Full title: Schizein y la ciudad donde ya no sale el sol by Gema Vadillo
[Life, death, the snake that bites its own tail.
Chapter one. A cave made out of sugar. A man sits on a terrace at a bar. He smiles. A glass of water has been spilled. Table for two, please. We send some ants down the drain. A happy man. A sign on the door, posing a question. Ice. Concrete trees. Smoke. Death.]
Denisse has been through a lot. Since witnessing the car crash where her neighbour, a talented violinist, lost her life, Denisse has been having the strangest of hallucinations and dreams. Violin music haunts her at the least expected moments. A dark shadow made of smoke won’t stop following her and her best friend, Luca, everywhere. It makes its appearance on every photo she takes, on every corner of her town, Luft; a town where the sun never rises. When you cannot trust your own eyes, how are you supposed to distinguish reality from dreams?
Schizein may be Gema Vadillo’s first novel, but it has been cooking on low heat for a few years by now. What started as a Wattpad project back in 2015, finally became a fully-fledged novel in 2019, thanks to the Watty award it won in 2016. This psychological drama has been going around for quite some time, but it is not available to read on Wattpad anymore as the Spanish author considers that what was uploaded there was just a mere draft. Sadly, being a debut novel from a fairly little-known author, Schizein has not been translated into English or any other language, really. Nonetheless, the novel is available on Amazon, so if you are fluent or want to practice your reading skills in Spanish, this may be the perfect pick for you!
Within the tangle of Denisse’s mind, events are exquisitely original. Undoubtedly, the thoroughly developed plot is the star of Schizein. With very intricate narratives and small details that would otherwise go unnoticed, the little pieces of Denisse’s psychological journey are woven together in a surprisingly skilful way for such a novice author. Making use of a set of clever twists and timely revelations of information, Gema Vadillo keeps a steady pace that leaves the reader wanting for more…be prepared to be unable to put the book down until you solve the mystery behind Denisse’s psyche!
Along with the remarkable plot, the story has a surreal and whimsical atmosphere to it, where dreams, the monsters of the mind, and reality collide. The reader, thus, cannot discern truth from falsehood…nor from life and death. These devices are reminiscent of the Romantic literature from the 19th century, where the world of dreams and the subconscious attains a physicality that allows characters to explore their own minds.
As a result of said exploration of the psychological landscape, mental illnesses and its consequences on the mind and body are realistically and straightforwardly portrayed. More specifically, the author focuses on anxiety and depression — the former is personified in the figure of Phi, a horned monster, while the latter becomes more and more present as the story develops. In line with the dark tone of the novel, these problems are not sugarcoated: the protagonist’s pain is raw and dire. All of these horrors are, all in all, what Denisse have to battle against.
Keep in mind, however, that the writing style of this novel is not exactly its strongest asset, and it might make the read quite the feat for non-native Spanish speakers. Gema Vadillo uses quite the dense and elevated vocabulary. Even if that might be a positive thing for certain works, it is not the case for this one in particular. The style feels awkward and overexerted, to the point where certain words are not used properly and the dialogue feels rather stiff. Simultaneously, the expression in the novel does not fit with the eighteen-year-old protagonist —who narrates the story— or the rest of the characters. Also, being rather homogeneous, the expression thus doesn’t allow the characters to have their own voices.
Continuing this line of thought, the author makes use of an immense number of metaphors and cryptic figures of speech. Hence, certain segments of the novel and their meaning become distorted, leaving the reader confused as to what has just happened. Nonetheless, this is not such a big problem, as it coincides with the fact that a great part of the novel deals with the permanent state of confusion the protagonist, Denisse, lives in. She has one foot in real life and another in the world of dreams, so her mind is truly a labyrinth. A maze where metaphors become alive and reality —or the text itself— has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
All in all, Schizein is an enjoyable read —the perfect choice when you need something fast-paced and interesting to keep yourself entertained. Even if it is true that the execution leaves much to be desired, the novel is, after all, a debut. Reader, keep an eye on Gema Vadillo, because she has great potential. And who knows, maybe someday she will be published overseas for you to enjoy in your native language.
Schizein is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Will you be picking up Schizein? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Desde que mis vecinos tuvieron aquel accidente no soy la misma. Cuando aún salía el sol me pasaba las tardes con mi cámara de fotos, pero ahora todo ha cambiado. No puedo dormir, y tengo visitas recurrentes al borde de mi cama de la criatura de cuernos de humo negro. Hay un anciano en mis sueños que me dice que marche hacia la catedral, y que si la encuentro seré capaz de salir del bucle en el que me he visto atrapada durante tantos meses… pero solo tengo a Luca, y no hay ni rastro del sol en el cielo.
