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Short War
Told in three distinct voices, Short War brings together a rapturous teenage love story set in Chile, the hunt for the author of an eye-opening literary detective story, and a complex reckoning with American political intervention in South America.
When sixteen-year-old Gabriel Lazris, an American in Santiago, Chile, meets Caro Ravest, something clicks. Caro, who is Chilean, is charming, curious, and deeply herself. Gabriel dreams of their future together. But everybody’s saying there’s going to be a coup—and no one says it louder than Gabriel’s dad, a Nixon-loving newspaper editor who Gabriel suspects is working with the C.I.A. Gabriel’s father is adamant that the moment political unrest erupts, their family is going home. To Gabriel, though, Chile is home.
Decades later, Gabriel’s American-raised adult daughter Nina heads to Buenos Aires in a last-ditch effort to save her dissertation. Quickly, though, she gets first by a sexy professor, then by a controversial book called Guerra Eterna. A document of war and an underground classic, Guerra Eterna transforms Nina’s sense of her family and identity, pushing her to confront the moral weight of being an American citizen in a hemisphere long dominated by U.S. power. But not until Short War’s coda do we get true insight into the divergent fortunes of Gabriel Lazris and Caro Ravest.
Shaped by the geopolitical forces that brought far-right dictators like Pinochet to power, their fates reverberate through generations, evoking thorny questions about power, privilege, and how to live with the guilt of the past.
When sixteen-year-old Gabriel Lazris, an American in Santiago, Chile, meets Caro Ravest, something clicks. Caro, who is Chilean, is charming, curious, and deeply herself. Gabriel dreams of their future together. But everybody’s saying there’s going to be a coup—and no one says it louder than Gabriel’s dad, a Nixon-loving newspaper editor who Gabriel suspects is working with the C.I.A. Gabriel’s father is adamant that the moment political unrest erupts, their family is going home. To Gabriel, though, Chile is home.
Decades later, Gabriel’s American-raised adult daughter Nina heads to Buenos Aires in a last-ditch effort to save her dissertation. Quickly, though, she gets first by a sexy professor, then by a controversial book called Guerra Eterna. A document of war and an underground classic, Guerra Eterna transforms Nina’s sense of her family and identity, pushing her to confront the moral weight of being an American citizen in a hemisphere long dominated by U.S. power. But not until Short War’s coda do we get true insight into the divergent fortunes of Gabriel Lazris and Caro Ravest.
Shaped by the geopolitical forces that brought far-right dictators like Pinochet to power, their fates reverberate through generations, evoking thorny questions about power, privilege, and how to live with the guilt of the past.
279 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 9, 2024
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December 31, 2024
A deep dive into Chile on the brink of collapse into dictatorship, and the ramifications of these events on the lives of people.
”I would rather be here than be safe,” he said.
A debut that is an interesting take on an episode I knew relatively little about. The first section, from the eyes of teenagers living through the collapse of democracy, is very well executed. Other sections, on the impact of events on lives and generations, are weaker in my view, bringing less a period to live, but still Short War is a novel I liked and admire.
Part one, focusing on 1960s Chile, just before a coup on the Allende government, has friends Nico, Andrés (whose father is in hiding) and Gabriel, Jewish American and rich. The first scenes, where Gabriel learns to know Caro, falls in love and rebels against his parents, are very well done. Coming of age is nothing new, but Lily Meyer does it so well it is impressive and feels fresh nonetheless.
The title of the novel stems from a salutation in the Civil War of Spain, and becomes painfully relevant as ultra left MIR and fascist Patria Y Libertad destabilise society.
Gabriels his reporter father turns out to work for the CIA and this, together with worsening violence, brings a lot of strain to the lives and ideals of the 16 year olds.
This section had by far the best quotes in the novel for me, and this would have been a solid four star read if the author continued the story from this perspective.
We move however to 2015 Buenos Aires where Nina Lazris is doing a PhD. Again we get a story focused on strong desire and falling in love, here with Ilán Radzietsky, a graduate of her program who now teaches at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Hot, divorced and visibly religious Jewish identity and sexual desire seem unifying themes between the parts of the book. It is also clear that life over generations was derailed by the cataclysmic changes in youth.
Somehow the author, even though the book is not very big, uses quite a lot of foreshadowing, which in my view is rather unnecessary.
A book by Graciela Brechner, Guerra Eterna, brings family trauma to the surface: She told herself again not to pity him. She wanted to rip the pity from her chest like an organ, hold it over the balcony’s wrought iron edge, and drop it to splatter onto the sidewalk below.
Dictatorships work by arbitrary violence, but there is hope.
Part three of the novel is set in Silver Spring, Maryland 2019, through the eyes of Ada Sophie Goldman. A lot is bundled in this last perspective, miscarriage, adoption, the plight of immigrants, being uprooted and not wanting to face the past. I think this storyline could have easily been merged into the second part of the book, but I did found it brave that the author keeps the resolution of the book open instead of offering easy, soothing answers.
Overall a solid novel and a very promising debut in my view, if Lily Meyer writes more I will definitely pick those books up!
Quotes:
His parents disliked the idea, but, as expected, didn’t interfere. Neither of them expended enough effort on parenting to genuinely forbid or prevent him from doing what he liked.
Alejandra was the most adult-seeming person he’d ever met, including actual adults. Her attitude toward Nico had been equal parts animal trainer and tolerant aunt.
On the Friday of their first week, he finally fell asleep quickly, only to dream about fighter jets strafing a cabbage field while he picked frantically, unable to put his knife down and run. A megaphoned voice boomed from one of the jets, but after he woke up, he couldn’t bring back its words. He hugged his knees to his chest, wet blue light seeping in through the blinds. It was his first coup nightmare. He would, later, have whole strings of them; he would dream about bombs and guns, ruined city blocks, his dog starving and bleeding, his friends caged and hurt. He would grow used to waking up screaming, desperate both to banish his dreams and return to them, but that night he was terrified. He’d never before had a nightmare that felt possible. Normally, his bad dreams were about Hitler or showing up at school without pants.
“Aren’t most people here fascists?”
“Yeah, but not like him. He’s an actual Nazi.
“Hey,” Caro said softly. “Gabriel. Worry less.”
“What else is there to do?”
I will say, also, that no truth is total and no history is complete. All factual accounts have holes. This should not come as news.
Through her knee-jerk hurt, she felt soothed but not comforted. She had never known there was a distinction before.
If that made her selfish or bad, so be it. She would rather be a sister than be good.
”I would rather be here than be safe,” he said.
A debut that is an interesting take on an episode I knew relatively little about. The first section, from the eyes of teenagers living through the collapse of democracy, is very well executed. Other sections, on the impact of events on lives and generations, are weaker in my view, bringing less a period to live, but still Short War is a novel I liked and admire.
Part one, focusing on 1960s Chile, just before a coup on the Allende government, has friends Nico, Andrés (whose father is in hiding) and Gabriel, Jewish American and rich. The first scenes, where Gabriel learns to know Caro, falls in love and rebels against his parents, are very well done. Coming of age is nothing new, but Lily Meyer does it so well it is impressive and feels fresh nonetheless.
The title of the novel stems from a salutation in the Civil War of Spain, and becomes painfully relevant as ultra left MIR and fascist Patria Y Libertad destabilise society.
Gabriels his reporter father turns out to work for the CIA and this, together with worsening violence, brings a lot of strain to the lives and ideals of the 16 year olds.
This section had by far the best quotes in the novel for me, and this would have been a solid four star read if the author continued the story from this perspective.
We move however to 2015 Buenos Aires where Nina Lazris is doing a PhD. Again we get a story focused on strong desire and falling in love, here with Ilán Radzietsky, a graduate of her program who now teaches at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Hot, divorced and visibly religious Jewish identity and sexual desire seem unifying themes between the parts of the book. It is also clear that life over generations was derailed by the cataclysmic changes in youth.
Somehow the author, even though the book is not very big, uses quite a lot of foreshadowing, which in my view is rather unnecessary.
A book by Graciela Brechner, Guerra Eterna, brings family trauma to the surface: She told herself again not to pity him. She wanted to rip the pity from her chest like an organ, hold it over the balcony’s wrought iron edge, and drop it to splatter onto the sidewalk below.
Dictatorships work by arbitrary violence, but there is hope.
Part three of the novel is set in Silver Spring, Maryland 2019, through the eyes of Ada Sophie Goldman. A lot is bundled in this last perspective, miscarriage, adoption, the plight of immigrants, being uprooted and not wanting to face the past. I think this storyline could have easily been merged into the second part of the book, but I did found it brave that the author keeps the resolution of the book open instead of offering easy, soothing answers.
Overall a solid novel and a very promising debut in my view, if Lily Meyer writes more I will definitely pick those books up!
Quotes:
His parents disliked the idea, but, as expected, didn’t interfere. Neither of them expended enough effort on parenting to genuinely forbid or prevent him from doing what he liked.
Alejandra was the most adult-seeming person he’d ever met, including actual adults. Her attitude toward Nico had been equal parts animal trainer and tolerant aunt.
On the Friday of their first week, he finally fell asleep quickly, only to dream about fighter jets strafing a cabbage field while he picked frantically, unable to put his knife down and run. A megaphoned voice boomed from one of the jets, but after he woke up, he couldn’t bring back its words. He hugged his knees to his chest, wet blue light seeping in through the blinds. It was his first coup nightmare. He would, later, have whole strings of them; he would dream about bombs and guns, ruined city blocks, his dog starving and bleeding, his friends caged and hurt. He would grow used to waking up screaming, desperate both to banish his dreams and return to them, but that night he was terrified. He’d never before had a nightmare that felt possible. Normally, his bad dreams were about Hitler or showing up at school without pants.
“Aren’t most people here fascists?”
“Yeah, but not like him. He’s an actual Nazi.
“Hey,” Caro said softly. “Gabriel. Worry less.”
“What else is there to do?”
I will say, also, that no truth is total and no history is complete. All factual accounts have holes. This should not come as news.
Through her knee-jerk hurt, she felt soothed but not comforted. She had never known there was a distinction before.
If that made her selfish or bad, so be it. She would rather be a sister than be good.
May 3, 2024
3 voices. 3 time periods. 3 cities. All connected in Short War. A debut novel from Deep Vellum. A DEBUT!!! This book was fantastic.
December 21, 2024
This started out very promisingly, with a bunch of idealistic teenagers in 1973 Santiago de Chile. Gabriel, Jewish-American, fall in love with Caro, but a military coup is in the making, and Gabriel's father, a journalist cooperating with the CIA, may know more. I loved the atmosphere of that first part.
Everything is set up for a thrilling spy story, but instead the novel takes a turn I found rather uninteresting, jumping to 2015 and turning it into something of a lost relative family drama. In the third and final part, I struggled with the introduction of yet another completely unknown character. I would have preferred the focus to stay on Gabriel and Caro, but clearly that was not the book Meyer set out to write.
Everything is set up for a thrilling spy story, but instead the novel takes a turn I found rather uninteresting, jumping to 2015 and turning it into something of a lost relative family drama. In the third and final part, I struggled with the introduction of yet another completely unknown character. I would have preferred the focus to stay on Gabriel and Caro, but clearly that was not the book Meyer set out to write.
April 13, 2024
What an amazing little read. This book expertly blends the intimacy of young love and the unyielding bond of family with the terror of possible political turmoil. It is split into three parts and first follows a young couple who are both experiencing their first relationship against the backdrop of a looming military coup in Chile. The following parts follow the generation which follows them who are also on a search for love but are struggling to reconcile their familial connection with the relationship they have to the Latin American land and political upheaval which came before them. The themes here are so expertly blended and I loved how intimate yet fundamental it felt with its mix of political commentary and coming-of-age. A really great read which is essential to anyone that is interested in Latin American literature - reminded me a lot of the depth of Alejandro Zambra’s work with a bit more of the cultural history thrown in.
April 21, 2024
I am not just saying this because I am related to the author: this is a perfect book. It has all the elements of a good story and strikes the perfect balance between educating and engaging the reader with enough suspense that it doesn’t feel like you are being hit over the head with any one message. I will say that, for whatever reason, it really became unputdownable for me starting in book 2. For any of my followers that I am related to on my moms side and/or live in DC: this book is filled with delightful gems - little references and treasures that make the experience of reading it that much more special.
July 24, 2024
A novel in three exquisite parts. We are dropped into Chile with our young protagonist Gabriel, on the cusp of his first love while his adopted country is on the cusp of a coup that will lead to bloodshed and many, many disappearances. We experience Gabriel and Caro's love blooming and their burgeoning communism before they are wrenched apart and Gabriel is whisked away by his simple American-ness.
Years later, we follow Nina, Gabriel's (fairly insufferable) daughter as she sets off to Argentina to finish her doctoral thesis. While in Argentina, Nina is gifted the book Guerra Eterna, which thoroughly upends her life and any plans she might have had for Buenos Aires as she finds out the deep lie in the heart of her family.
The third, stunning section, I will leave to the reader to discover, but it's an excellent, if dry, examination on family and what we owe to those who share our blood.
Years later, we follow Nina, Gabriel's (fairly insufferable) daughter as she sets off to Argentina to finish her doctoral thesis. While in Argentina, Nina is gifted the book Guerra Eterna, which thoroughly upends her life and any plans she might have had for Buenos Aires as she finds out the deep lie in the heart of her family.
The third, stunning section, I will leave to the reader to discover, but it's an excellent, if dry, examination on family and what we owe to those who share our blood.
September 2, 2024
oh god
okay update ive had time to process. this was so good, literally did not expect the ending at all and was totally engrossed. haven’t read fiction this good in a while; clearly i have to start reading eva recs again lol
okay update ive had time to process. this was so good, literally did not expect the ending at all and was totally engrossed. haven’t read fiction this good in a while; clearly i have to start reading eva recs again lol
January 2, 2025
This is a timely novel with historical context everyone needs to be aware of. This story told through three characters in three different settings is a powerful read you don’t want to miss.
The details about Chile were superb (I’ve lived there and have a deep appreciation for that country). The stakes for each character were expertly crafted and I was riveted with each page. I finished this on election night instead of watching the returns and while it deepened my looming dread of what’s to come in the U.S., it reminded me to remember the history connected to what we’re seeing now, and be prepared so that we can find ways to connect with others, defeat oppressive systems, and survive this together.
The details about Chile were superb (I’ve lived there and have a deep appreciation for that country). The stakes for each character were expertly crafted and I was riveted with each page. I finished this on election night instead of watching the returns and while it deepened my looming dread of what’s to come in the U.S., it reminded me to remember the history connected to what we’re seeing now, and be prepared so that we can find ways to connect with others, defeat oppressive systems, and survive this together.
August 21, 2024
Short War had a death grip on me instantly. Not since Mating have I been so heartbroken by a novel !!!
July 9, 2024
Stunning, stunning, stunning. I stumbled across this one in The Millions first half of 2024 book preview (bookmark it for nonstop bangers). Downloaded it knowing nothing but a one-sentence description, and now it’s one of my top picks for the year. What to say? The characters! The perspectives! The spare, stabbing writing! I hesitate to write much because I adored going in knowing nothing. I think it made for an outstanding reading experience. My pitch: it’s short, it moves at a great clip, and it’s not like anything else you’ve read this year. Pick this up so you can say you read it before it was cool. I am on a quest to single-handedly ensure it has more than the 117 ratings it has at the time of this review.
May 20, 2024
Loved this book, written by the sister of a friend. The story centers around 3 characters / family members whose lives are intertwined by the American-sponsored coup of Salvadore Allende’s socialist government in Chile during the 1970s.
Gabriel, a 16yo American expat whose father is working in Chile for a newspaper and assisting in the dissemination of US-sponsored ideas, but who volunteers his time with the Communist party and wants nothing more than to be with his Chilean girlfriend.
Nina, Gabriel’s daughter who unravels her family’s history is more complex than she thought when doing dissertation research in Buenos Aires.
Ada, the daughter of Gabriel and his Chilean girlfriend Caro.
Stayed up for hours thinking about the ending of this, the way American intervention in South America played out, and how those impacts ripple through people’s lives even today. Highly highly recommend.
Gabriel, a 16yo American expat whose father is working in Chile for a newspaper and assisting in the dissemination of US-sponsored ideas, but who volunteers his time with the Communist party and wants nothing more than to be with his Chilean girlfriend.
Nina, Gabriel’s daughter who unravels her family’s history is more complex than she thought when doing dissertation research in Buenos Aires.
Ada, the daughter of Gabriel and his Chilean girlfriend Caro.
Stayed up for hours thinking about the ending of this, the way American intervention in South America played out, and how those impacts ripple through people’s lives even today. Highly highly recommend.
February 3, 2024
I loved this book - read it in one sitting. The first part is sweet & excruciating, telling the story of the overthrow of Chile through the eyes of adolescents, then to Buenos Aries, Chicago & DC. And the challenges of living in the world & loving in the world.
December 22, 2024
The story commences in Chile towards the end of the Allende regime, circa 1973. The conflict with the military, headed by Pinochet, was beginning. Pinochet with the help of the Nixon administration is trying to remove Allende. Amid this turbulence a naive American youth living with his parents in Santiago, Gabriel, meets a young woman, Caro. Together they get involved with the communist party and the agrarian reform. In the mist of the coup Gabriel’s parents take him home to America. Jump to 2015, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gabriel’s daughter, Nina, is writing her dissertation on the bombing of the Jewish center in 1994 and the killing of the prosecuting attorney.
The second part of the book was a little confusing as it meanders The author, in my opinion, struggles to connect the two parts of the book. Her attempt fails as the story lacks credibility. The historical parts are enlightening as is Allende’s attempts at nationalizing the copper mines and land redistribution.
July 15, 2024
SHORT WAR is a fictional story rooted in historical events. It’s a striking portrait of a family told in three parts, starting in Chile in 1973 as political tensions swell toward the violent coup that led to the barbarous Pinochet dictatorship, events that were fueled by anti-socialist propaganda aided by the American government.
The characters grapple with their conflicting identities and loyalties - political, familial, religious, and national.
This is a fabulous novel. If you’re not familiar with the events of 1973 in Chile, I recommend a quick internet search before beginning this book so you can appreciate the severity of the social and political unrest at the time.
The characters grapple with their conflicting identities and loyalties - political, familial, religious, and national.
This is a fabulous novel. If you’re not familiar with the events of 1973 in Chile, I recommend a quick internet search before beginning this book so you can appreciate the severity of the social and political unrest at the time.
August 2, 2024
I enjoyed the first half of this book—from the perspective of an American teen, Gabriel, in Santiago, Chile—much more than I enjoyed the second, from the perspective of his daughter, Nina. Short War explores the period around the eve of the overthrow of Allende, and then the fallout from that in the lives of a small group of people in the decades after. Gabriel, the expat teen, is the son of a self-assured American journalist who is a CIA asset in Santiago at that time. Gabriel is left-leaning, partly because of his local friends. His family makes it out of Chile when the coup happens, but he leaves his high school girlfriend, Caro, behind, and she is caught up in the terror and turmoil that ensues. Decades later, Gabriel’s daughter Nina, unearths the secret and finds out what happened to Caro.
The first half of the novel is an engaging read, a coming-of-age tale as the teens grapple with the build-up to the world-shattering events that are about to happen, even as they deal with love, parties, and high school life. Meyer does a splendid job here, immersing the reader into the characters’ lives; and what subsequently happens to Gabriel, hapless, bewildered teenager that he is, is truly wrenching. So, too, is the slow unroll of Caro’s fate, as Nina starts to uncover it for us. What I found less engaging was the switch in perspective to Nina; it didn’t work for me at all, nor did I come to care about her life. And then, the coda at the end: although Short War strives to bring closure for the reader, I was disappointed. I didn’t really need to meet that third character, or to understand their motivations.
So, a mixed reading experience, but one that I’m glad I had. It sent me down a rabbit hole to find out about that momentous time in Chile (which, serendipitously, led me to finally watching this: a chat between Mariana Enriquez, Ariel Dorfman, and Idra Novey, that references this time). What Short War has done for me is to bring that history to life, for which I’m grateful.
Many thanks to A Strange Object and to Edelweiss for early access to a DRC.
The first half of the novel is an engaging read, a coming-of-age tale as the teens grapple with the build-up to the world-shattering events that are about to happen, even as they deal with love, parties, and high school life. Meyer does a splendid job here, immersing the reader into the characters’ lives; and what subsequently happens to Gabriel, hapless, bewildered teenager that he is, is truly wrenching. So, too, is the slow unroll of Caro’s fate, as Nina starts to uncover it for us. What I found less engaging was the switch in perspective to Nina; it didn’t work for me at all, nor did I come to care about her life. And then, the coda at the end: although Short War strives to bring closure for the reader, I was disappointed. I didn’t really need to meet that third character, or to understand their motivations.
So, a mixed reading experience, but one that I’m glad I had. It sent me down a rabbit hole to find out about that momentous time in Chile (which, serendipitously, led me to finally watching this: a chat between Mariana Enriquez, Ariel Dorfman, and Idra Novey, that references this time). What Short War has done for me is to bring that history to life, for which I’m grateful.
Many thanks to A Strange Object and to Edelweiss for early access to a DRC.
April 22, 2024
Normally a plodding reader, I rocketed through Lily Meyer’s book. Using a very personal, richly populated canvas, she paints the disturbing picture of US meddling in Chilean politics in the 1970s, one of many such campaigns of which Americans often remain comfortably ignorant. The irresistible combination of compelling political history and intrigue and vividly drawn characters and settings kept me fully engrossed and also moved by the characters’ personal challenges. Short War is written with warmth, abundant wit and vivid observations of the varied physical and cultural settings in which the characters live or land. The book spans generations, continents, political epochs and voices. Themes include personal responsibility and searing guilt, religious and political identity, the search for lost family connections, and varied efforts to express and heal the wounds left by political violence. Lily Meyer’s story is a fast-moving stream populated by marvelous fish of many patterns and hues. Normally a plodding reader, I rocketed through Lily Meyer’s book. The irresistible combination of compelling political history and intrigue and vividly drawn characters and settings kept me fully engrossed and also moved by the characters’ personal challenges. Short War is written with warmth, humor and vivid observations of the varied physical and cultural settings in which the characters live or land. The book spans generations, continents, political epochs and voices. Themes include personal responsibility and searing guilt, religious and political identity, the search for lost family connections and varied efforts to express and heal the wounds left by political violence. Lily Meyer’s story is a fast-moving stream populated by marvelous fish of many patterns and hues.
November 1, 2024
Not a bad debut, though I may be a bit biased since I have always been interested in intergenerational stories even if they are, admittedly, a hit or miss. I am also an enjoyer of sad or tragic books and this could fit that shelf in some way (after all, I was left quite sad by the end). Either way, I still found this to be a so-so book, a somewhere in between. It had its moments, but I couldn’t ignore what it lacked.
Told by three voices, in tones completely different from each other that mixing them up won’t be an issue. The prose made me feel held at arm’s length at times, though overall not displeasing to read. The setting, time period, and characters had me eager to reach the end. However, in all three sections of the book I noticed that everything went nowhere, especially in the third and final section. It was the shortest and also the strangest, it left me feeling unsettled and uneasy; it ruined the experience for me. I was glad I was at least able to get answers to my burning questions, but I was also looking for a resolution. One that in my opinion, was never presented. Maybe that was the point…I don’t know.
Told by three voices, in tones completely different from each other that mixing them up won’t be an issue. The prose made me feel held at arm’s length at times, though overall not displeasing to read. The setting, time period, and characters had me eager to reach the end. However, in all three sections of the book I noticed that everything went nowhere, especially in the third and final section. It was the shortest and also the strangest, it left me feeling unsettled and uneasy; it ruined the experience for me. I was glad I was at least able to get answers to my burning questions, but I was also looking for a resolution. One that in my opinion, was never presented. Maybe that was the point…I don’t know.
April 29, 2025
This book is a blend of 3 of my favorite things to read about: Historical fiction, mystery, and socialism. There is also really fun lore to this book. I bought this book BEFORE finding out that the author is Ellie’s second cousin, and then I went to a Passover Seder at the author’s dads house in D.C. and met her and she signed a copy of this book for me! I wish I had read it before meeting her so I could’ve discussed it with her, I had a few other books on my list to get to and Ellie didn’t warn me that she would be there, but it was still a fun story to tell.
This book was absolutely phenomenal. Excellently spans continents and a generation through the view of 3 separate characters in the same family. Skipping 40 years into the future felt cohesive and the scale of the story felt epic, yet also intimate. I particularly enjoyed the writing style in the first section of the book, it was so effective at portraying how Gabriel viewed the looming military coup - there were signs in the background that showed its inevitability, but Gabriel’s optimism, or naivety, led him to ignore them - and the text followed suit.
This book was absolutely phenomenal. Excellently spans continents and a generation through the view of 3 separate characters in the same family. Skipping 40 years into the future felt cohesive and the scale of the story felt epic, yet also intimate. I particularly enjoyed the writing style in the first section of the book, it was so effective at portraying how Gabriel viewed the looming military coup - there were signs in the background that showed its inevitability, but Gabriel’s optimism, or naivety, led him to ignore them - and the text followed suit.
May 17, 2024
the first and last sections are so confident and just when this book is about to explode it cuts out to present day. that part is still good but lost some energy both politically and in plot. i could have lived in the past tense for another 200 pages. overall i liked this a lot its a solid debut it couldve gone more personal but i can get past that. i didnt realize the writer lives in dc…red derby and the raven grill mentioned
October 13, 2025
My knowledge about the series of CIA-backed coups in S. America in the latter half of the 20th century is abysmal. The book is enveloped in this history (specifically Chile). I will try to find nonfiction to read about this time period.
This along with the rest of my life seem to fit in with the syllabus of my public health class this semester.
got this book on my trip to see Ashley. Deep Vellum is a publishing house based in Dallas! will now keep my eyes peeled for them.
“Gabriel, at thirteen, had believed that promise so wholeheartedly it was life-changing.”
“Nina, influenced by French philosopher Simone Weil, felt that the true purpose of studying was to learn to pay real, sustained attention to others.”
“In retrospect, it seemed impossible she hadn’t known immediately that Hazel was meant to be the witness to her life, or that Hazel hadn’t recognized Nina as the listener she’d sought since childhood”
“I will say, also, that no truth is total and no history is complete. All factual accounts have holes. This should not come as news”
This along with the rest of my life seem to fit in with the syllabus of my public health class this semester.
got this book on my trip to see Ashley. Deep Vellum is a publishing house based in Dallas! will now keep my eyes peeled for them.
“Gabriel, at thirteen, had believed that promise so wholeheartedly it was life-changing.”
“Nina, influenced by French philosopher Simone Weil, felt that the true purpose of studying was to learn to pay real, sustained attention to others.”
“In retrospect, it seemed impossible she hadn’t known immediately that Hazel was meant to be the witness to her life, or that Hazel hadn’t recognized Nina as the listener she’d sought since childhood”
“I will say, also, that no truth is total and no history is complete. All factual accounts have holes. This should not come as news”
January 1, 2025
I loved this book. It is a very smart examination of the lasting and far-reaching trauma that can result from a historical moment, in this case the military coup in Chile in 1973. The characters are intricately created. I especially loved how carefully Meyer described their moments of intense emotion. The three-novella-ish structure is also wildly compelling to me, a person who is super into interestingly structured novels. I think this is going to keep me thinking for a long time.
January 3, 2025
Phenomenal! So beautiful and detailed that it transported me strait to Allende’s Chile and made it feel like you were seeing the world through young, hopeful teenager’s eyes. Meyer so clearly knows and loves Santiago, Buenos Aires, and DC. I’ll read anything else Lily Meyer writes.
March 30, 2025
Fascinating read against the panorama of current events. While not the main theme of the book, the portrayal of the sometimes blinding effect of hope against fascist developments or societal trends that are difficult to digest shook me.
April 1, 2025
Horrible. Do jumbled up with stuff i couldn’t follow it.
November 29, 2024
I *loved* the first part, which conjured 1973 Chile totally convincingly through the eyes of the teenage Gabriel. I especially appreciated how it captured the expectation, ambiguity, and wrong guesses of a time just before a coup. The research that went into this section was clearly very thorough, and yet it was woven seamlessly into the personal narrative. The second part of the novel (Nina) was highly relatable. I couldn't get into the third part. The voice just didn't work for me.
August 5, 2025
I really enjoyed it and I was so crushed but also fascinated by the entire last section and the ending. It’s well written, good interesting characters and setting.
April 21, 2024
Rating caveat: Lily is a friend, but also this book is truly sensational.
April 21, 2024
“Short War” is a dazzling debut – a treat, a surprise, a brainy gem. It is impossible not to like.
Intensely vivid, well-drawn characters from three generations wind and unwind the secrets and mysteries of one tangled up family: tangled up in America’s dirty history in 1970s Chile, in varieties of Jewish identity, in the lives they know and some they don’t know. It is a novel one wants to gluttonously devour, and it is deeply filling, emotionally and intellectually. Unafraid to tackle politics and religion, “Short War” does so without sacrificing an ounce of fun, humor, momentum, character and credibility.
“Short War” deserves evangelists and a big readership. I loved it.
Intensely vivid, well-drawn characters from three generations wind and unwind the secrets and mysteries of one tangled up family: tangled up in America’s dirty history in 1970s Chile, in varieties of Jewish identity, in the lives they know and some they don’t know. It is a novel one wants to gluttonously devour, and it is deeply filling, emotionally and intellectually. Unafraid to tackle politics and religion, “Short War” does so without sacrificing an ounce of fun, humor, momentum, character and credibility.
“Short War” deserves evangelists and a big readership. I loved it.
April 15, 2024
Short War succeeds on many levels—a romance novel, a political argument that avoids being didactic, a deeply researched portrait of American expat life in Allende’s Chile, and an exploration of Jewish insider/outsider status in the Americas. I couldn’t put it down.
April 5, 2024
Gabriel and Caro meet as teenagers in Chile. He’s an American Jew trying to fit in with his Chilean friends, and she is as smart and confident as he wishes he could be. When political unrest breaks out in the country, Gabriel’s father whisks him away to America, leaving Caro behind. Decades later, Gabriel’s adult daughter, Nina, is studying in Buenos Aires when she learns a shocking secret about her family. Told in three parts, each section of the novel winds tighter and tighter in tension until we reach an ending that I never could have predicted.
This is an absorbing story about family, identity, power, privilege, and the impact of generational trauma and guilt. The characters and readers grapple together with the ways in which culture and geopolitical forces shape our lives. I have never been to South America and knew nearly nothing about Pinochet’s regime before reading this novel. This story taught me something important, and it will do the same for other readers.
Huge thanks to Deep Vellum for the ARC.
This is an absorbing story about family, identity, power, privilege, and the impact of generational trauma and guilt. The characters and readers grapple together with the ways in which culture and geopolitical forces shape our lives. I have never been to South America and knew nearly nothing about Pinochet’s regime before reading this novel. This story taught me something important, and it will do the same for other readers.
Huge thanks to Deep Vellum for the ARC.
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