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Space Invaders
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
14 posts | 14 read | 15 to read
A dreamlike evocation of a generation that grew up in the shadow of a dictatorship in 1980s Chile Space Invaders is the story of a group of childhood friends who, in adulthood, are preoccupied by uneasy memories and visions of their classmate Estrella González Jepsen. In their dreams, they catch glimpses of Estrella’s braids, hear echoes of her voice, and read old letters that eventually, mysteriously, stopped arriving. They recall regimented school assemblies, nationalistic class performances, and a trip to the beach. Soon it becomes clear that Estrella’s father was a ranking government officer implicated in the violent crimes of the Pinochet regime, and the question of what became of her after she left school haunts her erstwhile friends. Growing up, these friends—from her pen pal, Maldonado, to her crush, Riquelme—were old enough to sense the danger and tension that surrounded them, but were powerless in the face of it. They could control only the stories they told one another and the “ghostly green bullets” they fired in the video game they played obsessively. One of the leading Latin American writers of her generation, Nona Fernández effortlessly builds a choral and constantly shifting image of young life in the waning years of the dictatorship. In her short but intricately layered novel, she summons the collective memory of a generation, rescuing felt truth from the oblivion of official history.
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review
rockpools
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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Pickpick

A firm pick.

I flipped straight back to the start to start reading again. This is a tiny novella, just 80pp, a group of schoolfriends growing up in Pinochet‘s Chile, remember the girl who disappeared from their lives, through dreams/nightmares and letters.

The dedication/acknowledgements bit.

And with this one I‘m #RememberingJenny, who read this for WITmonth 3 years back, and was a huge influence in me reading books from around the world.

squirrelbrain Wow, that‘s some recommendation, if you immediately started again! 2y
rockpools @squirrelbrain It‘s dreamlike - you could almost start and end it anywhere - so going back to the start you immediately see the overlapping threads. Also, it‘s VERY short, and I wasn‘t done with it yet!! 😊 2y
TrishB Great post â¤ï¸ 2y
Centique Sorry I‘m late to notice you‘re #rememberingjenny I just started listening to an old podcast of hers today. Made me pretty tearful and had to stop. I hope I can listen to them again sometime though 😢 This book sounds really good 2y
55 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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rockpools
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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#BookMail!

I‘m excited for this one. But goodness, the US and UK covers couldn‘t be more different. Very curious to see which fits best.

vivastory I typically like UK covers more, but this is the rare case where I have to say I like the US design more & I think it fits the story a bit better. 2y
44 likes1 comment
review
vivastory
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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Pickpick

Space Invaders tells of a group of friends from childhood through adulthood under Pinochet's repressive regime & the fall out of the political crimes committed. It's not so much a loss of innocence story (at 70 pages it reads like a long story), as much as a narrative where innocence is a luxury that can have terrible consequences. Although I definitely recommend it, I suspect that I might not remember this one for too long. However I am eager 👇

vivastory to try Fernandez's full length work, The Twilight Zone. Space Invaders is a worthy entry in the wonderful trend of slim & unusual works by Latin American authors easily read in a sitting. 2y
62 likes1 comment
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night_shift
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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Pickpick

A dreamy novella about a group of childhood friends collectively remembering their childhood in 1980s Chile under Pinochet's military dictatorship and their growing realization of the violence around them.

I had to do some reading up on this as I knew nothing of this place and era. Really upsetting seeing children's childhoods cut short as adult things invade.

vivastory I've checked this one out a few times but have yet to read it. I've heard great things about it. 2y
night_shift @vivastory it's super short! Took a little over an hour for me to read. It's very good and led me down a bit of a rabbit hole regarding the history involved. 2y
48 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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That-Bookish-Hiker
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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Pickpick

This book is a short story of a group of childhood friends that grew up under the shadow of dictatorship in Chile in 1980s.

While the story is short it def makes it point in the 70 pages it took to tell these children‘s chilling story of growing up and realizing the political agenda of toners infiltrating your life.

More below 👇ðŸ½

That-Bookish-Hiker The writing is dreamlike because it‘s told in the POV of the children and the dreams they have about a missing friend. I really enjoyed this short and tiny book. â­ï¸â­ï¸â­ï¸â­ï¸â­ï¸ (edited) 3y
31 likes1 comment
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Hooked_on_books
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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Pickpick

This little novella packs quite a punch. It follows a group of schoolchildren in 1980s Chile as they gradually start to see the violence and corruption of dictatorship around them and undergo their own political awakenings. It‘s chilling.

57 likes5 stack adds
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sydneyerin
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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Pickpick

This short novel was well written and packed a punch. It is not happy by any means but the storytelling was effective.

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sydneyerin
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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DannyOlda
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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My favorite bookshop is now next door to the super relaxing Black Crow Coffee. I picked up this little novel today and began it with a cup. If you're ever in St. Pete, FL, these neighbors make for a great afternoon.

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ReadingEnvy
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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Pickpick

My first read for Women in Translation Month is Space Invaders by Nona Fernandez, translated by Natasha Wimmer, coming out from Graywolf in December this year. It is very slim but looks can be so deceiving - it delivered the biggest gut punch with the tiniest gloves ever. ⤵ï¸

ReadingEnvy One thing I've noticed as I read more books from around the world, including women in translation, is that many of the stories being told are about living through violent regime change. Space Invaders has a bunch of childhood friends looking back at their years coming of age in Chile during the Pinochet regime. Like most children, all they really know is what they experienced but the context only comes later. It grows in intensity until the end. 5y
51 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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gracemom
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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Pickpick

Brilliant and haunting.

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gracemom
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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Delighted to read this tonight. Thanks to Greywolf Press!

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catiewithac
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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Pickpick

I had to read this book immediately as soon as I opened the package. It‘s an extremely short “novel†about children‘s perspectives growing up in Chile under the Pinochet regime. Reading Jared Diamond‘s Upheaval recently gave me some context for the scope of Chile‘s violence against communists. This is a strong work and a must-read of world literature. Look for it in November or join #GWgalleyclub 🤓🔪

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Mtroiano
Space Invaders: A Novel | Nona Fernández
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catiewithac Doesn‘t this look so good?!? 5y
24 likes2 comments