fever dream
Fever Dream is definitely up there among one of my favourite novels we've read this term. I don't think it was necessarily my absolute favourite, but it's up there. And don't get me wrong, it's horrible, the whole premise of it is. But I think it's a very important topic to think and talk about, and it's one that I've encountered in various classes across my degree thus far. Specifically, this book made me think a lot about a class I'm taking this term, the Sociology of Development. Coincidentally, the prof for this class is also Argentinian and often brings anecdotes from Argentina to the class, so the connecting points with this texts were plentiful.
The environmental and human health degradation that comes as a result of "modernisation" is a subject area that desperately needs to be given more attention. Unfortunately it comes hand in hand with other forms of exploitation, like maquiladoras and export-processing zones. In the attempt to attract more foreign direct investment, more foreign exports, countries make themselves more competitive by relaxing their labour laws and environmental regulations. This leads to a "race to the bottom" where the local land gets more and more poisoned and the workers take in that poison all the more. What's worse is that the effects of the pesticides, herbicides, industrial waste etc. doesn't simply go away with one generation. Many of the medical issues that arise also affect the next generation, whether they've been born yet or not.
Jon mentioned in the lecture that many of the lands in Argentina that are used for soybean cultivation are indigenous lands, and that this style of monocropping greatly disrupts their cultures and ways of living, such as subsistence farming. The theme of indigenous cultures being disrupted by Western industry is definitely mirrored in I, Rigoberta Menchu, particularly if we think about the presence of the United Fruit Co. in Guatemala.
Back to the book itself, I really enjoyed how Schweblin balanced the horrific reality with fictional fantasy. As readers, we might be shocked by the way that people change after being exposed to poison, but while the actual effects may be different in real life, they're no less terrible, especially for the people who experience them. I thought the idea of a "rescue distance" was really interesting, mainly because it's a concern I've seen for myself with other people; the fear of being too far away to help in a panicky situation, but I'd never given it a name. I guess that'll be something I take away from this book for sure.
This blog post turned out to be more of a rant about how the world is at the moment than about the book itself, but imo that's a sign of how inspiring this novel was lol
Question for you all: How did you guys feel while reading the book?
Perhaps you have already noticed that in this class we like rants. Or at least they don't bother me at all. Now I'm intrigued by the other class you mentioned. How useful was it for you to know the context of agriculture in Argentina to read and interpret the novel? Sometimes it would seem that there is a competition between disciplines, between Sociology and History, for example, to give an account of the present situations in Latin America. What is specific then of Literature? What can a novel name that cannot be named by other means? Or even, what can make Literature rare so that we look at the Real, with all its excesses, in another way?
ReplyDeleteHey Deeba, great post! I'm actually also in that same Sociology of Development class this term and I was thinking about this reading throughout those classes as well (it actually inspired me to write my final term paper on this topic for SOCI 301) :D. Great connection with Rigoberta Menchu and the comparison with the United Fruit Company as well. It is interesting how foreign agriculture intervention has changed throughout history with the modern version being the technology transfer of pesticides and chemical use.
ReplyDeleteHi, Deeba ☺︎
ReplyDelete"The novel puts us, the readers, in the same situation as Amanda" (lecture). This is exactly what happened to me, and my whole thought was, "What is going on?”. It was unsettling, strange, and scary because I did not know what was going on at all.
I think the title "Fever Dream" is very fitting in the sense that as a reader, I debated whether what I was reading was real, imagined, or a derangement of the mind.
Hi Deeba!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your post and for shedding some more light on this important topics. I haven’t ever heard the phrase “race to the bottom”, and sadly, that describes this situation to a T.
I agree that Schweblin found a really great balance between the horrific reality and fictional fantasy.
While reading this novel I felt very uncomfortable! I found myself trying to piece together a nice little path while I was being dragged all over the road. All in all, this book was incredibly impactful for me, and I think going into it not knowing the context behind it allowed me to enjoy the book and let my imagination explore.
Hi Deeba, thanks for sharing your thoughts one last time. It's nice to hear how much you enjoyed reading fever dream! To answer your question, I really had a hard time reading this book. Lots of interesting aspects that make for a really unique experience for the reader but I am not sure the process of this text is one I want to go through again. I think because I didn't just give in to not knowing I was trying to figure out what was not possible to know and could not fully enjoy it sadly.
ReplyDelete