Nona Fernandez - Voyager: Constellations Of Memory
5 ⭐
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction, Latin American Literature, Translated Literature
Translated by: Natasha Wimmer
Original Title: Mapa de Las Lenguas
Original Language: Spanish
Pages: 126
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Daunt Books Publishing
Date Published: 21st February 2023
Huge Thank You to Daunt Books Publishing for a copy.
Book Blurb:
A startling book-length essay, at once grand and intimate, from National Book Award finalist Nona Fernández.
Voyager begins with Nona Fernández accompanying her elderly mother to the doctor to seek an explanation for her frequent falls and inability to remember what preceded them. As the author stares at the image of her mother’s brain scan, it occurs to her that the electrical signals shown on the screen resemble the night sky.
Inspired by the mission of the Voyager spacecrafts, Fernández begins a process of observation and documentation. She describes a recent trip to the remote Atacama desert—one of the world’s best spots for astronomical observation—to join people who, like her, hope to dispel the mythologized history of Chile’s new democracy. Weaving together the story of her mother’s illness with story of her country and of the cosmos itself, Fernández braids astronomy and astrology, neuroscience and memory, family history and national history into this brief but intensely imagined autobiographical essay. Scrutinizing the mechanisms of personal, civic, and stellar memory, she insists on preserving the truth of what we’ve seen and experienced and finding ways to recover what people and countries often prefer to forget.
In Voyager, Fernández finds a new container for her profound and surreal reckonings with the past. One of the great chroniclers of our day, she has written a rich and resonant book.
My Review:
This book is something else! So
beautiful and lyrical! Honestly, I wish I could give it the whole constellation
of stars and not just a mere 5 stars. The writing is just superb and hits just
the right heartstrings at the right times. I even cried reading this...that’s
how impactful and beautiful Fernandez's words are!
Memoir in a book-length essay about constellations in the sky,
the cosmos, the meaning of life, memories and much more. Fernandez also touches
on her mother’s illness, mythologised history of Chile’s new democracy, the importance
to remember the past and people who are lost but not completely gone from our
memories and from the stars.
I loved how Fernandez managed to link all of the topics that
don’t seem to fit with each other, so perfectly together, as well as making the
reader think outside the box. I adore her lyrical writing and making this
memoir flow through the galaxy-like spacecraft that is step-by-step opening of all
the secrets about our humans and Earth's beginnings. This book definitely made
me think a lot about myself, my own perceptions and my own memories. Honestly, it
just makes you think deeply about everything, as well as question your own
mind.
Overall: It is so hard to put into words how amazing this book
is and how touching it is to read those lyrical and beautifully crafted words.
Honestly, you need to pick this book up yourself to explore its true brilliance.
Loved it so much!
About the Author:
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