I think this book is my favourite one I’ve read. I absolutely loved how unique the plot was and the language filled with beautiful description and intriguing characters. I love an “aha” moment when reading and this book did not fail me! While reading, I was curious about the title and how it would connect to the actual plot. I actually wrote down in my notes towards the end of reading “ohhhhh, all the characters are “chameleons” who can change and transform into something/someone else”. My moment of realization that each character, even the gecko, was a sort of chameleon of transformation, changing “colour” so to speak and able to morph into someone new. Obviously Jose Buchmann is the best example, but each character in the book displayed some sort of concealment. I really loved this aspect. Even Felix, the man who lives in the house the gecko inhabits is a figure of transformation – I picked out this lovely quote that encapsulates this, “a man who dealt in memories, a man who sold the past, clandestinely, the way other people deal in cocaine.” (description of Felix). I absolutely loved this idea. It totally changed the way I thought of history because it seemed that even important people, like government officials, people who enact change and are public figures, used Felix’s abilities. It made me wonder if someone like him existed in our world and how much of history is actually real?

There were also lots of mentions and even chapters dedicated to dreams. The line between reality and dreams seemed to be very thin for not only the gecko, but each character. We learn a lot about the gecko’s human past through dreams. Even reality seems to have a chameleon nature, an ability to transform into fiction. I often also have very intricate and vivid dreams, where I have trouble remembering if it actually happened or not. I too sometimes feel like a “chameleon” in that way.

I loved the language used in this book and how important description and imagery was to the text. The book to me felt like a warm hug or an embrace, and felt much easier to read than past books. I think this is also one of my reasons for liking it so much. Because of how it was structured into smaller chapters, it felt more digestable.

One thing I was a bit confused about was the time period. When I first starting reading, I got the impression the story was taking place maybe in the late 18th century or early 19th century. I think it was because of the description of things and the clothes the characters wore. I didn’t notice any of the newer technologies I associate with the time period it was actually in. I had to do some of my own calculations from Angela’s birth year, which was 1977 and then assume she was in her late twenties or so? I did not expect it to be in the 2000s though! I just got an old fashion feeling while reading and was surprised at the time it was set at.

I loved the ending as well. The format of a diary entry from Felix himself. I was sad at the death of the gecko though! I wonder what that means for his soul and whether or not “death” meant something else. I absolutely loved the last few lines as well -” I’m reminded of that black and white picture of Martin Luther King speaking to the crowd: / have a dream … He really should have said, “I made a dream.” If you think about it there’s a difference between having a dream and making a dream.Yes, I’ve made a dream. “. It was such a beautiful way to end the book about transformation! Instead of ‘having’ something, which infers that you had no part in it,   ;made /making’ implies the self, that we had something to do with the result.

My question for discussion is about Felix and his relationship with the gecko – do you think his dreams about the gecko being a human were purely fiction or was somehow the gecko influencing them? Also just for fun, would you consider yourself an animist? I think I would call myself one!