Three Fantastic Books You Can Read In One Day

With winter at its height, there are many rainy days ahead of us, and to relieve us all of hours of doomscrolling, here are 3 book recommendations exploring themes of life and death. Comemadre by Roque Larraquy, No One is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood, and Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin can be read in one day and I deem to be a 4 or 5-star read.  

Let’s all take a break from our usual consumerism habits and endless scrolling. Reading is so much more worth your time than a phone addiction. With winter keeping us indoors, there is even more opportunity to waste away your days on harmful, time-wasting apps that do nothing but deteriorate your attention span and self-esteem. Books provide a great break away from the machines. With this, we should read sustainably, i.e. use the library!! Public libraries need more attention and recognition before they’re taken away from us for being a waste of government budgets. Signing up for a library card is free, takes 5 minutes, and opens the opportunity of reading without the worry that you’re buying a book you don’t actually like. Both No One is Talking About This and Fever Dream are available at the local St Andrews library (not the university one) and Comemadre can be bought as an ebook for £3, making this a cheap, achievable and healthy hobby.  

Comemadre is a 2010 Argentinian novel written by Roque Larraquy. Originally written in Spanish, it was translated to English in 2018 by Heather Cleary. At around 150 pages and with its compelling narrative, it is more than easy to get finished in one day. The novel is split into two halves, the first following a doctor and his colleagues at the Temperly Sanatorium looking to make groundbreaking discoveries on death and the process of dying through a process of gruesome experiments, such as, making use of prolonged consciousness after decapitation.  

The second half follows a renowned artist correcting a dissertation written on his life, following the similar themes from the first half. The novel becomes very philosophical in its focus on death, asking questions such as whether a decapitated head is still the whole person or just a head. This continues into the second half, which looks toward amputation. For me, this was certainly a 5-star read. The writing was witty and compelling, being fantastical and absurd in all the right places. There was an almost satirical undertone that lifted the heavy premise and left the plot feeling rich in commentary. Explorations of both modern and historical understandings of philosophical topics, as well as the questionable ethics and morality involved in both art and science, allowed for a very topical and thought-provoking read. You question your own thoughts and understandings, deciding whether to challenge or concede to the opinions of the characters. Through this also shone light on obsession and romanticisation of things we don’t understand, making the book feel whole and rounded. Overall, the book is an incredible read. There is so much room for interpretation that leaves you thinking about it weeks after having finished it - an absolute 5-star read for me. 

No One is Talking About This is a 2021 American novel by Patricia Lockwood. Being

just more than 200 pages, yet feeling as if it’s no more than 100, the book is easily read in one-day, though I would recommend it being read in two sittings. Like Comemadre, the book is split into two halves. Though there is a lot less of a focus on death in this book, there is a heavy exploration of what it means to live. In this next section, I will discuss spoilers to the book, though I do not think this takes away from the reading experience in any way. 

The first half follows a woman’s life and thoughts after she goes viral for an insignificant tweet: “Can dogs be twins?” Structured as a series of disjointed paragraphs as she travels and gives speeches on social media, the plot is rather incohesive – which may sound like a criticism, but it is not – it feels so natural in its exploration of thoughts and feelings of regular people in a strange world. The second half seamlessly shifts its focus to her family and their love for her newborn niece. Her sister’s pregnancy was not without complication; the newborn is expected to die soon after birth. The novel looks towards the beauty in life and the unconditional, absolute love that is bestowed on this child. I cannot deny that the book had a profound effect on me and my outlook on life. When the baby does pass at 6 months old, the grief is real, but it does not dampen the absolute brightness and joy the child brought to this group of people. It’s one of the most beautiful books I’ve read. The first half was slow, but it was necessary to the completeness and understanding of the book. Lots of wonderful commentary on social media and living is awarded, looking at the brightness of life and not getting sucked away into the depths of grief. I have a deep love for this book and how it made me look at life – with brightness, love, and gratefulness for everything I have. I would give this a very high 4 stars, being held back only by its somewhat slow start. I will remember this book for the rest of my life. 

Fever Dream 

The last book I will talk about today is Fever Dream, a 2014 Argentinian novel by Samanta Schweblin. Originally written in Spanish (under the name Rescue Distance), it was translated to English in 2017 by Megan McDowell. The novel is roughly 150 pages with a large font so can be easily read in a few hours, making it perfect for a rainy day. This follows a desperate conversation between a woman on her deathbed and a boy as the woman recounts the events that led her here. The book is chilling and psychologically thrilling, employing a sense of panic as the events unfurl. It does a fantastic job at making the reader understand the panic a mother feels when worrying about her child. Themes of death are prevalent in the story, asking at what point someone is dead (similar to the questions raised in Comemadre). I will refrain from relaying how the themes of death come about as to avoid spoiling too much of the book. There is an almost supernatural aspect to the book, promoting the horror aspects and making it a great winter read. The book is very compelling and well-written, easily read in one-go without a break. It is very immersive, drawing you into the story, feeling the tension rise and the panic set in. Overall, I would give the book a solid 4-stars and highly recommend for a wintery, rainy day.  

In conclusion, go and read a book! I highly recommend one of the three above, especially if you don’t have much free time to read longer books. Reading is great, scrolling is not. Use the library, not your phone!