Still Born

Upon selecting Still Born as one of its best books of 2022, The Economist called the novel ‘unsentimental’. To what extent do you agree with this? Discuss how this can be true when dealing with such emotionally-charged subject matter?

The title, Still Born, is of more significance than is initially read. As the author writes in the novel, ‘…We have the children that we have, not the ones we imagined we’d have, or the ones we’d have liked, and they’re the ones we end up having to contend with.’ (Pg. 189). Discuss this quote in relation to the title and the author’s intent behind both.

Much of the language used by the lead character, Laura, is purposefully clinical and devoid of emotion. ‘This is why, whenever things started to get serious with a man, I would explain to him that with me he could never reproduce’. (Pg. 20). Did this strike you upon reading? What effect did it have on you and how does it contribute to the overall tone of the story?

Nettel is known for her psychologically complex characters. Discuss the protagonist’s emotional journey and the ways in which she navigates her internal struggles in the novel.

Maternal ambivalence is a key theme of Still Born and Nettel explores a range of nuanced perspectives and evolving emotions through her portrayal of the two women. Does this feel unusual, or even timely? If so, it begs the question - why has Still Born been written now?

Throughout the novel, a pair of pigeons nest outside Laura’s balcony and she observes them through her window. Soon, it becomes clear they are raising a cuckoo who has infiltrated their nest. ‘It looked nothing like its parents. Its feathers were not grey, blue, or white, but dark and patchy, especially at its neck. None of this seemed to bother the two adult birds. They took care of the chick as if it were their pride and joy. They cooed to it, kept it warm, and did their utmost to bring it insects to eat.’ What bearing does this subplot have on the author’s wider narrative?

‘They were teenagers!’ the first woman cried, putting her brush down on the floor. ‘The guy who killed them said that they were whores who deserved it and that if he was set free, he’d do it again.’ (Pg. 165) While Still Born is a novel about motherhood, the subtext often gives nods to the violence and high rates of femicide in Mexican society. To what extent is the novel a feminist commentary on contemporary womanhood in the region?

When interviewed by The Booker Prizes, Nettel detailed how Still Born was based on the story of a friend and her daughter: ‘Every day, children are born with neurological conditions that set them apart from others. Their families often take these situations as misfortunes that will end forever the life they had and turn it into hell. I wanted to show, through the story of this friend of mine, that it is possible to transform this painful experience into a meaningful one.’ Do you think the author succeeded here? Did you find beauty in Alina’s experience when her daughter Inés was born with micro lissencephaly? Did it feel true to life?

Laura and Alina’s friendship evolves dramatically throughout the novel. At one point, Laura questions their friendship when their shared point of view changes, when Alina changes her mind and decides she would like children. Why does this change initially drive a wedge between them? Why is this commonality of such importance to Laura?

When asked if there was one specific moment in the book that stood out and stuck in their minds, our judges said it was the final page: ‘There are some scraps of dialogue, and Alina utters a very ordinary phrase, a cliché. But, for the reader, having hurtled through the story and all its convolutions, having seen all that remains hidden in the private lives of these characters, that line lands with prismatic power. Simple and devastating. What an ending.’ Was that the moment that stood out for you? What did you make of the book’s final lines, especially in relation to the events of the book as a whole?