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    Fuera de quicio
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    Fuera de quicio
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    Fuera de quicio
    Ebook354 pages5 hours

    Fuera de quicio

    By Karen Joy Fowler

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Para adentrarse en esta novela, tal y como du autora hubiera deseado, lo ideal sería evitar leer cuanto se desgrana en esta contraportada. Esperemos que esta advertencia les haya calado hondo y decidan dejar la lectura aquí, antes de descubrir que "Fuera de quicio" nos propone una inmersión en lo más profundo de una familia norteamericana de la clase media que durante algunos años vivirá una situación extraordinaria que marcará sus vidas para siempre. ¿Qué significa ser o no ser humano? ¿Acaso existe una condición intermedia? Un psicólogo y padre de familia concibe un audaz experimento con primates que tiene el objetivo de profundizar en el conocimiento del comportamiento entre animales o humanos en régimen de convivencia, en su casa y tomando a sus propios hijos como cobayas. El estudio tendrá desgarradoras e hilarantes repercusiones.
    LanguageEspañol
    PublisherMALPASO
    Release dateJan 18, 2016
    ISBN9788416420674
    Unavailable
    Fuera de quicio
    Author

    Karen Joy Fowler

    Well known in the mainstream for her New York Times bestseller, The Jane Austen Book Club, Karen Joy Fowler is a well-respected and considerable force in SF and Fantasy as well. She is a two-time winner of the Nebula and World Fantasy awards, and cofounder of the Tiptree Award, given for works dealing with the politics of sex and gender.

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    Reviews for Fuera de quicio

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      The unreliable narrator takes the reader on such twists and turns of the plot, ultimately reminding me of how we are all unreliable narrators, viewing the world through our own lens. I feel like saying what it's about would rob others of the thill I got in finding the story's secret, but I will say that there's a lot of family drama, psych theory, college life and self analysis along with a dose of the absurd-or-is-it. Good stuff!
    • 2/5
      An interesting but not riveting story of life with a chimpanzee as a sibling in the younger years and what that did to family and individual relationships and directions of life journeys.
    • 4/5
      Book on CD narrated by Orlagh CassidyCollege student Rosemary Cooke is all but estranged from her family. Yes, she still speaks to her parents, and they are supporting her, but she’s gone as far as she possibly can from her Indiana home and only grudgingly goes home for quick holiday visits. A chance encounter with a fellow student, Harper, with a volatile temper and a propensity to act out, causes Rosemary to briefly abandon the careful façade she’s adopted and has her reflecting on her childhood, and her lost siblings: her sister Fern and her brother Lowell. Through her thoughts and flashbacks the reader gradually gets a picture of the young Rosemary – talkative to the point of distraction, happy, inextricably linked to Fern and both under the protection of older brother Lowell. They live with their parents on a farm near the university where their father is a research professor, and the graduate students who work under him are part of the extended family. Rosemary and Fern roam freely in the natural landscape, climbing trees, catching frogs at the creek, picking wildflowers. But one pivotal event (which Fowler doesn’t fully reveal until close to the end of the book) destroys this idyllic existence and causes a nearly irreparable rift. Fowler’s writing brings this wounded family to life. Though Rosemary is the narrator, and an unreliable one at that, we do get a sense of both the “before” and the “after.” Of how her once vibrant, clever mother is now a shell of her former self. Of why her adoring (and adored) older brother left and became a fugitive wanted by the FBI. Of how her father carries the burden of guilt and blame that his wife and children place on him for what happened. And of the guilt that Rosemary feels, because she “knows” that it was all her fault. It's the kind of character-driven literary fiction that I relish. Orlagh Cassidy does a marvelous job of performing the audio version. She sets a good pace, and I could follow the plot despite the back-and-forth in time structure. However, I think I would have enjoyed this even more had I read it in text, so I could savor Fowler’s writing.
    • 5/5
      Rather heartbreaking but beautiful. Lovely writing, interesting story, good characterization. I did not really know what I was getting into when I started listening to this book but am very glad I did. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      I found the first half of the book intriguing and written intelligently with a great dose of creativity. It then fizzled out for me. I finished it, but didn't feel connected to the characters by the end.
    • 4/5
      What started as a reluctant book club read turned out to be one of my favorites of the year! I was swept right up by Rosemary’s dry narration and her extraordinary yet completely recognizable family. This book is clever, funny, achingly sad, and simply irresistible. Four and a half stars.
    • 4/5
      Delightful. I wasn't at all prepared for this but it was thoughtful, playful and very satisfying. Three pages after I worked out the twist, it was revealed and I was praised for having worked it out. Ther's nothing like the fictional narrator of a novel telling you how clever you are for having picked up the obvious clues that were written out just for you. This is the first of this year's Booker shortlist that I have read and the winner will have to be pretty good to top this.
    • 3/5
      Hard to describe...good theme of animal rights and respect but I often found the story slow and tedious at times.
    • 5/5
      An excellent thought provoking exploration of what it means to be human, what it means to be nonhuman, psychology, philosophy, the ethics of animal rights, and family, and a suspenseful story on top of that.
    • 5/5
      Karen Joy Fowler has authored six novels and three short story collections. She has won a Pen/Faulkner award among numerous other prizes. Fowler has two children, and seven grandchildren. She lives in Santa Cruz, California. In We are All Completely Beside Our Selves, she has penned a book at once curious, frightening, sad, and comical. The is the tale of the Cooke family: the father, Vincent, is a psychiatrist, and his wife, and the children Lowell, Rosemary, and Fern. The last two were raised together, until Fern was “sent away.” The novel is narrated by Rosemary, “sister” to Fern. She begins the story “in medias res,” so I will do likewise. Fowler writes, “So the middle of my story comes in the winter of 1996. By then, we’d long since dwindled to the family that old home movie foreshadowed—me, my mother, and unseen but evident behind the camera, my father. In 1996, ten years had passed since I’d last seen my brother, seventeen since my sister disappeared. The middle of my story is all about their absence, though if I hadn’t told you that, you might not have known. By 1996, whole days went by in which I hardly thought of either one. […] I was twenty-two years old, meandering through my fifth year at the University of California, Davis, and still maybe only a junior or maybe a senior, but so thoroughly uninterested in the niceties of units or requirements or degrees that I wouldn’t be graduating anytime soon. My education, my father liked to point out, was wider than it was deep. He said this often” (5-6). Rosemary’s education seems to be a persistent topic for family discussion. Karen writes, “Mom had a theory I heard through the bedroom wall. You didn’t need a lot of friends to get through school, she told Dad, but you had to have one. For a brief period in the third grade, I pretended that Dae-jung and I were friends. He didn’t talk, but I was well able to supply both sides of the conversation. I returned a mitten he’d dropped. We ate lunch together, or at least we ate at the same table, and in the classroom he’d been given the desk next to mine on the theory that when I talked out of turn, it might help his language acquisition. The irony was that his English improved due in no small part to my constant yakking at him, but as soon as he could speak, he made other friends. Our connection was beautiful, but brief” (113).Fowler has laid a series of less than obvious clues regarding an ending which will offer the reader something between shock and amusement. How a reader places the clues determines where a reader begins to assemble these clues. One peculiar item is the lack of a name for the mother. I usually note names of important characters, and in beginning this review, I realized I had none for her. I sped through the book from page one to the end, and never saw her referred to as anything except Mom or mother. Very annoying! I hereby give her the daughter’s name, Rosemary.We Are All Completely Besides Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler is a tragic story difficult for animal lovers to read. The only saving grace is the end of most chimpanzee experiments, and serious curtailing of test on other mammals. 5 star--Chiron, 7/17/17
    • 4/5
      "A family with two daughters and a mother and father who'd promised to love them both exactly the same"By sally tarbox on 26 October 2017Format: PaperbackI'd probably give this a 3.5*.Narrated by an apparently unfocused and troubled student, Rosemary Cooke, the reader soon becomes aware of a problematic home life: "ten years had passed since I'd last seen my brother, seventeen since my sister disappeared." In excerpts of memory, cut into current events, the reader is slowly made aware of what happened and the ongoing trauma; it's not what you may have expected...Heartbreaking in parts, very cleverly written, I nonetheless found the disjointed narrative slightly worked against it.
    • 4/5
      Karen Joy Fowler creates unique, intelligent stories from a truly singular perspective and “We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves” delivers again. This is a novel with a premise that could have gone off the tracks. Thankfully, the book turns out to be fascinating, well-constructed, and both unforgettable and worth some serious discussion after reading.The story is narrated by Rosemary, one of the daughters of the Cooke family that also includes her psychologist father, her mother, her brother Lowell, and her twin sister Fern. The story starts with Rosemary in early 20’s but individual chapters carefully reveal both earlier and later stages of her family’s life. In chapter 5, Rosemary finally explains that she was raised with Fern, who is not a biological twin but an orphan baby chimpanzee. They were studied and monitored by their parents and graduate students in residence until Fern was removed from the family when Rosemary was 5 years old. This removal nearly shatters the family and the resulting consequences shape much of the story.Wonderful character development and thoughtful ‘what-if’ speculation make this premise work, and there are both humor and serious psychological/family dynamics issues woven into the plot. It is also important to note that Karen Joy Fowler mixes animal rights information into the story by creating the brother Lowell as a fugitive on the run who belongs to the radical Animal Liberation Front. However, in the end, what I will remember most about this story is the depiction of little Rosemary and little Fern – their closeness and love and sibling rivalry, their impact on each other, and their innate ‘sameness’. But Rosemary was never a normal girl and Fern was never a normal chimpanzee. What gifts are worth having? How do we thank, survive, and forgive our families? What respect and protection do humans owe fellow species? If you are in a book group, this novel could generate a very intriguing conversation.
    • 4/5
      Karen Joy Fowler's "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves" is part family drama, part social commentary, and part behavioral study. It explores the consequences of giving up a child in an established family. It just so happens that the child is a chimpanzee. Fowler mixes joyful memories and humor with emotional distress and a guilty conscious. She delves into "human" connections/interactions and forces the reader to face some ugly truths. But all the while, there is hope and understanding.I rather enjoyed this book. It reminded me of a slightly lighter version of Barbara Kingsolver's fiction. I would recommend this to anyone. Just be prepared to mix some tears in with your laughter.
    • 5/5
      A most excellent novel filled with insight into human relationships and family struggles. I loved this book so much that it took me forever to write a review because I felt I couldn't do it justice. This is an amazing story, once again I'm left wondering how on earth people dream up the things they write. I mean it is so spot on, it's as if she really did live that life. I'd suggest this book to anyone and everyone I know. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it. I feel so lucky to have received an early reviewers copy.
    • 4/5
      I'd never read Karen Joy Fowler before but was interested in her as a co-founder of the Interstitial Arts Council, a council primarily for writers who write science fiction and fantasy that is so subtle that it is sometimes other. Or perhaps you could say it is for writers who don't want to be bound by genre. This knowledge should have prepared me for what I found.I found a science-based piece of fiction that couldn't exactly be called science fiction because the action is present time. The science is real, mostly in psychology. I found a novel that isn't shaped like a novel. It has shape, but not like anything you've seen before. It certainly isn't chronological and all the memories retold in it may or may not be "real" memories, for what that's worth in fiction. A girl, until the age of 5, was raised with a chimpanzee as a twin. They did everything together. While this humanized the chimp, it dehumanized the child. The child grew up with odd social skills and the inability to make friends until she hit college. Now in college, she is befriended by a wild girl with a '20s' starlet's name. She's trying so hard to leave her "Monkeygirl" past behind her that her past is always with her. So, what the reader is looking for is what exactly is her past. Is there an exact past? How does it affect her. And others?
    • 4/5
      Rosemary, the narrator of this story, is traumatized by the unexplained loss of her twin sister, Fern, at the age of five. This leaves her mother deeply depressed, puts her father into career doldrums and alcoholism and eventually causes her brother to leave the family. Rosemary tries to find the secret to behaving like normal people but never quite succeeds. The fact that her twin sister is a chimpanzee and both were the subject of her father's research projects means that she is neither able to truly understand what really happened when Fern disappeared nor behave like other five year old children. She finally decides that being silent as much as possible is the only option, to escape the stigma of being the 'monkey girl.' She tells the story of her life, first from the middle, as a college student, then from the beginning as a child, then from the middle again, then from the end. This is an entrancing story that reads like a memoir. I had to keep reminding myself that it was fiction. At times it was frustrating, I wanted to shake the key people by their shoulders and say 'just talk to each other, it would be so much better if you just had an honest conversation.' But each member of the family is in their own personal prison and just as silent in their own way as Rosemary. I was skeptical of the premise when I started reading. I was not convinced that parents would actually carry out this type of research with their own family. The science and research results that are included make this a more compelling and believable story.
    • 5/5
      What if for the first five years of your life you were raised with a chimp as your twin sister, only to have her taken away? That's the emotionally fraught premise of this absorbing and disconcerting novel. Though it moves around in time, the story flows in a seamless riveting stream as told by Rosemary, the sometimes flippant first person narrator. Each family member reacts differently: the mother is incapacitated by despair, the academic father whose experiment this was is defensive, the brother becomes a fugitive animal rights activist, and Rosemary--the "twin" of her chimp sister Fern--has some difficulties negotiating the world as a human. Called "monkey girl" by her kindergarten classmates, she has absorbed too many chimp tendencies and mannerisms, like fingering people's hair, to seem completely normal. At first she is afraid that she too will be sent away from her family; later she has difficulties becoming close to anyone since she works hard to keep her past a secret. It's a past she only gradually uncovers because her memories of childhood are mutable and confusing. The idea of raising a chimp in a human family is based on real experiments that often had heartbreaking results for both the chimps, who end up not fitting into either world, and the people who love them. Fowler has managed to weave in facts and musings about animal cognition, emotions, and rights in ways that enhance and deepen the story rather than drag it down in a didactive agenda. It's a layered story; Rosemary is feels love but also sibling rivalry for Fern. The characters--human and chimp--and their emotions are thoroughly imagined and multidimensional.
    • 5/5
      Book Review - We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy FowlerWe are all completely beside ourselves Karen Joy Fowler Trade Paperback Publisher: A Marian Wood Book/Putnam Publication Date: May 30, 2013 ISBN-13: 978-0399162091 320 pages Uncorrected Proof - Advance Reader’s Copy Karen Joy Fowler writes some of the oddest fiction I’ve ever read. And when I say odd I mean brilliant in a slanted, quirky way. When she writes a nostalgic scene you will think of your childhood home, your grandparents, and those you loved, laughed, and played with when you were growing up. When she wants you to laugh at yourself or teases your sensibilities you will find the humor hidden in all the little crevices of humanity. When she holds up the mirror of sentiment and emotion you will see yourself in her story. We are all completely beside ourselves is a story of love, family, devotion, separation, and the dichotomy of life and the biased memories we make in our own minds concerning our pasts. But more than that it’s a story of social interaction and how we act, react, and interact through emotionally stressful and confusing times. One undeserved criticism Fowler sometimes receives is that her characters are unfinished, furtive, and difficult to connect to. Many of her characters are mysteriously, and I think, intentionally, incomplete and here’s why I think it’s the perfect approach to creating a superior character, especially in the emotionally-driven narratives Fowler creates. Humans are enigmatic and unknown even to themselves sometimes. We are flawed, we are duplicitous, and we are opinionated and often change our attitudes. We occasionally don’t know our own minds or the real reasons we say or act the way we do. We are hurtful yet full of kindness. We are truthful but lie to preserve our own slanted images of ourselves and we confuse emotions with obsessions. Karen Joy Fowler’s characters then, mirror the gaps and holes in us all. In essence she writes enormously realistic characters that remind us of our own strengths, failings, assets, and ambiguities. Simply put, she writes convincing characters as compassionate, flawed, emotional human beings. This is the second novel by Karen Joy Fowler I’ve reviewed. I gave the first, Sarah Canary, a high overall review rating for originality, style, and content. We are all completely beside ourselves is no less creative than Sarah Canary and is, in my opinion, a superior read well worth the time. File with: mysteries, animal rights, emotionally-driven narratives, the human condition, love, loneliness, and social interaction.4 ½ out of 5 StarsThe Alternative Southeast Wisconsin
    • 4/5
      In the 1930s, the first in what would become a series of social anthropological studies was conducted: What would happen if a baby chimpanzee was raised in an otherwise normal domestic human environment? The obvious focus of that experiment would invariably be on how the chimp’s physical and mental development might be affected, in areas ranging from its interactive behaviors to the acquisition of language skills. But just as interesting is the effect that the presence of a primate in the family might have on the human parents and siblings. For instance, would the brothers and sisters adopt habits or make choices they would not have made under normal circumstances? Would the kids’ ability to relate to other humans in their age group (i.e., school friends) be adversely impacted? Or, is it possible for parents to love a chimpanzee child and a human child equally well or even in the same way?In her engaging and frequently charming novel, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler provides a lot of insight into just those types of questions. The story is told from the perspective of Rosemary Cooke, a 22-year old college student in the mid-1990s, who until the age of five was raised beside Fern, her chimp sister. Along with her parents and estranged brother Lowell, Rosemary has struggled mightily with feelings of sadness, anger, confusion, and guilt since Fern was taken away from the family so many years ago. The narrative moves backward and forward in time as Rosemary tries to come to grips with her complicity in Fern’s banishment and, in the process, her attempts to put back together a life that has gone badly off the tracks.This was a very enjoyable book to read, both for the thought-provoking way it addresses animal rights issues—most of the time, at least—and the fact that it is often quite funny. The author has imbued Rosemary with wonderfully cynical and self-deprecating sense of humor that goes a long way to lightening the impact of some emotionally difficult episodes that appear throughout the tale. If I have any complaint about the story it would be that it gets a little too preachy in its criticism of how animals of all kinds—and laboratory animals especially—are treated by the human population; in fact, the sub-plot involving Lowell as a PETA-style terrorist felt like a bit of a false note. Still, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves was both enlightening and entertaining, which is a lot for one book to deliver.
    • 4/5
      Rosemary is growing up with her brother, Lowell, and her sister, Fern, before Fern disappears when Rosemary is about 5 years old. Later, Lowell runs away and she doesn’t see him for years. When she does see him, he is on the run from the FBI. There is a lot more going on, particularly with Fern, but I don’t want to spoil it (just don’t look at the tags, though… it’s hard to avoid!)I would have rated the first half (or 2/3) of the book “good”, at 3.5 stars, but I really liked the end, and wanted to give it 4.5. In the end, I averaged it out to 4 stars. I’d really like to say what I liked about it, but anyone who has read it and who knows me can probably guess. It might be a bit of a spoiler to say. Ugh! Hard to write a review without spoilers on this one! I listened to the audio and it was well done. I rarely lost focus.
    • 5/5
      When I started this novel, I underestimated it. Had to fight through a few chapters and I am so glad I did. I was drawn to it because of the subject matter. The quote from the New York Times says 'the story of an American family, middle-class in middle America, ordinary in every way but one. But that exception is the beating heart of this extraordinary novel. You must read it..And love it.
    • 4/5
      I have long been a fan of Karen Fowler's short stories, ever since grad school when a professor recommended her collection Artificial Things, which flirts readily with science fiction and, often, takes disturbing turns. Her novels, however, have never really grabbed me. Until now. I read through this one in the space of two days, eager to get home to it when I was off on necessary excursions. It is a fascinating work of not-quite-linear narrative, with a teasing pace that layers on the intrigue. And, as I implied above, Fowler is comfortably accomplished at the art of the disturbing turn. This book has its share of them.It is a novel that takes the tone of a memoir, told in pieces by a woman whose early life was defined by the presence -- and then absence -- of an unusual family member. The book would actually work even better if it didn't reveal, on the back blurb, that the sister whom our narrator, Rosemary, is missing happens to be a chimpanzee. The novel itself takes its time in revealing that, just as it takes its time with every major reveal, tantalizing the reader with a drop of foreshadowing before twisting off in another direction, just in the manner of uncomfortable recollection. Uncomfortable recollection sums up the tone of the novel. But it is also compulsively readable. Rosemary's narrative folds back on itself several times, conscious of the details that are being avoided. Avoided, that is, until the very best, or last, moment. The characters, all deeply flawed, are fascinating, but their life events and intersections, as unfolded through Rosemary's slow striptease of emotional avoidance, are the best parts of the book. Well worth the read.
    • 3/5
      i loved the narrartor, Rosemary. She was clever and weird and quite comical. I didn't so much enjoy the scientific aspects of the book, but i did enjoy the eccentric family and the story of how they all dealt with the heartache of losing a "family member." If only the family memeber hadn't been a chimpanzee, perhaps i wouldv'e liked it a little mroe!!!
    • 4/5
      It's an unusual book and a very good one. Although this is one of many things I don't know about, I'm fairly certain this must have been tried in the past, probably with mixed results. Ms Fowler writes in such a way that she makes us care about each of the characters, and are disappointed when things don't turn out the way we had hoped. I'll share this one with my friends.
    • 5/5
      I didn't know what to expect when I first started reading this book, but I certainly didn't think I would devour it in a single evening. Karen Joy Fowler's story of a family scattered by despair and secrets will definitely be one that sticks with me long after I post this review. And it's all centered around a single, unexpected character: Fern.Fowler's narrator Rosemary starts her story of her sister Fern in the middle, then the beginning, then the middle again, then the almost-end, then back to the middle...well, you get the idea. This non-traditional, non-linear storytelling is what kept me rapt with attention; the hints about what was to come and what to remember for later or disregard completely because we have no use of it again is something I hardly ever experience when reading, and it's amazing. This is how I imagine myself or my friends telling a story.Stories, communication, language, and speaking are central to the novel. How we communicate, what the difference is between language and communication, how much (or how little) we talk and what we say, and what we remember from childhood are so integral to the novel that I found myself wondering if I have events or moments from my own childhood that I completely mis-remember or choose to forget completely.What I thought was going to be a story about a family with an unconventional addition turned out to be a funny, heartbreaking, sometimes all-too-familiar story about family and the impact we have on each other. This was truly a fantastic novel. I can't wait to share it with my friends.
    • 4/5
      I loved that there were these asides that were just so surprisingly funny. Especially since the general feel of the novel was painful - Rosemary wading through the pain that has made up her family life. I liked the ending as well - it was an ending of forgiveness and healing - at least as much as we can manage in our imperfect world.
    • 2/5
      This book was a big disappointment. It was recommended by a friend, I presume because of my animal rights activism during the time period that the book takes place. Perhaps because of that background, I found nothing new or illuminating in the tale at all. I almost stopped reading it when I read reviews here that referenced the cruelty in animal research. Having decided I could skim over those parts, I discovered (sorry folks) I've known about far worse. The cynical, tongue-in-cheek narration was a distraction from a tale that could have had deep implications. Most of the book was filled with unlikeable and ridiculous shallow (including Rosemary)characters, and I found myself skimming through the second half of the book. Harlow, a wretched and preposterous companion for Rosemary, is perhaps the human analog of Fern and is Rosemary's attempt to replace her long-lost sister - hardly a unique plot device to this particular story. Her references of animal research are superficial synopses of the most well-known cases and include no depth of exploration of them The last 20 pages, in which she and her mother actually, for the first time talk about Fern, are the only part of this book with some depth and insight. I am grateful that so many others found this book so compelling - as I do believe it has an important message. I just wish she had done a better job in writing it
    • 5/5
      Favorite quote that is not in any way a spoiler: "When I run the world, librarians will be exempt from tragedy. Even their smaller sorrows will last only for as long as you can take out a book."
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this novel, but primarily because of the themes it shares with a non-fiction book I read earlier this year, Next of Kin. Interestingly, Fowler mentioned Next of Kin but didn't provide actual citations. I think that this novel should have had that. I also think it would have been stronger if the relationship between Fern and Rosemary was allowed to unfold naturally in the story rather than being exposed in the book description and back cover.
    • 5/5
      What a fantastic and fascinating read! Fowler sucks you in from the beginning with the admission that Rosemary's sister was a chimpanzee - you can't help but think, "Say what!?" I loved this book and found that I could not put it down. Fowler's writing was engaging and spot on when exploring the difficulties of familial relationships. She did an amazing job with this story and will no doubt have you reading into the wee hours of the night (as you won't want to stop reading). A book I would recommend to fans of Fowler and fans of good fiction!