The Accidentals by Guadalupe Nettel and Rosalind Harvey (Translator)
| The Accidentals by Guadalupe Nettel and Rosalind Harvey (Translator) | |
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| Category: Short Stories | |
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Reviewer: Heather Magee
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| Summary: An enchanting collection of stories exploring fragile bonds, human resilience, and the solace we find in nature amid unsettling change. The occasional touches of fantasy serve to elevate these tales into truly bewitching modern fables. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 128 | Date: April 2025 |
| Publisher: Fitzcarraldo Editions | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1804271476 | |
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This collection was truly enchanting in all senses of the word: spellbinding with its fantastical, magical elements and charming in its gentle portrayal of nature and human relationships. Guadalupe Nettel writes intelligently and precisely, her stories structured by a wisdom that appears to want to teach us something about the world.
Despite their careful construction and charming nature, several of the stories in this collection carry an unsettling tone. In Life Elsewhere, a man's unhealthy obsession with a life different from his own constantly threatens a disturbing twist. The Pink Door reads like a cautionary tale, warning against the dangers of forcing solutions to domestic dissatisfaction. The Torpor extrapolates the recent experiences of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic into a dystopian future, imagining a surveillance state controlled by AI-driven news outlets. In this story, a couple is forced to flee into the forest as society collapses into a web of mutual scrutiny.
Indeed, throughout these stories, couples, families, and friends must navigate worlds that threaten to tear them apart. They include children going through a difficult time with their parents, orphans, unhappy marriages, long-distance friendships and dispersed families. Often, these subjects turn to nature as a source of trust and resilience. In A Forest Under the Earth, this is symbolised by the invisible roots of an ancestral monkey puzzle tree, which continues to connect a family despite their physical distance. Imprinting explores the ineffable trace of tribal affiliation when the narrator is reunited with her estranged uncle; in Playing With Fire, a mother must trust the spirits of the forest to ensure her child's safety; The Accidentals takes the enigmatic albatross as a metaphor for one half of a friendship lost to distance and time.
With its rich tapestry of characters and themes, the collection invites readers to ponder how we navigate change and uncertainty, often finding solace in the natural or spiritual world and the bonds we share with others, even when they seem at their most fragile. It's a thoughtful, provocative, and deeply resonant work.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag. For more short stories with a touch of fantasy by a Latin American author, make sure to read A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez. Or, you could dip into the science fiction genre and read the collection of short stories entitled Exhalation by Ted Chiang.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Accidentals by Guadalupe Nettel and Rosalind Harvey (Translator) at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Accidentals by Guadalupe Nettel and Rosalind Harvey (Translator) at Amazon.com.
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