Book Review: Fever Dream (by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell)

This book came to me as part of my personal regimen to get back into the habit of reading - a habit I very much love, but had ceased to become a habit because of, well.... LIFE. But what life is life enough if there is no reading in it, right? So I subscribed to Book-o-Box, a book subscription service, where a book is hand-picked for you and sent home once a month in a box containing a few other bookish goodies!

The book arrived in June, but I didn't get around to reading it until the 9th of July (a Sunday). I had looked at the book cover a few times before and, quite honestly, I wasn't exactly thrilled. You see, I am one of those people who judges a book by its cover - and its title! 'Fever Dream' - not very appealing.

I forced myself to pick it up one Sunday, picked a cozy spot (the top of the bunk bed) and began reading. During the first two pages, my brain was like, “Huh?” – I had to re-read it like 3 times! Then I decided to read the book out loud, because everything is easier to understand if you are also listening to it (or so is my belief). I soon found myself sit up and read out the entire book, dramatically and with different voice modulations for different moods as the book took me through a delusional, gripping, back and forth, a recollection, a dream, a mysterious spiritual mess, an emotional and delirious ranting of a story! For a person who hadn’t managed to finish one book through the six months of 2017, I surprised myself when I finished the book in one long, engaging sitting. I read through over 90% of the book out loud, quietening down only out of exhaustion from my own dramatic way of reading.

I didn’t have the answers to all my questions when I came to the end of the book, but that is just the way some books end, and I have learnt to make my peace with that over the years. I would recommend this book to those who consider themselves seasoned readers - those who have seen enough books in their lives to understand how such books work. I would not recommend it to those who are only now TRYING OUT the concept of book reading - this isn't one of those 'easy' books.

Rating: 4 stars

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