Chaos, A Fable

by Rodrigo Rey Rosa, Jeffrey Gray (Translator)

A breathtaking novella about faith and anarchy by the acclaimed and prizewinning Latin American writer Rodrigo Rey Rosa.

Mexican author Rubirosa is attending a book fair in Tangier when he reconnects with an old acquaintance, a Moroccan artist who asks one favor of his visiting to access the puzzling files on a memory card. It could help fulfill the destiny of his son Abdelkrim. It could also unwittingly draw both men into irreversible events already in motion on distant shores.

In America, Abdelkrim, a brilliant aspiring astronaut deemed “too Muslim” for citizenship, has teamed up with an equally gifted young prodigy, a witness to the plight of Syrian refugees. Together, the foreign students share a vision of altering the world’s geopolitical landscape to end human suffering with a nearly inconceivable blueprint. And they can turn theory to reality. They can bring about change. But only through a technological apocalypse can there be redemption—by unleashing total chaos.

A provocative morality tale that moves with the visceral rhythms of a high-tech thriller, Chaos, A Fable is a spare and stunning triumph from one of the most celebrated Latin American authors of his generation.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy, Morocco

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 17, 2016

About the author

Rodrigo Rey Rosa is perhaps the most prominent writer on the Guatemalan literary scene. Along with the work of writers like Roberto Bolaño, Horacio Castellanos Moya, and Fernando Vallejo, Rey Rosa’s fiction has been widely translated and internationally acclaimed. His books include Dust on Her Tongue, The Beggar’s Knife, and The Pelcari Project, all of which were translated into English by the late Paul Bowles. In addition to his many novels and story collections, Rey Rosa has translated books by Bowles, Norman Lewis, François Augiéras, and Paul Léautaud.

Reviews

[Alexandra ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5/5

[Jenn Amanda (she / her) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rodrigo weaves Moroccan culture, Islamic faith, and political upheaval seamlessly in his story about Abdelkrim.
Rubirosa, referred to as “The Mexican,” receives tapes from a close friend Mohammed detailing the story of his son Abdelkrim.
Mohammed brings Rubirosa into his story by introducing him to a promise that was made by a raven who foretold that Abdelkrim would be an amazing talent to the world, excelling all that he does and accomplishing great things.
The tapes take us on along his son’s journey as he grows into this promise. His abilities and intelligence are quickly recognized upon entering grade school and takes him from his home in Morocco to study in the U.S. It is there that he meets others like him - intelligent and with strong desires to change the state of the world as it currently exists.
Rubirosa soon discovers that receiving these tapes gave him more than he expected as he is thrown into a plot bigger than himself and involves international intrigue.
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I gave this 🌟🌟🌟 because I enjoyed the story yet I was unable to get into the plot until Part 2. Before, and in parts after, I was often confused and unsure as to what exactly was occurring. However, the overall story allowed me to piece together some of my confusion towards the end and I appreciate the overarching story and how political themes played a major part in the story yet were not overpowering. You had to think about the different pieces to see how the fit together in the end.

[Mandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I understood this somewhat opaque novel in the sense that I followed the words and the action, but what it all amounted to left me rather bemused. It starts ok. A Mexican author reconnects with an old friend in Tangier and is entrusted with a memory card belonging to his son with a request to find out what’s on it. Then it all gets a bit thrillerish. Apparently this card is a pretty dangerous item and inserting it into a computer leads to all sorts of bad stuff. I guess that’s where the “fable” bit comes in. But by that time I’d kind of lost the plot, so to speak, and not only could I not really understand what it was all about, I didn’t really care. It all seemed a bit improbable and as I hadn’t connected to any of the characters I was quite happy to leave them to their own devices.

[Cookie M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry. I didn't understand it. I received this book free in exchange for an honest review on Goodreads, but I cannot give it an honest review.

[Shir · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about... well, I'm not entirely sure *what* the plot of this book is, apart from it feeling like a random assortment of recollections and experiences. The book shows great promise as it touches on Islam, Moroccan culture, and politics, and includes some - well, not magic, but whatever it was that had the raven talking to Abdelkrim's father (Mohammed). I'm not sure that Abdelkrim lives up to whatever grand destiny the raven had foretold, other than being highly intelligent and wanting to be an astronaut. I'm unsure why Abdelkrim wanted to draw the Mexican into whatever intrigues he was plotting, and overall, I think that the book would have benefitted from maybe being a bit longer but fleshing out the ending.

[Bob Lopez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, sometimes hard to follow, the book starts off with a Muslim boy genius with aspirations to becoming an astronaut. He is recruited to MIT, takes all the right classes, applies for citizenship, and, post 9-11, is deemed too Muslim to become a citizen and therefore cannot become an astronaut. The story felt a little muddled, too compact given its broad scope (it is, in fact, part thriller, as our Muslim astronaut, Abdelkrim, provided his father with his MIT story via saved files on a flash drive for Mac; this flash drive is then provided to the Mexican author, Rubirosa--clearly a stand-in for RRR all of which reminds me of a Philip Roth-style plot--to investigate, read, maybe write about it. Okay. So, there's stuff about disabling and removing satellites from orbit, I thought it was about disabling superfluous or maybe malfunctioning satellites; there's some sort of virus(?) that spread when Rubirosa first found a compatible Mac for the flash drive. Seems like Abdelkrim and other geniuses discussed in the novel were working together in this regard, but like I said, the novel was a little muddled for me and, I can't believe I'm saying this, would've benefitted from being longer. I'm not sure I liked it that much given how vague it read to me.

[Sonya Loyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this novella in a Goodreads Giveaway. It is a very international story that spans the globe, different religions and there are references to real historic events that gives it a timely feel. There is also an element of magic. I feel like it was an interesting puzzle that I couldn't quite solve. Maybe you can?

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fable for our times

[Bia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would Recommend!

A brief read, and a profound fable. I would recommend this to anyone with an open mind willing to learn about different cultures and philosophies.

[roguereader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many others have commented, and this book doesn’t have a solid plot or point. However, it also does. I enjoyed the myriad characters and interweaving of scenes. It seemed stream of consciousness and very “arab” in the way it told it story. What I truly enjoyed was feeling like I was with the characters, in part due to scenery and the weaving in of Arabic.

Oddly, I enjoyed the political nature as the characters reflected points differing from the American norm.

I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway.

[Ky Schlundt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads’ giveaways. I was confused throughout most of this book. It felt like it hopped around a bit and didn’t fully tell the main story, let alone any of the side stories. There were a few characters who were made to seem important, then they disappeared. I hope by sticking it through to the end, things would make more sense, but the end was completely chaotic. It felt like a tv she that has its episodes reduced in its last season and it has to rush through the storyline to the conclusion.

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

133:2025
Copied this from a review by Mandy:
I understood this somewhat opaque novel in the sense that I followed the words and the action, but what it all amounted to left me rather bemused. It starts ok. A Mexican author reconnects with an old friend in Tangier and is entrusted with a memory card belonging to his son with a request to find out what’s on it. Then it all gets a bit thrillerish. Apparently this card is a pretty dangerous item and inserting it into a computer leads to all sorts of bad stuff. I guess that’s where the “fable” bit comes in. But by that time I’d kind of lost the plot, so to speak, and not only could I not really understand what it was all about, I didn’t really care. It all seemed a bit improbable and as I hadn’t connected to any of the characters I was quite happy to leave them to their own devices.
I copied it because yep. It was fine. Not amazing. 2.5* rounded down.

[Jessie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't love this book, but I didn't hate it either. I was mostly confused. Just when I was figuring out one story line, the book shifted, and I wasn't sure what was going on again. I think the book ended like that for me. I was waiting for more of a wrap up, but there wasn't one. There seem to be a lot of characters that I didn't really get a feel for, and I wasn't sure who I was reading about half the time.

I received an ebook for free through a Goodreads giveaway.

[Julia Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure I entirely understood it, but it's ok for narratives to be looser than what one typically understands. I was excited to get this in a giveaway, however, because I'm trying to read more translation and South American. It's a more global story and does not take place in South America at all, but, I liked it a lot. It actually kind of reminds me of Mao II a little, it definitely has DeLillo's vision of global politics and the not too distant future if that makes sense.

[Non Pantalones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book surprised me - I never felt comfortable reading it. The language, the environment, it all served to keep me off-balance so that I was never able to settle into the strangeness of it all. I was constantly thinking my way around it - looking around unfamiliar corners, trying to piece everything together. The writing was impressive - working to create a seamless, disturbing whole. I didn't hate the feeling!

[Johan D'Haenen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wat blijft hier hangen?
1. De wereld is in chaos.
2. Er zijn geen regels.
3. En als er al regels zijn, dan worden ze niet gevolgd.
Kijk om je heen en stel de chaos vast... niets is goed of slecht, en om iets goeds tot stand te brengen, kan het nodig zijn om het slechte te promoten.
Wat zou de ultieme "oplossing" kunnen zijn? Het scheppen van de ultieme chaos... maar zelfs dat is niet zeker.

[Marlene Corona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es la primera vez que leo a Rey Rosa y tengo que aceptar que me atrapó con su narrativa simple y sin prisas. El libro narra la historia de un escritor mexicano que, sin razón aparente, se ve involucrado en una conspiración internacional. Es un libro sobre la violencia y la forma en la que la hemos hecho cotidiana.

[Andrew Garvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing, if sometimes opaque, short novel taking in Moroccan culture, American racism, technology, faith and Islamic terror, this is sometimes hard to follow and ends before the actual chaos referenced in the title actually happens. On finishing it, I can't say I was hugely into the story but did really like the writing style.

[Joaquin Calles Guzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me es muy extraño leer las criticas negativas de esta joya. Una novela polifónica, Borgiana, extraña y peligrosa como todas las novelas de alto calibre. Rey Rosa es un escritor del presente y del futuro, existencialismo y Anthropoceno, el futuro de la especie, el dolor y la moralidad del horror, todos caben aquí. Nada sobra, nada falta.

[Jimena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me costó un poco adentrarme en la historia, fue muy confuso para mi. En los últimos capítulos si logró engancharme, pero el final me quedó a deber. El estilo de escritura no me gustó tanto, a pesar de eso, creo que no es un libro malo, solamente no era para mi. Espero en un futuro no muy lejano darle la oportunidad a otro libro del autor.

[Diego · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es muy rara. Muy. La forma en que está escrita es novedosa para mi y le da mayor valor. Permite acercarnos a distintos puntos de vista entre civilizaciones occidentales y orientales, explora para ello personajes de variado origen y destino. Es muy interesante en ese sentido; sienteo tambien que es inconexo por momentos y que tiene una cadencia muy lenta en el comienzo y frenética hacia el final

[Amalia · Rating 1 out of 5]

This really made no sense, jumped around at a breakneck speed, and I often wondered whether the author was completely high or hammered when he wrote this. I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and wish I could un-enter the contest, because that's how bad and disjointed this was.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh?

I didn’t understand this book at all. Characters and plot seemed very disjointed. Whatever point the author was trying to make, or message he was trying to convey, was absolutely lost on me.

[Marcos · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an exciting read at times, though I was lost on the ending and why Rubirosa was involved at the very end. Maybe erratic storytelling was a style choice connected to a theme of chaos. Though disrupting society by destroying satellites was the more likely reason I think.

[Sue Kozlowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book as part of my quest to read a book written by an author from every country in the world. The author of this book is from Guatemala.

I hate to give this only 2 stars but I have done so because I didn't understand this book at all. The author grew up in Guatemala but then he later moved to Morroco, which is the setting of this book.

Mexican author Rubirosa is attending a book fair in Tangier. He visits an old friend, Mohammed. Mohammed asks him to look at the files on a computer card. From, there the story reads like a foreign spy movie! Mohammed has a brilliant son, Abdelkrim, who is going to school in the US to be an astronaut. Abdelkrim and his friends discuss creating chaos in the world by disrupting all of the satellites floating in space. Throughout the story, the characters discuss terrorism and world crisises - terrorism, ISIS, the plight of the Syrian refuges, and 9/11.

[Bayron Gómez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Primera obra que leo de Rodrigo Rey Rosa y me parece muy interesante la interacción de los tres personajes. Me gusta como va subiendo la intensidad del drama pero me parece que ya de ultimo se desploma.

[Arnau Bertran Manyé]

No entendí el libro muy bien, pero no es una crítica negativa, solo un comentario. Se nota que el autor conoce la cultura de los países en los que narra la historia, tiene escenas muy bonitas y simbólicas.

[Susana Ory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha gustado más por aspectos formales (básicamente, cómo organiza la información) que por la historia en sí, que al final me ha parecido un poco WTF. Y en principio pintaba bien, pero empieza a poner capas aparentemente conectadas en una historia un poco bobochorra en su conclusión.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was.... Interesting, to say the least.