they tell a haunting story of broken souls, toxins, and the power and desperation of family.
A chilling tale of maternal anxiety and ecological menace, Fever Dream is a modern classic. Samanta Schweblin’s unforgettable debut is a prescient warning about our manipulation of the natural world, and an unforgettable exercise in literary suspense.
Reviews
‘A book to read in one frantic sitting – bold, uncanny and utterly gripping.’
'Read this in a single sitting and by the end I could hardly breathe. It's a total mind-wrecker. Amazing. Thrilling.'
‘An unnerving read, straddling the realms of the supernatural and of Argentina’s dark recent history.’
‘A gloriously creepy fable taking in bodyswapping, maternal dread and the dangers of GM crops.’
‘Although I read it several months ago, this Argentinian novel, shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize, is still lurking like a particularly noxious hangover… It’s dazzling, unforgettable, and deeply strange. I’ve never read anything like it.’
‘Each layer is soaked in dread, and the dread goes so deep that it works even on the third reading.’
'Transcends the sensational plot elements to achieve a powerful and humane vision.’
‘This daring, ambiguous thriller is an apocalyptic lamentation for our world in free fall, a place in which nothing and no one, not even a child or a horse in a field, is safe.’
'Magnificent.'
'Samanta Schweblin’s novella is a skilfully paced and intricate omen that tears not just at ecological anxieties but at the core of maternal love.’
‘Body horror, taut thriller and supernatural dread meet the psychological challenges of family.’