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Findesferas
During an oil crisis-induced war in South America, Findesferas tells the story of Juan and his twin brother Matias as they fight to stay alive in the hopes of returning to their home, and normality. Juan is a poet, but since the death of his wife, he can’t seem to recapture the same creativity he used to pour into his work. Carrying a dark secret that threatens to ruin his life, can he forgive himself and make it out alive, or will his inability to escape the past destroy him? Matías' wife Octavia is in a civilian holding in Paraguay’s capital, Asunción, trying to forge a new life with her son. When the Pombero, a malevolent spirit, comes to visit them, her brief period of calm is brought abruptly to an end, and she must make a difficult decision: offer the Pombero a live sacrifice, or let him take the twins instead. Findesferas considers the lengths we will go to in order to protect our loved ones, find new energy sources or change the past.
276 pages, Paperback
First published February 20, 2013
About the author
Leo X. Robertson
49 books503 followers"I have never in my life been exposed to a more fascinatingly bizarre story--and I've been exposed to some pretty damn fascinating and bizarre stories in my day! Buy this damn book! Now!" - Michael Alig, on my novella, Bonespin Slipspace (Psychedelic Horror Press, 2016)
One thing I know I can't write is a witty bio of myself- so if you want to know anything, just ask :)
In the meantime, here are some stories I got published that you might like:
Stabbing in a Lighter Darkness
The Hundred-Year Storm
The Audition Altar
Find me on Twitter: @Leoxwrite
Follow me for my author blog where I write about writing, reading and general observations- or you can find this content on my Tumblr
here.
I also recently started a podcast, Losing the Plot, which you can listen to here. And if you're a reader, writer, or fancy a chat about books, do get in touch with me at losingtheplotpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com!
One thing I know I can't write is a witty bio of myself- so if you want to know anything, just ask :)
In the meantime, here are some stories I got published that you might like:
Stabbing in a Lighter Darkness
The Hundred-Year Storm
The Audition Altar
Find me on Twitter: @Leoxwrite
Follow me for my author blog where I write about writing, reading and general observations- or you can find this content on my Tumblr
here.
I also recently started a podcast, Losing the Plot, which you can listen to here. And if you're a reader, writer, or fancy a chat about books, do get in touch with me at losingtheplotpodcast [at] gmail [dot] com!
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 20, 2017
I’ve never been to Paraguay, but I’ve seen it. Some years ago I attended a conference in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu. In between sessions, a number of colleagues crossed the bridge over the Paraná River to the Paraguayan side to buy cut-price peripherals. One morning we drove past the bridge and I looked across to the opposite bank, which was dull-green and misty – it was a grey, humid morning. In a flippant mood, I asked someone, “What goes on in Paraguay?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I suppose I’m wondering, why is Paraguay?”
He thought for a moment.
“Well, you get cheap USB sticks there,” he said.
Writer Leo X. Robertson does know something about Paraguay and in Out Black Spot (originally published as Findesferas), he weaves history, science fiction and Guaraní mythology together to create an original novel that is highly readable, but also – despite being quite short – has an almost epic quality.
At the beginning, we’re in a post-apocalyptic world. Someone has bred bacteria that can clean oil spills, but it’s got out of control and cleaned up most of the world’s oil. Now countries are fighting over what little is left, using pre-Oil Age technology such as steamboats and muskets of brass. Paraguay is embroiled in a war against Brazil, led by a cruel and vainglorious Marshal. Brothers Juan and Matías are fighting; their mother and Matías’s wife are struggling to survive in an imperilled and hungry Asunción.
Then the two women are visited by the Pombero, a boy-like, stunted creature from Guaraní mythology. The monsters of the Guaraní creation myth – Robertson lists and describes them – are, like the humans, starving, and have spotted Juan and Matías in the jungle. Shall they eat them? Or will the women agree to provide another human as sacrifice? Meanwhile, alongside this story, is a parallel one – a science-fiction plot in which a spaceship has lifted Juan away from the earth.
This all sounds a bit mad, but in fact the book richly rewards readers who try to understand it. A quick bit of Googling established that Robertson does know his Guaraní mythology; the Pombero behaves as it should, as do the other creatures, including the awful Luison, which lives on rotting flesh. Moreover the Marshal’s campaign is, it turns out, a rerun (more or less) of Marshal Francisco Solano López’s near the end of the War of the Triple Alliance in the 1860s. In this war, Paraguay took on Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and lost, with catastrophic consequences. The dead are thought to have amounted to 400,000-odd, including about half Paraguay’s population; many died through disease and starvation. Yet little is known of it outside Latin America.
Why write a novel in which mythical creatures eat rotting flesh, a 150-year-old war is refought and a spaceship takes off for an unknown destination? Everyone will draw their own conclusion; although a good read, this book isn’t easy to pin down. I thought I had the answer somewhere towards the end, and it does concern oil, its organic origins and the cycle of existence to which we are all bound. Mythical creatures consume flesh, but so does oil – a cycle by which all life (including us) is transformed below the earth from organic matter into a substance from which its energy can be re-released. Perhaps Robertson is saying that, if we choose to ride this cycle, we become caught in a loop in which oil both gives life and consumes it, and history will repeat itself until we break that cycle. But every reader is going to have to figure this out for themselves.
They will enjoy doing so. To be sure, Out Black Spot isn’t perfect – it takes concentration to read (it starts with an Epilogue, which does not help). The science-fiction elements do not always work as well as the war and the mythical creatures do. Even so, whatever Robertson’s message (if any), Out Black Spot is strikingly original; there can’t be many books that remind you of both Gabriel García Márquez and Kurt Vonnegut. I strongly recommend this. And one thing’s for sure; next time someone mentions Paraguay, I shan’t think of memory sticks.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I suppose I’m wondering, why is Paraguay?”
He thought for a moment.
“Well, you get cheap USB sticks there,” he said.
Writer Leo X. Robertson does know something about Paraguay and in Out Black Spot (originally published as Findesferas), he weaves history, science fiction and Guaraní mythology together to create an original novel that is highly readable, but also – despite being quite short – has an almost epic quality.
At the beginning, we’re in a post-apocalyptic world. Someone has bred bacteria that can clean oil spills, but it’s got out of control and cleaned up most of the world’s oil. Now countries are fighting over what little is left, using pre-Oil Age technology such as steamboats and muskets of brass. Paraguay is embroiled in a war against Brazil, led by a cruel and vainglorious Marshal. Brothers Juan and Matías are fighting; their mother and Matías’s wife are struggling to survive in an imperilled and hungry Asunción.
Then the two women are visited by the Pombero, a boy-like, stunted creature from Guaraní mythology. The monsters of the Guaraní creation myth – Robertson lists and describes them – are, like the humans, starving, and have spotted Juan and Matías in the jungle. Shall they eat them? Or will the women agree to provide another human as sacrifice? Meanwhile, alongside this story, is a parallel one – a science-fiction plot in which a spaceship has lifted Juan away from the earth.
This all sounds a bit mad, but in fact the book richly rewards readers who try to understand it. A quick bit of Googling established that Robertson does know his Guaraní mythology; the Pombero behaves as it should, as do the other creatures, including the awful Luison, which lives on rotting flesh. Moreover the Marshal’s campaign is, it turns out, a rerun (more or less) of Marshal Francisco Solano López’s near the end of the War of the Triple Alliance in the 1860s. In this war, Paraguay took on Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, and lost, with catastrophic consequences. The dead are thought to have amounted to 400,000-odd, including about half Paraguay’s population; many died through disease and starvation. Yet little is known of it outside Latin America.
Why write a novel in which mythical creatures eat rotting flesh, a 150-year-old war is refought and a spaceship takes off for an unknown destination? Everyone will draw their own conclusion; although a good read, this book isn’t easy to pin down. I thought I had the answer somewhere towards the end, and it does concern oil, its organic origins and the cycle of existence to which we are all bound. Mythical creatures consume flesh, but so does oil – a cycle by which all life (including us) is transformed below the earth from organic matter into a substance from which its energy can be re-released. Perhaps Robertson is saying that, if we choose to ride this cycle, we become caught in a loop in which oil both gives life and consumes it, and history will repeat itself until we break that cycle. But every reader is going to have to figure this out for themselves.
They will enjoy doing so. To be sure, Out Black Spot isn’t perfect – it takes concentration to read (it starts with an Epilogue, which does not help). The science-fiction elements do not always work as well as the war and the mythical creatures do. Even so, whatever Robertson’s message (if any), Out Black Spot is strikingly original; there can’t be many books that remind you of both Gabriel García Márquez and Kurt Vonnegut. I strongly recommend this. And one thing’s for sure; next time someone mentions Paraguay, I shan’t think of memory sticks.
July 29, 2015
To me this book is about reflections and repetitions, the motif of the twins experiencing realities from the same cellular foundations. A strange destiny initiated in the division of the whole, a fork in the road that splinters off into two different directions instead of one. The same yet not, each putting a claim on reality from an alternative vantage point. It is not stated if the twins, Juan and Matias, are identical or fraternal but to me it would make sense that their origin would be to have split from one zygote into two separate embryos, as the theme of mirroring yet infinitely divergent representations of time and space permeate this novel.
It is also about connection and how we reach for it. The ties that bind us are fragile things, in need of constant nurturing and reassessment. Here those links are played out under the hyperreal conditions of a war. All war is madness, we know this, the arbitrary nature of fates lived out in their most apparent representations. There is a kind of surreality to living life when atrocities are before us. These acts of violence spring out of nothing, of silence, of people having banal conversations. This is where our stories can fail us if we let them, the myths and folktales that have evolved to contain our dreams and nightmares seem to abandon us in these times, unfairly dismissed as bedtime stories to be put away with childish things. This book takes those familiar narratives and stretches them to be inclusive of the melancholy of chaos. Here the world of the ethereal gathers its resources to infiltrate the consciousnesses of the central characters and spirits whisper in their ears and appear in front of their eyes, as an affront to the natural laws that objective reality adheres to.
There is a poignant longing that runs throughout this story. A country haunted by conflict and characters struggling with understandable failings. The feeling of the transcendent aspects of loss when set against the spread of time before us combines with the importance of the present moment and creates a moving and appreciative acknowledgement of the difficulties and strangeness of being human.
The references to the reducing of things to their simpler elements is a smart illustration of how reality spins up from its mysterious component parts and we are limited in our capacity to comprehend even what we can, what is right before us. The struggle to make our own sense of what constitutes our subjective viewpoint is enough in itself, the fact we try to extend this to others an endlessly unfathomable type of miracle.
Another facet of this novel is the oil that runs through its veins. No substance occupies the vital contemporary world as this one does, from every angle of life it wades in like a big gooey tar baby, throwing its weight around, demanding it be sated, present in the most unexpected places. Look around you now and consider how much of your crap contains NO trace of its insidious influence. Oil is one of the main foundations of our reality, whether by necessity for our current living standards or by the underhand influence of those invested in it, or any interest that rests on some level of the spectrum between the two. Start thinking about the dominance of the substance in relation to wider concerns like the economy, the environment, government policy and trade and your head can literally explode, #Scanners. Here the novel takes the theme and moves towards a logical conclusion, at once knowing and chilling.
I loved this book, as it contains lots of subjects I think endlessly about all mashed together in a humane and skillful way. From the exploration of the relevance of the quantum world to the simple story of brotherhood, from the transportation to a country I was unfamiliar with to the wonderful evocative descriptions of the mythological world, I was pretty enraptured by this.
It is also about connection and how we reach for it. The ties that bind us are fragile things, in need of constant nurturing and reassessment. Here those links are played out under the hyperreal conditions of a war. All war is madness, we know this, the arbitrary nature of fates lived out in their most apparent representations. There is a kind of surreality to living life when atrocities are before us. These acts of violence spring out of nothing, of silence, of people having banal conversations. This is where our stories can fail us if we let them, the myths and folktales that have evolved to contain our dreams and nightmares seem to abandon us in these times, unfairly dismissed as bedtime stories to be put away with childish things. This book takes those familiar narratives and stretches them to be inclusive of the melancholy of chaos. Here the world of the ethereal gathers its resources to infiltrate the consciousnesses of the central characters and spirits whisper in their ears and appear in front of their eyes, as an affront to the natural laws that objective reality adheres to.
There is a poignant longing that runs throughout this story. A country haunted by conflict and characters struggling with understandable failings. The feeling of the transcendent aspects of loss when set against the spread of time before us combines with the importance of the present moment and creates a moving and appreciative acknowledgement of the difficulties and strangeness of being human.
The references to the reducing of things to their simpler elements is a smart illustration of how reality spins up from its mysterious component parts and we are limited in our capacity to comprehend even what we can, what is right before us. The struggle to make our own sense of what constitutes our subjective viewpoint is enough in itself, the fact we try to extend this to others an endlessly unfathomable type of miracle.
Another facet of this novel is the oil that runs through its veins. No substance occupies the vital contemporary world as this one does, from every angle of life it wades in like a big gooey tar baby, throwing its weight around, demanding it be sated, present in the most unexpected places. Look around you now and consider how much of your crap contains NO trace of its insidious influence. Oil is one of the main foundations of our reality, whether by necessity for our current living standards or by the underhand influence of those invested in it, or any interest that rests on some level of the spectrum between the two. Start thinking about the dominance of the substance in relation to wider concerns like the economy, the environment, government policy and trade and your head can literally explode, #Scanners. Here the novel takes the theme and moves towards a logical conclusion, at once knowing and chilling.
I loved this book, as it contains lots of subjects I think endlessly about all mashed together in a humane and skillful way. From the exploration of the relevance of the quantum world to the simple story of brotherhood, from the transportation to a country I was unfamiliar with to the wonderful evocative descriptions of the mythological world, I was pretty enraptured by this.
Read
February 14, 2016Out Black Spot
Listen up bookplebs: I'm relaunching this and you can download your ebook format of choice (EPUB, MOBI, PDF) here. It's like 200 pages of greatness. Share with whomever. Go nuts :)
For the moment. I'm setting it up so you can pay for a copy/ buy a paperback if you feel like supporting me, in which case, cheers and you will be directly putting a beer in my hand if so!
It's been re-named "Out Black Spot" because as you'll see, that's a better title, and I couldn't bear saying some word I made up to people when they asked me what the title of my first novel was.
Questions, comments, concerns, insults, whatever: direct them all my way and I look forward to your contributions :)
Listen up bookplebs: I'm relaunching this and you can download your ebook format of choice (EPUB, MOBI, PDF) here. It's like 200 pages of greatness. Share with whomever. Go nuts :)
For the moment. I'm setting it up so you can pay for a copy/ buy a paperback if you feel like supporting me, in which case, cheers and you will be directly putting a beer in my hand if so!
It's been re-named "Out Black Spot" because as you'll see, that's a better title, and I couldn't bear saying some word I made up to people when they asked me what the title of my first novel was.
Questions, comments, concerns, insults, whatever: direct them all my way and I look forward to your contributions :)
April 3, 2016
Copy kindly donated by author and Goodreads friend Leo Robertson.
Leo Robertson's first novel is one that straddles many genres and subjects. It could be characterized as dystopia, science fiction, dark fantasy bordering on horror, magic realism, romance of a particularly intense kind, tragedy, adventure story, and even perhaps historical fiction.
The intricate plot centers on the relationship between twins Juan and Matias, and Octavia, the woman who shares their lives. As revolution sweeps through the small country of Paraguay, these three seek to preserve their family, evade capture by a deranged and sadistic Marshal and appease the supernatural entities who surround them.
Leo writes with great verve and enthusiasm. Local colour, knowledge of South American culture and history and careful scientific research constantly bolster the tale. At times the prose is so exuberant that it trips over its own feet a little; this occurs especially in some descriptive or action-packed passages. However, this is a poignant and original story which has many surprises and rewards for the reader.
Leo Robertson's first novel is one that straddles many genres and subjects. It could be characterized as dystopia, science fiction, dark fantasy bordering on horror, magic realism, romance of a particularly intense kind, tragedy, adventure story, and even perhaps historical fiction.
The intricate plot centers on the relationship between twins Juan and Matias, and Octavia, the woman who shares their lives. As revolution sweeps through the small country of Paraguay, these three seek to preserve their family, evade capture by a deranged and sadistic Marshal and appease the supernatural entities who surround them.
Leo writes with great verve and enthusiasm. Local colour, knowledge of South American culture and history and careful scientific research constantly bolster the tale. At times the prose is so exuberant that it trips over its own feet a little; this occurs especially in some descriptive or action-packed passages. However, this is a poignant and original story which has many surprises and rewards for the reader.
February 2, 2015
Findesferas is an ambitious debut. It's set in a nearly fuel-less future Paraguay, where a war rages on, much in the hands of a possibly insane marshal, (and a war that we can probably all see isn't necessarily too much of a fictitious prediction) and yet the war and the state of the world that caused it means the Paraguay we find is much more the one of early times, with simple life in settlements and thoughts of family and survival. And so it is, that we soon find the war is just a backdrop to the story of the twins Matias and Juan; this is their story, and it's one that could be put to most any backdrop. But it's in Octavia's world where we find a story even older, as she's visited by the Guarani spirit the Pombero, and mortal deals are made on the edge of the ethereal. Then, alongside that, put in plenty of factual references from Guarani culture and language, to the properties of quicksand, to Einstein's Theory of Relativity, and insert a few chapters of being on the spaceship The Findesferas, leaving the war in Paraguay behind, as mankind reaches to the stars, and you have a great story from one era to another, encapsulating the timelessness of humanity.
It took me a little while to fully feel like I was in this book, but then the different facets of this tale clicked together, and by the time of approaching the end, and seeing where that was going, it somehow wrapped up the rest of the story in perfect poignancy.
An ambitious book very nearly pulled off. In my opinion, some tightening was needed, some more drastic editing and a slight sprucing up of structure, but the one thing that made this such an enjoyable read was simply the author's descriptive prose. He has a wonderful way of describing things, from action scenes to mundane objects. There's a poetic beauty to Robertson's writing. It felt like I wouldn't have cared whether I was reading about a dystopian South America or a story about a lost shoe, because the author would be capable of finding the exact right words to use in each case.
It took me a little while to fully feel like I was in this book, but then the different facets of this tale clicked together, and by the time of approaching the end, and seeing where that was going, it somehow wrapped up the rest of the story in perfect poignancy.
An ambitious book very nearly pulled off. In my opinion, some tightening was needed, some more drastic editing and a slight sprucing up of structure, but the one thing that made this such an enjoyable read was simply the author's descriptive prose. He has a wonderful way of describing things, from action scenes to mundane objects. There's a poetic beauty to Robertson's writing. It felt like I wouldn't have cared whether I was reading about a dystopian South America or a story about a lost shoe, because the author would be capable of finding the exact right words to use in each case.
April 2, 2016
Out Black Spot is a bigger book than its page count suggests. The central story of a conflict around oil (or the lack of) has been mentioned as a metaphor in another review, but the metaphor is apt; this novel has a complex organic structure, with several strands interweaving through time, geography and possibly dimensions if you include the metaphysical presence of the Pombero.
I have to admit I needed to re-read sections to get my bearings, but the overall narrative movement through a conflict with all too familiar origins and outcomes – oil, greed, ambition, cruelty - panned out in the end.
Others have commented on the strength and ambition of the story, but the writing style struck me as the kind of effortless quality that belied this being a debut novel. There is a self-confidence in the storytelling, a fluidity in the prose and a deep understanding of South America and Paraguay (and when did you last read a novel set in Paraguay?)
Anyone who has read Umberto Eco and navigated his layered technique of writing will be at home with Out Black Spot. And if, like me, you need a second reading to fully absorb the content, that's no bad thing; you'll be be rewarded by the rich detail that delivers with every visit.
I have to admit I needed to re-read sections to get my bearings, but the overall narrative movement through a conflict with all too familiar origins and outcomes – oil, greed, ambition, cruelty - panned out in the end.
Others have commented on the strength and ambition of the story, but the writing style struck me as the kind of effortless quality that belied this being a debut novel. There is a self-confidence in the storytelling, a fluidity in the prose and a deep understanding of South America and Paraguay (and when did you last read a novel set in Paraguay?)
Anyone who has read Umberto Eco and navigated his layered technique of writing will be at home with Out Black Spot. And if, like me, you need a second reading to fully absorb the content, that's no bad thing; you'll be be rewarded by the rich detail that delivers with every visit.
August 27, 2015
In a single image, Findesferas is a mosaic, each tile different, some simple, some intricately patterned, such that you spend a long time scrutinizing them. A book in which Paraguayan folklore sits comfortably alongside space travel gets my attention.
It is a dream-like flight of the imagination that, at the same time, speaks of a deep knowledge of Paraguay and its way of life. It was enjoyable to learn more of this relatively quiet corner of the world. At the time of the book, it is a corner that is surreally backwards due to a catastrophic energy crisis, and twin brothers Juan and Matías drift with events as they try to make some sense of their existence. They ponder their land, loves, loss, and death as a prolonged, absurd and futile war with their Brazilian and other neighbours decimates the country. The unusual combination of carefully observed reality, the surreal, and the fantastical in the writing are what will stay with me the most from the book, along with the pompous and hubristic Paraguayan field marshal. The atmosphere of the novel, overall, has a tinge of sadness that captures, well, something of the melancholy that is part of the character of Latin America.
There is a roughness to the prose in a few sections, but I consider it a sign of freshness, and there are passages of brilliance. It is organic writing, fresh from the thorny scrub of the Paraguayan Chaco, and the irregularities and imperfections are part of what makes it real. It is a good book for those who enjoy illuminating excursions outside of their literary comfort zone, for its originality is striking.
Luke F. D. Marsden (Author of Wondering, the Way is Made)
It is a dream-like flight of the imagination that, at the same time, speaks of a deep knowledge of Paraguay and its way of life. It was enjoyable to learn more of this relatively quiet corner of the world. At the time of the book, it is a corner that is surreally backwards due to a catastrophic energy crisis, and twin brothers Juan and Matías drift with events as they try to make some sense of their existence. They ponder their land, loves, loss, and death as a prolonged, absurd and futile war with their Brazilian and other neighbours decimates the country. The unusual combination of carefully observed reality, the surreal, and the fantastical in the writing are what will stay with me the most from the book, along with the pompous and hubristic Paraguayan field marshal. The atmosphere of the novel, overall, has a tinge of sadness that captures, well, something of the melancholy that is part of the character of Latin America.
There is a roughness to the prose in a few sections, but I consider it a sign of freshness, and there are passages of brilliance. It is organic writing, fresh from the thorny scrub of the Paraguayan Chaco, and the irregularities and imperfections are part of what makes it real. It is a good book for those who enjoy illuminating excursions outside of their literary comfort zone, for its originality is striking.
Luke F. D. Marsden (Author of Wondering, the Way is Made)
March 8, 2015
Findesferas is ambitious - just the short blurb made me interested what this was actually about. While it is certainly a quick read, it manages to connect a number of genres: Science-fiction, magical realism, surrealism, some romance here and there. The fragmented narration jumps jauntily through temporal and spatial constraints. Characters are well-rounded. All in all, Findesferas never falls short of what it tries to achieve. It is both entertaining and enlightening.
The footnotes were a bit too sprawling here and there, and some parts in the beginning interfered with the reading flow, but those are just minuscule criticisms. I loved the language, especially the bilingual parts. Let's hope that Robertson's next novel is as good as this one - you've definitely found another interested reader!
4/5
The footnotes were a bit too sprawling here and there, and some parts in the beginning interfered with the reading flow, but those are just minuscule criticisms. I loved the language, especially the bilingual parts. Let's hope that Robertson's next novel is as good as this one - you've definitely found another interested reader!
4/5
Read
February 14, 2016Out Black Spot
Listen up bookplebs: I'm relaunching this and you can download your ebook format of choice (EPUB, MOBI, PDF) here. It's like 200 pages of greatness. Share with whomever. Go nuts :)
For the moment. I'm setting it up so you can pay for a copy/ buy a paperback if you feel like supporting me, in which case, cheers and you will be directly putting a beer in my hand if so!
It's been re-named "Out Black Spot" because as you'll see, that's a better title, and I couldn't bear saying some word I made up to people when they asked me what the title of my first novel was.
Questions, comments, concerns, insults, whatever: direct them all my way and I look forward to your contributions :)
Listen up bookplebs: I'm relaunching this and you can download your ebook format of choice (EPUB, MOBI, PDF) here. It's like 200 pages of greatness. Share with whomever. Go nuts :)
For the moment. I'm setting it up so you can pay for a copy/ buy a paperback if you feel like supporting me, in which case, cheers and you will be directly putting a beer in my hand if so!
It's been re-named "Out Black Spot" because as you'll see, that's a better title, and I couldn't bear saying some word I made up to people when they asked me what the title of my first novel was.
Questions, comments, concerns, insults, whatever: direct them all my way and I look forward to your contributions :)
April 2, 2014
For a somewhat small book, its scope is enormous (Paraguay, love, trust, war, family, the oil crisis...). Somehow Robertson manages to mix what feels almost like historical fiction with folktales, war stories, a sprinkle of science fiction, and 30 pgs. of endnotes. Slightly uneven at times, the story works thanks to the relationships (namely, two brothers) being its heart and soul (not to mention what must have been a ridiculous amount of research resulting in a solid sense of reality despite the presence of myth and speculation).
November 14, 2015
So here's a book that I discovered through the blog TNBBC. I don't really read too many self-published books, not because I don't like any of them, but because I just don't really know a lot of them or they don't catch my interest. I also think that a lot of self published authors that don't have much art or photoshop skills should keep the cover minamalistic or with a nice simple design, depending on the genre. There's way too many ugly covers and I know that sounds shallow but I don't want to read a book with a picture of a muscular man in love with a horse woman, okay? okay. I don't think my explanation of the plot in this story would be explained well with my words. So here it is:
"During an oil crisis-induced war in South America, Findesferas tells the story of Juan and his twin brother Matias as they fight to stay alive in the hopes of returning to their home, and normality. Juan is a poet, but since the death of his wife, he can’t seem to recapture the same creativity he used to pour into his work. Carrying a dark secret that threatens to ruin his life, can he forgive himself and make it out alive, or will his inability to escape the past destroy him? Matías' wife Octavia is in a civilian holding in Paraguay’s capital, Asunción, trying to forge a new life with her son. When the Pombero, a malevolent spirit, comes to visit them, her brief period of calm is brought abruptly to an end, and she must make a difficult decision: offer the Pombero a live sacrifice, or let him take the twins instead. Findesferas considers the lengths we will go to in order to protect our loved ones, find new energy sources or change the past."
Anyway, this novel is freaking wonderful. I LOVE magical realism, I don't know why. Historical fiction is also another big favorite of mine and it's pulled off quite well. There's a good amount of historical and scientific facts or information, so not only are you reading a fantastical novel, you are learning a lot of history and science associated with oil and the War of the Triple Alliance. I also loved the bilingual stuff, it kind of made the novel more realistic because obviously not everyone speaks English.
The characters are pretty developed and they do change and regret their decisions (that's pretty much character development right?). They all have their own little unique thing and they all have their conflicts. That was pretty much most of the novel, fighting against their conflict and their human flaws. Unfortunately one of them had a pretty terrible fate (is that a spoiler?). Of course there are likeable characters and dislikable characters. I feel like every time I like a book a lot, it's really hard to review, what's up with that?
Like a lot of magical realist novels I have read, it has a really dreamy atmosphere, which you would expect and the tense feeling of a family that is slowly being torn apart. The relationship between the brothers are real and sad, because you know it's not going to last long and the war raging through Paraguay destroys the relationships between the family and the people who live on the land.
There seems to be a whole political or social message going on in this novel, in my opinion. This thing with fighting over oil has been happening for a few years. I don't always pay attention to the news and when the war was happening, I was still not paying attention. I could be horribly wrong, but the war between the U.S. and Iraq was apparently over oil? We human beings are so darn selfish and greedy, that we fight over oil. However, without oil, we won't have electricity, plastic, and a lot of other things that you wouldn't expect needed oil.
Then there's some romance, but a very fragmented and dysfunctional love relationship. Love wears away, people start to ignore each other and forget they exist. They change and the former self remains in our heads, the one that we refuse to delete regardless if it's good or bad.
Then there's a part, the science fiction part, where it's all futuristic and spacey. I don't want to spoil it, this probably is a spoiler, but the ending of the Findesferas section of the book made me want to yell "OIL IS PEOPLE!" (Soylent Green movie reference, "SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!").
The writing is great, descriptive but without overdoing. It flows nicely, it's pretty good for his debut novel. It doesn't even feel like a debut novel, it feels like his second or his third. Maybe he obsessive compulsively writes his drafts over and over?
My review will probably not give this justice, but it was an enjoyable novel, thought provoking, and entertaining novel. I don't think I felt bored reading it because the chapters were so short. It has everything I love history, drama, science, magical realism or fantasy. There were some parts that left me confused, like the beginning, I still don't know why the marshal ended up in maybe a glass tube thing. Some sort of weird purgatory? Maybe that was the point, because magical realism, there's no logical explanation for the strange things. Maybe I missed it? So yeah, fun read.
Rating: 4.5/5
http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot....
"During an oil crisis-induced war in South America, Findesferas tells the story of Juan and his twin brother Matias as they fight to stay alive in the hopes of returning to their home, and normality. Juan is a poet, but since the death of his wife, he can’t seem to recapture the same creativity he used to pour into his work. Carrying a dark secret that threatens to ruin his life, can he forgive himself and make it out alive, or will his inability to escape the past destroy him? Matías' wife Octavia is in a civilian holding in Paraguay’s capital, Asunción, trying to forge a new life with her son. When the Pombero, a malevolent spirit, comes to visit them, her brief period of calm is brought abruptly to an end, and she must make a difficult decision: offer the Pombero a live sacrifice, or let him take the twins instead. Findesferas considers the lengths we will go to in order to protect our loved ones, find new energy sources or change the past."
Anyway, this novel is freaking wonderful. I LOVE magical realism, I don't know why. Historical fiction is also another big favorite of mine and it's pulled off quite well. There's a good amount of historical and scientific facts or information, so not only are you reading a fantastical novel, you are learning a lot of history and science associated with oil and the War of the Triple Alliance. I also loved the bilingual stuff, it kind of made the novel more realistic because obviously not everyone speaks English.
The characters are pretty developed and they do change and regret their decisions (that's pretty much character development right?). They all have their own little unique thing and they all have their conflicts. That was pretty much most of the novel, fighting against their conflict and their human flaws. Unfortunately one of them had a pretty terrible fate (is that a spoiler?). Of course there are likeable characters and dislikable characters. I feel like every time I like a book a lot, it's really hard to review, what's up with that?
Like a lot of magical realist novels I have read, it has a really dreamy atmosphere, which you would expect and the tense feeling of a family that is slowly being torn apart. The relationship between the brothers are real and sad, because you know it's not going to last long and the war raging through Paraguay destroys the relationships between the family and the people who live on the land.
There seems to be a whole political or social message going on in this novel, in my opinion. This thing with fighting over oil has been happening for a few years. I don't always pay attention to the news and when the war was happening, I was still not paying attention. I could be horribly wrong, but the war between the U.S. and Iraq was apparently over oil? We human beings are so darn selfish and greedy, that we fight over oil. However, without oil, we won't have electricity, plastic, and a lot of other things that you wouldn't expect needed oil.
Then there's some romance, but a very fragmented and dysfunctional love relationship. Love wears away, people start to ignore each other and forget they exist. They change and the former self remains in our heads, the one that we refuse to delete regardless if it's good or bad.
Then there's a part, the science fiction part, where it's all futuristic and spacey. I don't want to spoil it, this probably is a spoiler, but the ending of the Findesferas section of the book made me want to yell "OIL IS PEOPLE!" (Soylent Green movie reference, "SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!").
The writing is great, descriptive but without overdoing. It flows nicely, it's pretty good for his debut novel. It doesn't even feel like a debut novel, it feels like his second or his third. Maybe he obsessive compulsively writes his drafts over and over?
My review will probably not give this justice, but it was an enjoyable novel, thought provoking, and entertaining novel. I don't think I felt bored reading it because the chapters were so short. It has everything I love history, drama, science, magical realism or fantasy. There were some parts that left me confused, like the beginning, I still don't know why the marshal ended up in maybe a glass tube thing. Some sort of weird purgatory? Maybe that was the point, because magical realism, there's no logical explanation for the strange things. Maybe I missed it? So yeah, fun read.
Rating: 4.5/5
http://wordsnotesandfiction.blogspot....
March 25, 2016
Interesting concept for a book, Paraguayan spirits, apocalypse, war and space travel, it takes a talented writer to put all those things into one book and Leo Robertson achieves it on his debut novel.
It took me quite a while to get a grip on this book only because so many things start off at once and things aren't helped when the first word you read is "epilogue" but it is worth sticking with as when your brain syncs with the book you realise just how clever this all is.
It is one of those books where each time you read it you'll understand it different each time. It is a dystopian future, oil reserves are gone and Paraguay is now the nation with power... so what are humans gonna do about that? Why go to war of course. We are then introduced to the hero of the story, the Marshal, the insane commander of Paraguay's army, he with the wonderful necklace made of ears, sure I've seen that same necklace in Argos for £12.99.
The confusing part for me was it seems we are seeing a similar story from different realities, you have Octavia doing deals with spirits, Juan on a spaceship, the Marshal in the afterlife??? And Juan and Matias at war with Brazil.
This isn't a book you can sit down and read with only half your brain active, this book demands your full attention and if you're willing to give it then you're in for an amazing ride.
It took me quite a while to get a grip on this book only because so many things start off at once and things aren't helped when the first word you read is "epilogue" but it is worth sticking with as when your brain syncs with the book you realise just how clever this all is.
It is one of those books where each time you read it you'll understand it different each time. It is a dystopian future, oil reserves are gone and Paraguay is now the nation with power... so what are humans gonna do about that? Why go to war of course. We are then introduced to the hero of the story, the Marshal, the insane commander of Paraguay's army, he with the wonderful necklace made of ears, sure I've seen that same necklace in Argos for £12.99.
The confusing part for me was it seems we are seeing a similar story from different realities, you have Octavia doing deals with spirits, Juan on a spaceship, the Marshal in the afterlife??? And Juan and Matias at war with Brazil.
This isn't a book you can sit down and read with only half your brain active, this book demands your full attention and if you're willing to give it then you're in for an amazing ride.
April 17, 2014
Strong writing is hampered by only occasional editorial hiccups.
Still, the mixture of history, (sur)realism, science-fiction, family drama, and humor works well in Robertson's debut novel. I was fully engaged in his characters' plights throughout my reading, even though the topics covered weren't ones I usually pursue in fiction. This isn't to say anything against the story; it's just that oil crises, politics, warfare, and Paraguayan culture are subjects in which I'm rather (sadly) uneducated.
I look forward to reading more of Mr. Robertson's work in the future.
Still, the mixture of history, (sur)realism, science-fiction, family drama, and humor works well in Robertson's debut novel. I was fully engaged in his characters' plights throughout my reading, even though the topics covered weren't ones I usually pursue in fiction. This isn't to say anything against the story; it's just that oil crises, politics, warfare, and Paraguayan culture are subjects in which I'm rather (sadly) uneducated.
I look forward to reading more of Mr. Robertson's work in the future.
July 30, 2014
I found the premise of this story very interesting and thought-provoking. I learned a lot about Paraguay, among other things, thanks to the author's copious notes and references at the back of the book. I did find that somewhat burdensome while reading, and would have preferred footnotes. There were a lot of notes, though, so I can understand why the author chose to do it that way. I think maybe a footnote with a brief summation and an extended version in the back would make for easier reading. There were lots of mistakes in the book that would be easily taken care of by a good editing job. I also found the dialogue forced, lacking emotion, lacking color, and confusing at times because of the syntax chosen, BUT the author makes up for the impersonal dialogue with the rest of his writing. The descriptions and emotions of the characters are very colorful, lively, intense and often speak to many situations that readers will find themselves in at some point - not exact situations, but similar. The relationship that Octavia and Matias have, for example, spoke to me personally and I even found myself highlighting and underlining several parts. I did not like the way the book started out, with the Marshal in the beaker, and I had to force myself past that to become engrossed with the rest. I am pleased to report that the beginning makes sense once the book is finished. You can certainly tell that this book is written by a chemical engineer (in a good way, but I do think that might be part of why the dialogue is a bit lacking). There are many things that are slightly confusing as you're reading, but by the book's end make much more sense. This is not a book I would have normally chosen to read, but I'm so glad I did! It poses some very interesting questions about the future of the oil industry and of the world. I mostly prefer "ignorance is bliss" (I know, I know, not a good way to go about life) and reading this definitely forced me to think about these issues and their consequences and potential scenarios that very well might be in our future.
Edited to add: I loved learning about the different spirits! That was such an interesting aspect of this book, and definitely unexpected.
**Disclaimer: I received a copy through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway. **
Edited to add: I loved learning about the different spirits! That was such an interesting aspect of this book, and definitely unexpected.
**Disclaimer: I received a copy through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway. **
July 5, 2014
I received my copy of "Findesferas" through goodreads and I really looked forward reading it.
I like the setting of the story. I never read a story before that is plays in Paraguay and it was interesting to explore parts of the country. I'm always for stories that include characters and places not mainstream and this is the case in this book.
The characters Juan, Matías and Octavia were interesting and the story was too.
I think, my favourite character is Juan.
It was nice to read, how different the twins Matías and Juan are, but how much they care about each other.
Octavia is very elusive. You don't really know what she is after and what her intention is, and that makes her interesting.
But then the story was very confusing for me. The time leaps made it difficult to follow the storylines. I couldn't figure out, how the storyline with the Findesferas connects with the other one with Juan and Matías in the war.
Furthermore, I'm not really sure in which genre to put the book. It is about a war, then about family (problems), then about an oil catastrophe and a trip in space. I don't think this is a problem, but the war and then the mythological elements don't really worked here for me.
The writing was quite good. But I noticed, that my concentration got less and less while reading, because it wasn't that exciting. I wasn't really into the story. I liked the idea of the footnotes, but there were so many and the explanaitons were so long, I couldn't really focused on them all.
I liked the parts, where Spanish and Guarani are used. I couldn't understand everything (I only speak a bit Spanish), but it brought a nice variation into the story.
I give 3 of 5 for this book. I'm happy that I read it, but I couldn't really get into it. Nevertheless, I think if you are interested in war stories, you should give the book a try. :)
I like the setting of the story. I never read a story before that is plays in Paraguay and it was interesting to explore parts of the country. I'm always for stories that include characters and places not mainstream and this is the case in this book.
The characters Juan, Matías and Octavia were interesting and the story was too.
I think, my favourite character is Juan.
It was nice to read, how different the twins Matías and Juan are, but how much they care about each other.
Octavia is very elusive. You don't really know what she is after and what her intention is, and that makes her interesting.
But then the story was very confusing for me. The time leaps made it difficult to follow the storylines. I couldn't figure out, how the storyline with the Findesferas connects with the other one with Juan and Matías in the war.
Furthermore, I'm not really sure in which genre to put the book. It is about a war, then about family (problems), then about an oil catastrophe and a trip in space. I don't think this is a problem, but the war and then the mythological elements don't really worked here for me.
The writing was quite good. But I noticed, that my concentration got less and less while reading, because it wasn't that exciting. I wasn't really into the story. I liked the idea of the footnotes, but there were so many and the explanaitons were so long, I couldn't really focused on them all.
I liked the parts, where Spanish and Guarani are used. I couldn't understand everything (I only speak a bit Spanish), but it brought a nice variation into the story.
I give 3 of 5 for this book. I'm happy that I read it, but I couldn't really get into it. Nevertheless, I think if you are interested in war stories, you should give the book a try. :)
July 10, 2014
Amazing...it was like analysing an intricate painting of Dali's surrealism adapted into a lovely story.
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