Still Born: Guadalupe Nettel

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Laura, who is working on a thesis, forms an unexpected bond with a troubled neighbourhood household comprising a woman and her young son. The boy is struggling with an aggressive temper directed at his mother after the death of his father. Her strong ideas regarding children and motherhood are put to question when she starts understanding the depth, love and bond of this union. Beautifully insightful and timely, Still Born is the story of 2 career-driven, adventurous friends in their mid-30s, living in Mexico City. Laura chooses to be sterilised while Alina is desperate to become pregnant with her husband. Soon, both women find themselves in unexpectedly complex motherhood-dilemmas. The voice of Laura, the narrator, is one with which I instantly bonded - the writing is clear and unflashy but also intimate and quietly enthralling. A wonderfully fluent translation too by Rosalind Harvey - just a shame that there was less of a sense of Mexico City than I expected: this book could have been transported to London, say, without having to change a thing.

Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel | Fitzcarraldo Editions

Upon selecting Still Born as one of its best books of 2022, The Economist called the novel ‘unsentimental’. To what extent do you agree with this? Discuss how this can be true when dealing with such emotionally-charged subject matter? E’ davvero instillato nelle figlie femmine da piccole secondo un programma stabilito a preservare la razza umana? Nettel is one of the leading lights in contemporary Latin American literature. ... I envy how naturally she makes use of language; her resistance to ornamentation and artifice; and the almost stoic fortitude with which she dispenses her profound and penetrating knowledge of human nature.’ Laura and Alina’s friendship evolves dramatically throughout the novel. At one point, Laura questions their friendship when their shared point of view changes, when Alina changes her mind and decides she would like children. Why does this change initially drive a wedge between them? Why is this commonality of such importance to Laura? For readers of Rachel Cusk and Sheila Heti, Still Born is a profound novel about motherhood, creativity, and the power of friendship and community to make caretaking easier from “one of the leading lights in contemporary Latin American literature” (Valeria Luiselli, author of Lost Children Archive).I loved this, I don’t think I have connected with a book as much as this in a long time. Heart-breaking, so much real emotion, and completely thought-provoking that I am still thinking about this book and the questions it has raised in me, about me, this is wonderfully written and beautiful book. It just covers so much like how even if you choose to become a mum, how much is free choice , when society instills and almost brainwashes reproduction, motherhood and how it’s natural, I also loved how it focuses on loss and society’s treatment of disability. I thought the ending was fantastic and symbolic of life itself, we don’t get closure and again that left me thinking A very interior book about motherhood, with a small cast of characters. It’s about the choices that you make, and the life that happens regardless of these. The relationships between the characters are real and messy but tender and heart-warming. In the beginning, my intention was to write the story of my friend and her little daughter, which I’ve found incredibly inspiring, both terrible and beautiful at the same time. Every day, children are born with neurological conditions that set them apart from others. Their families often take these situations as misfortunes that will end forever the life they had and turn it into hell. I wanted to show, through the story of this friend of mine, that it is possible to transform this painful experience into a meaningful one. I sentimenti sono complessi, mai scontati; la vita è quell’intreccio di caso e destino che ospita la meraviglia. Perché “l’amore arriva nei modi più inattesi, e tutto può cambiare da un momento all’altro. In bene e in male.” I read Still Born in less than a day. It is perfect: deeply feminist, wise, funny and alive. Nettel is generous to each of her characters, and in prose that is crisp and light. I love this book.’

La hija única by Guadalupe Nettel | Goodreads La hija única by Guadalupe Nettel | Goodreads

Una novela muy cortita, sencilla, pero profunda, una novela que habla sobre la maternidad desde muchos puntos de vista, pero no solo habla de maternidad, sino también de amistades, empatía… But what if she does live?' Alina insisted, perhaps trying to hold on to one last hope, the possibility of a miracle, or perhaps afraid to of this very thing. 'Will she just be a lump without emotions, without any intelligence?' No mother knows how long her children will live. There is even an expression that says that children are merely loaned to us, and that the length of this loan can last from a few hours to several decades.Adina does want to have children. She was having trouble conceiving. She was willing to start vitro fertilization. Sono tracce che ricompongono le domande che ci facciamo da sempre e, forse, è tutta questione d’interpretazione.

Guadalupe Nettel: Shortlisted for the International Booker Guadalupe Nettel: Shortlisted for the International Booker

Still Born is a moving, nuanced exploration of motherhood and the complexity of the maternal instinct… What follows is a complicated journey from pregnancy to new life, during which both Alina and Laura’s views on parenthood are put to the test as life throws complications at them that they could never have envisaged. All sides of the argument are handled with delicacy and insight, and aside from a recurring pigeon metaphor that feels a little too on-the nose, the writing is subtle, sharp, and beautifully rendered thanks to Rosalind Harvey’s smooth translation.’ Nettel, Guadalupe (16 June 2015). The Body Where I was Born. Translated by Lichtenstein, J.T. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-60980-527-2. [11] [12] But Alina's pregnancy takes a dramatic adverse turn, when after a later scan she is informed that her daughter's brain is not developing and the baby will likely die immediately after birth:Alina and Laura are friends, after many attempts of trying with her husband Alina is finally pregnant, while Laura moves into a new flat. Inadvertently, even Laura thinks she not really equipped for motherhood, she forms a bond with the next door neighbour’s son. Meanwhile Alina, going through the trials of pregnancy, learns that her child will have a brain defect and may die upon birth, something which changes her perspective towards life and her relationship with both her husband and Laura (as to be expected). Alina does give birth, and a successful one but I don’t think it’s right to tell the outcome as the book goes into more interesting territories after. La novela está narrada desde el punto de vista de Laura, una joven profesionista mexicana, que ha estudiado en el extranjero, y que está segura de su decisión de no ser madre. Es a través de su mirada que conocemos la historia de Alina y de Doris, amigas que han decidido tener hijos, enfrentando situaciones sumamente complejas. Personalmente, creo que la narración en primera persona –y desde un único punto de vista – le restó mucha fuerza a la historia. Laura es una mujer privilegiada (por lo menos en lo económico y en el acceso a la educación que ha tenido) y como tal, en algunos momentos considero que “juzga” las decisiones de otras mujeres. Esta impresión hubiera sido fácilmente minimizada si hubiéramos conocido la historia desde el punto de vista de cada una de las protagonistas. The friendship at heart of the novel – between Alina and Laura – will resonate deeply. Nettel renders their bond in all its richness and complexity.