Fever Dream Summary
Samanta Schweblin

Fever Dream Overview

Samanta Schweblin’s intense psychological thriller, Fever Dream, tells the story of a woman in a hospital bed. The woman’s name is Amanda, and her neighbor’s son, David, is at her bedside, listening to the story of how Amanda ended up in the hospital. Amanda describes eerie experiences with her neighbor, Carla, which led to Amanda becoming poisoned. While Amanda is slowly dying, David tries to find the moment in her story that reveals exactly how Amanda became sick, but Amanda’s wavering grasp on reality makes this task difficult. The narrative structure of this novel is a dialogue between Amanda and David, where David’s narration is in italics, and Amanda’s narration is in standard font. This novel explores themes of parenthood, reality, mortality, spirituality, and uncertainty.