“Death as a Side Effect” by Ana Maria Shua (Argentina)

Review

Readers had varying opinions on this book with some of them loving it while others found it unrelentingly bleak. One thing they all agreed upon was that it was extremely well written and that the translator, Andrea G. Labinger, had done an excellent job rendering this. Most readers found the depiction of the dystopian future very realistic saying they could picture all the scenes quite easily. They felt the story focused a lot more on the relationships between the different characters and as a result came across as quite introspective. They thought the narrator was a bit whiny and weak, but they felt pity for him because of his sadistically cruel father. Overall, they found everything was tinged with sadness. The book averaged a 7.4 out of 10.

Synopsis

In “Death as a Side Effect,” Ana Maria Shua’s brilliantly dark satire transports readers to a dystopic future Argentina where gangs of ad hoc marauders and professional thieves roam the streets while the wealthy purchase security behind fortified concrete walls and the elderly cower in their apartments in fear of being whisked off to state-mandated ‘convalescent’ homes, never to return… Read more

Nicola’s Book Club reading list 

Season 14 – “Satire” (Sep 2011 – Jan 2012)

“A Case of Exploding Mangoes” by Mohammed Hanif (Pakistan)
“Death as a Side Effect” by Ana Maria Shua (Argentina)
“The Brothers’ Lot” by Kevin Holohan (Ireland) *
“Oryx and Crake” by Margaret Atwood (Canada)
“In the United States of Africa” by Abdourahman A. Waberi (Djibouti)

* The book club favourite