The Book of Chameleons by José Eduardo Agualusa is beautiful and unique to read. The book was also very dreamy and it seemed like I didn’t know what was true and what was a lie or dream throughout the book. We follow the gecko’s point of view back and forth between reality, dreams, and the past.

The narrator of this novel is very interesting, his name is Eulálio, who reincarnated into a gecko. However, he still has the memory is man, and can think and observe what happens around him. Eulálio had always lived in Felix Ventura’s house, who is an albino.  Felix Ventura’s work is what I found most interesting in this book. He is a genealogist who makes up a new identity and family tree for people who have money and status but don’t have a good past. “He provides them with photographs of their grandparents and great-grandparents, gentlemen of elegant bearing and old-fashioned ladies”. (p.25)

Reading up here, Felix Ventura’s job makes me wonder, is it possible for people themselves to accept a brand new identity and get used to it? In the next scene, my question was answered. The foreigner came to Felix for a brand new identity, and he was given the name of José Buchmann and his Angolan identity. “Perhaps it’s like you see with a chrysalis, and the secret buzz of enzymes has been eating away at his organs.” ( p.63) Does a beautiful butterfly remember that it was once a small chrysalis? Why is this foreigner able to sooo easily adapt and embrace a new identity within a few months? I believe the novel also gives us an answer:  “Reality is painful and imperfect, and that’s just the way it is, that’s how we distinguish it from dreams.” (p. 94)  Similarly for us, if our past reality is ambiguous and painful, it is easier to replace and change.

In addition to the theme of dreams, truth and lies, the character Angela Lucia also adds romantic elements to this novel. She has a past she doesn’t want to talk about, but she has a future to pursue. Eulálio’s series of dreams was also fascinating. In these dreams, she was able to communicate with Felix, like a real man. This added the elements of fantasy and a more dreamy style to the novel. 

Moreover, this novel was set on Angola, and before reading this novel, I knew almost nothing about it. After finishing reading, when I searched and learned about the background of Angola, I realized how many painful memories of colonization and wars have brought to the people of Angola. Perhaps it is important it is for them to weave a false but beautiful past.  While the novel did not discuss much about Angola and war, the existence of Edmundo Barata dos Reis uncovered a real history of civil war, and the death of innocent children.

“Truth has a habit of being ambiguous too” (p 122). Referring to the title of this novel “ chameleon”, who changes itself into their surroundings to get closer to their prey. What do you think this reflects about human life? Do we hide our identity for our benefits?