"Space Invaders" by Nona Fernández (BR)

[Becky]

Setting up a thread for the buddy read for this one. :) Currently looking at a start of Feb 1...ish.

[Nicol]

I will join in, but I am going to read in Spanish, since it is cheaper that way on kindle - only 0.99! can't find it at my library.

[Becky]

Nice! Welcome!

[Ines, Resident Vampire]

Welcome Kristenelle and Nicol! I'm excited for this one!

Do we want to set the "official" starting date to the 5th, so it starts the same day as the official "Amazin' Eights" buddy read? People can still start reading at the 1st, of course.

[Nicol]

I can do whenever, I am reading in the vanisher's palace too, but this book is less than 100 pages so I can probably fit it in whenever works best for you all!

[Becky]

Oh yes, I'm fine with the 5th.

[Kristenelle]

Woot! Thanks for setting this up, Becky. :)

I’m excited to read South American sci-fi. I think this is a first for me.

[Anna]

I'm so jealous of everyone reading this. I only have it available in Spanish :(

[Meredith]

I might try to join too. It's short enough I can fit it in, I'm sure.

[Becky]

My library book came in. Wooo!

[Becky]

Today's the day! I have the library book for another week, so I'll likely be starting this tonight.

[Kristenelle]

Woot! I’ll be joining shortly!

[Kaa]

I'm reading this today!

[Megan]

I read this last week!

(view spoiler)[* I liked the slippery way memories, dreams, and visions built the story. It gave a sense of the dynamic, the feeling of being a child growing up under such an incomprehensible and violent political regime: the simultaneous incoherence and the vivid connections, and what it's like, knowing there are rules but uncertainty about how they govern reality. Really beautiful writing/translation.

* I was expecting more Space Invaders, haha. Though I get why the book was named for the game. (hide spoiler)]

[Becky]

I'm about 40% in, and so far this is reminding me strongly of Never Let Me Go - mostly in tone and style, but also in the memory aspect of looking back at the past. I'm not sure how I feel about that. LOL

[Nicol]

I just started it but I can totally see that. Although I’m not sure if I would have thought that on my own, if that makes sense. Just out of curiosity for the translation to English can anyone tell me what it’s says after the ps at the end of chapter 3?

[Becky]

Nicol wrote: "I just started it but I can totally see that. Although I’m not sure if I would have thought that on my own, if that makes sense. Just out of curiosity for the translation to English can anyone tell..."

I'm glad I'm not entirely crazy, Nicol! ;)

Regsrding the P.S... If you mean section 3 of "First Life", this is what it says: (view spoiler)[P.S. What you said about Zúñiga is true. But I only like his hair and his eyes, because the rest of him is dark and ugly. (hide spoiler)]

[Kaa]

I'm not familiar with Never Let Me Go! At 70% - even though this is a short book with short chapters, it can be quite challenging to read. There are references and allusions I'm sure I'm not getting, and the language can be very dense. But it's also really powerful, and I'm pretty impressed by it so far.

[Nicol]

Becky wrote: "Nicol wrote: "I just started it but I can totally see that. Although I’m not sure if I would have thought that on my own, if that makes sense. Just out of curiosity for the translation to English c..."

thank you!

[Ines, Resident Vampire]

I'm a slow reader at the moment, but I started it and read through part II.

I agree with Megan, the way the memories are presented is very intriguing and I do think this is one of those books you have to read several times to really get every detail. I am enjoying the style a lot and I think the story is one of those that will make me cry in the end. So far, I'm glad I picked this up, even though I'm a bit confused sometimes as to who's memory we are in each chapter.

[Becky]

I've finished, but I will have to let it settle a bit to give my thoughts.

[Becky]

Wow... I totally forgot to come back to give my thoughts here. Whoops. Some buddy reader I am!

So, overall I actually really liked this. I thought that the way that it was written really worked for what was being communicated, and though it seemed a little bit magical realism-y at times, I still enjoyed it. (I'm not much of a magical realism fan.)
(view spoiler)[But, I thought that those aspects, the dreamy/shifty/what is real parts, were really great at looking back at childhood memories of a political situation that they weren't able to understand at the time, so what they remember, and the significance of those things and HOW they remember them, was really interesting to me.

The games that they played, and the sort of regimented and rote school day were the most vivid and "real" parts of the story, and their memories, because they were the most real to them. They understood the games, and they understood their school uniforms and routines... but they didn't understand how those were relevant to the larger political situation around them.

I also thought it was interesting how Space Invaders, the game, reflected their real life as well. One small faction (or ship) fighting off hordes of "invaders" who they view as a threat. The association of the prosthetic hand with the game is telling. It's like the kids' subconscious understands the General(?) (Estrella's father) as dangerous, but they themselves are only afraid of his fake hand, which is weird to them. (hide spoiler)]

One thing that felt... unfinished, I guess was Estrella's story. (view spoiler)[I'm still not sure how I feel about what happened to her. Though I think it's a weird way of saying that. As far as her character goes, I feel sad for what happened to her, and I wish that she had had a better life, but I don't know how I feel about the end of her life in this book. Was the abusive, murderous husband supposed to represent her marrying a man like her father? I didn't actually get that impression of the father, though it's possible I missed it. Or was it supposed to be a commentary on the violence of the military in general, or the type of men who may seek out positions that allow them to be violent authoritarians? Or just random? It seems like a strange and random inclusion to have her missing from so much of the story, except in memory, and then just have her come into the story only to be murdered out of nowhere. (hide spoiler)]

Anyway, all in all, I thought it was interesting, and one of those stories that are infinitely interpretable. It's definitely not one that I would have ever likely picked up on my own, but I'm glad that I read it now. :)

How is everyone else doing with it? Has anyone else finished?

[Kristenelle]

I'll be joining soon! Promise! Turns out the version I had from the library was Spanish and my Spanish isn't novel-reading level yet.

[Becky]

Kristenelle wrote: "I'll be joining soon! Promise! Turns out the version I had from the library was Spanish and my Spanish isn't novel-reading level yet."

No worries! I think this one would be difficult for anyone who isn't a fluent Spanish speaker (or reader) just by the nature of the story. It was sometimes tricky enough for me to follow in English.

Look forward to your thoughts when you've finished. :)

[Nicol]

Becky wrote: "Wow... I totally forgot to come back to give my thoughts here. Whoops. Some buddy reader I am!

So, overall I actually really liked this. I thought that the way that it was written really worked f..."

When I finished, I wanted to let it simmer for a bit, then I too forgot to come back :)
I agree with you I really like the dreamy/shifty/what is real parts as a vehicle to explore memory and history.

I will just say that I thought the Estrella story was going in whole other direction, so I was surprised by it.

[Ines, Resident Vampire]

I am really glad I read this book! Between this and When Fox is a Thousand, dreamy, seemingly disjointed stories were a real thing for me at the beginning of 2021 and I will be trying to find more stories like this.

Overall, this is a great book. The perspective is unique, it's well written and I would love to experience the original text (some day I will hopefully be able to).