Laplatia

by Alexandre A. Loch

How would it be to live in a city where no one was allowed to use his imagination freely? Where dreams and fantasy had to be used for socioeconomic purposes? Laplatia is a dystopian city in the near future where natural resources for the production of electrical power on Earth have been depleted. With increasing chaos due to this shortage, civilization invented the Extractors, machines capable of extracting human imagination and turning it into Fos, electricity's raw material. Consequently, citizens were prohibited to "spend useless thoughts," such as those provided by imagination, dreams, and fantasy, unless they were destined to the Extractors.


In this city, we follow the story of seven characters, their anguishes, their relationships, and their solitude. Laplatia is an erratic story that emotionally moves the reader and urges him to reflect about himself and the society. After all, who said one's thought is free?

Genres: Dystopia

ebook

Published February 22, 2016

About the author

Alexandre A. Loch is a psychiatrist who graduated from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, obtaining a PhD degree by studying the stigma of mental illnesses. He also holds a bachelor degree in philosophy, and in 2014, he started his career as a writer. Besides writing, he currently acts as a researcher, having authored many scientific articles published in international journals, and being the associate editor of Frontiers in Public Mental Health.

Alexandre always liked to read. Early in his childhood, he read several best-sellers and classics of international literature. His favorite authors are Hemmingway, Dostoievski, Lee Harper, Virginia Woolf, Jose Saramago, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Alexandre also appreciates contemporary literature in Portuguese and in English.

His first released book, Bile Negra (Black Bile), is an introspective psychological fiction about Iago and his soul's journey through a big city. The book was well received by the Brazilian critic. In 2016, he releases Laplatia (The City that Could Not Dream), by Black Rose Writing (TX, USA).

With a shrill style, the aim of the author is to make people reflect upon the ideas presented in his books. His concept of art, which encompasses the art of writing, includes the idea that books should change people.

"I like to make people think with my fictions. A book should provoke catharsis; induce the reader to reflect about himself, his life, and the society he is living in. For that, I usually use a sharp style that touches directly the reader's soul."

Reviews

[i. · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Laplatia the author introduces us to a very original concept: a city where imagination is used as fuel and citizens are therefore not allowed to imagine freely.

Written in a way that may remind you of classic dytopian novels such as "1984", Alexandre A. Loch gives the reader food for thought . As a psychiatrist , he knows the inner workings of the mind and creates compelling characters.

He " likes to make people think with my fictions". According to him: " A book should provoke catharsis; induce the reader to reflect about himself, his life, and the society he is living in. For that, I usually use a sharp style that touches directly the reader’s soul."

This book is not an easy read, you will suffer with the characters and feel suffocated by the harsh conditions they live in. Without imagination and fantasy there is little hope and the author describes the atmosphere so vividly that it is overwhelming at times.

I would recommend this novel to adult readers who like descriptive novels, psychology and miss classic dystopian literature.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

www.theleisurediaries.blogspot.com

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, Imaginative, Realistic & Stimulating! A Creative Read! I Loved It!

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I opened this book expecting a dystopian fantasy that, hopefully, was an interesting take on what has become quite a stale topic.

What I found was a fascinating and thought-provoking look at human society that just happened to be set in a dystopian future.

Without giving anything away, the premise behind “Laplatia” is that in the near future, Earth no longer has the raw materials to produce electricity. However, a process has been developed whereby human thoughts can be removed by Extractors and then turned into Fos, a raw material that can be used to generate electricity. This makes human imagination a commodity that cannot be wasted with the result that using the imagination, having a dream or just thinking creatively can ONLY happen if linked up to an Extractor.

Pretty big concept, isn’t it? Pretty far-fetched too, huh?

Maybe if one was reading a typical dystopian fantasy where the focus is on how people get along in a new world order. And while “Laplatia” does have elements of this, the primary focus is on how having imagination forbidden affects the INDIVIDUAL. And this is what makes “Laplatia” such a wonderful read.

You don’t need to be a psychologist to appreciate how Loche takes the reader into the mind of people wrenched from imaginative thought. The reader experiences depression, compulsions, paranoia, not to mention extreme paranoia and anxiety. The reader witnesses social disorder as envisioned by a philosophical mind expressed by communication skills that are both clear and passionate.

This is not dystopian so much as thriller and not so much fantasy as psychological insight. Read it if you want to expand your mind while having a jolly good read.

[Papaphilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens to a society when the imagination is taken away? This is a truly novel look at how society functions in both the personal and public worlds. In this world, imagination is harvested from individuals and turned into energy instead of the use of fossil fuels. Alexandre A. Loch turns his keen insights on mental illness and applies them to his society. What happens when that society can no longer use imagination. It is much as you think it would be, it works, but it is very gray and the pressure builds.

I loved his study on a marriage and the bitterness from his characters as it is dying. There is much to enjoy here and the novel is very layered in both the societal study as well as the moral undertones to the novel. There is a very pointed criticism of bureaucracy with the longing of freedom many do not get to breath. For such a short novel, I was surprised how deftly woven it is in the telling of the story.

One caveat, it is not a light read and should not be rushed along. Laplatia needs to be savored like a fine wine and enjoyed for the undertones. This book needs to be a deeply read novel and it is not a beach read.

My only criticism is that I wanted more back ground to enrich the story even more. For a first novel, it is a very good read and I look forward to more.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Power of Imagination

For centuries recognized as a powerful driver of Man and Society, it becomes even more powerful in the near future when mankind finds how to harness the imagination and convert it into an electrical energy source.
And, of course, when something has so much value, control of the resource follows shortly – and in Laplatia this means that dreaming, planning, wondering and all other imaginative processes can only happen when linked up for the “harvesting” of the energy.
Alexandre Loch explores the resulting dystopia with a compassionate, yet realistic, viewpoint. “Laplatia” gives us the opportunity to examine a world with no dreams, no fantasies, and looks at how this affects the individual under this nightmarish scenario.
And then widens the affected individual into the effects on society as a whole. And this is where Loch’s novel flourishes. Not since “1984” has a novel examined the breakdown of the individual by societal pressures so acutely, let alone allow the bleakness of a dystopia penetrate the bones of the reader.
“Laplatia” isn’t going to make you happy, but it is going to make your think.

[Heather Heffner · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK TAKES AN INTROSPECTIVE LOOK at the lives of ordinary people living in the city of Laplatia. In a dystopian future, the Earth’s energy sources have been depleted. Humanity invents “The Extractors” to process the last form of energy left: dreams. Extractors produce the electrical substance called Fos, which takes a terrible toll on the people. Loch tells the story interchangeably between large, sweeping blocks of exposition to move the plot along and small, microscopic snapshots into seven characters’ lives.

The prose is very concise and clear. The author has an interesting style that pulls you deeper into each character’s head for one moment, but then shoots you back out into the public the next. Various characters have Greek names like Hermes, Thantos, and Ophelia, a lot of whom meet tragic ends, which helps add a sense of dread to the dream-like quality of the book. Some characters are more sympathetic than others. I didn’t find myself particularly attached to any of them, except for Hermes, who had a situation with the highest stakes involved.

At the end, humanity recognizes that they exploited their own souls along with the planet’s resources. However, humanity continues to view itself as “separate” from the planet rather than a part of it, and that it would be better off going back to exploiting the planet’s resources then to recognize how everything interconnects (Loch 116). The people as well suddenly embrace a form of communism in that no one should have more than the other. Of course, this seems all too good to be true. Sure enough, one of the characters becomes restless and makes a fateful decision which starts the cycle all over again.

I liked many of the story’s points like how people all began to sound alike without imagination. Sometimes I felt like there was too much exposition and I wanted more showing rather than telling, but overall, the balance between them was well-done. There are a lot of different avenues for thought in this book, and it’s a great look into Western psychology and how overarching societal decisions impact lives on an individual scale.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. This does not impact my opinion in any way.

[Brook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a promotional copy of this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway.

Laplatia has a great concept. Dreams are harvested to solve an energy crisis. How it is done exactly is never explained, nor should it be. As with much sci-fi, you accept that the tech exists and works, and move on with the story. The author does not get bogged down in explaining a process that wouldn't actually work (in fact, I would have actually said a little less and left it at a Vonnegut-esque minimum).

However, the author should have, perhaps, more clearly explained what exactly constituted dreams/imagination, and what did not. A sentence like "John thought about what this would mean for his son when he grew up" [paraphrased] is, in fact, using one's imagination/dreaming. That's my only real beef with the story. We humans (and it is made clear that these are humans on Earth) are dreaming/imagining constantly. The part of the brain that is responsible for dreams is also responsible for, say, an inventor putting together a mechanism in her head, or an architect picturing what a finished building will look like. Sappy, emotional language aside, the part of our brain that dreams is responsible for almost all of the modern world. No dreaming means not just no new art, but the inability to conduct city planning, design and build office buildings, make improvements to automobile design...the word design keeps coming up. Design and invention rely upon dream/imagination to exist.

All that said, the concept is good, and the author does a *damned* good job of giving motivation to the characters, to give them relate-able decision processes and characteristics. Interactions are believable, as is each character involved. Damned impressive, actually. The details of the concept as it was applied here is what does not work for me.

[Sian Claven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laplatia Review:

This book was a bit of a break from my normal tastes, what I mean is - this is not the sort of book I would normally seek to read because I am inclined to other genres, and other writing styles. That being said, for a book I wouldn't normally read I did enjoy the imagery and message of the book. I struggled a bit with the style of writing - again, because I enjoy a different kind of style - but it was an interesting read.

Based in the fictional city of Laplatia, where imagination is converted to energy known as Fos Production - people are being treated as cattle to fuel the city, and are in turn fueled by greedy corporates trying to gain more Fos, and so the vicious cycle continues - leaving the city teetering on the brink of chaos. Following the stories of a few of the residents and by products of the city, Alexandre Loch gives an excellent view of the human psyche through the eyes of a a variety of personalties, situations and mental states.

I enjoyed Alexandre's book and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for something interesting to read.

[Alexandre A. Loch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laplatia is a fictional city of the future, where natural resources for the generation of electricity are exhausted. Consequently, mankind invented the Extractors, machines designated to extract energy from human's brain waves, transforming it into societal electricity. Turns out that in Laplatia no one is allowed to dream or use his imagination freely anymore. All these thoughts must be dedicated to the Extractors.

Laplatia is a critique of our society. Of the mass media culture, of consumerism. It has a good deal of psychological drama/thriller as the characters feel anguished and many times cornered by the way things work in Laplatia. How would it be if we weren't allowed to dream anymore? Who said our imaginary is free? Isn't it shaped by our culture? And what if this culture is a canned one?

To write it I employed many of my philosophical reflections and my day to day practice in treating mental illness, in dealing with melancholy, anxiety and self existential questioning.

[Renata Broock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laplatia is labeled as a Dystopia, but it is not a contemporary style young adult targeted dystopia like those which are hitting the shelves lately. If I must compare with other dystopias, I would say it has more the feel of “1984” or “Fahrenheit 451” than that of “The Hunger Games” or “Divergent”.
It’s about a city in the near future where dreams and creative thoughts are used to produce energy, so the inhabitants aren’t allowed to dream freely, but need to give creative energy to “extractors” which will convert it so the city can use it.
I am willing to classify Laplatia as Magical Realism, although it does not have the magical component. Magical Realism “a literary genre or style associated especially with Latin America that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). As I said, it lacks the magic, but the science fiction hint here covers for the missing magic part. And it resembles in tone some well known Latin American writers.
Thinking about it, however, I would actually say that the best classification should be Psychological Realism, which is a classification for a work of prose that focuses more in character development (emotions, inner thoughts, psychological aspects) that in scenery or plot development. So don’t expect lots of action. But it has some action, though.
The characters are very well developed, as is usual in Psychological Realism. The author is very skilled in portraying their emotions and reactions. As a person who was treated for Depression and Anxiety, I could identify completely with various scenes and moments of the book.
The author has a very poetic voice. I could sense a rhythm that is not very common to English speakers, it has a musicality that is not too usual to contemporary novels. It has the musicality particular to the (Brazilian) Portuguese language. I may have sensed this because I knew Loch from his first book, “Bile Negra”, written in Portuguese, and I hope he is able/ willing to publish Laplatia in this language also, so lusophone readers can enjoy once more his musical prose.
It is the second book I read from Loch, and I already want more (if you speak Portuguese, go take a look at “Bile Negra”, a novel, and “Azul de Turmalina”, a short story).
Don’t treat Laplatia as a page turner, though: it is a fairly short read, yes (it’s slightly short of 40,000 words, a novella), but don’t read it too fast: it needs to be savored and analyzed, and you will need pauses for the psychological turmoil to sink.
I actually read it twice, beginning the second reading immediately after I finished it for the first time!
For a fairly new author in his second lengthy published work, it is very, very good. I also found some typographical and grammatical mistakes, but I was informed that those were already corrected in the kindle version.
Overall, it's a good, good read. You surely must give it a shot!

[Mary D'Alto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I want to read this book again! Yes, that was my feeling when I completed this book. "I want to read this book again." I actually started reading Laplatia because of my own interest in psychology and, in particular, mind control and personality disorders. After a few pages, I found myself entirely immersed in the story; my interest (or lack thereof) in psychology had become immaterial, because the premise of this book was so gripping that I found myself pursing "it" instead of my own personal agenda. There will be no spoilers here, but even so let me say that the journey (and this book IS a journey!) is both intriguing and harrowing; one cannot help but feel as if one were very much within this "situation", and affected by it. Clearly, for the reader to experience "being part of the book" is a very difficult feat for an author. It occurs here not only because of the strong writing, but because the author tempts us with the very idea that such things ( occur within the pages of this book) are even remotely (in some twisted corner of terror) possible, even in a dream. If I say more, I will be giving away the premise, and that would never do; you, dear reader, deserve to experience Lapllatia for yourself!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

** I received a copy of this book for free through a Goodreads giveaway. **

An interesting take on the dystopian genre. Instead of an overbearing and 'evil' government, there is a power-extraction program that controls the lives of every individual who has imagination. The regulation and use of imagination was what I found most fascinating. I did find some bits of the book rather overdone with description but I liked the idea enough to enjoy reading the book. A fine addition to the genre.

[Teresa]

* e-Arc provided by Netgalley *

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little on the fence with this book. I enjoyed the characters but I was concerned because I don't think I read too many dystopia. But I enjoyed it never the less. I think the story line had me thinking and the character were developed very well. * I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*