Little Eyes
​Samanta Schweblin

In Samanta Schweblin’s novel Little Eyes, people around the world are delighted by a new technology bringing anonymous online relationships to a new level. Kentukis are small stuffed animals on wheels, like a furry robot pet—except behind their little eyes are live-streaming webcams controlled by another person connected to the device. Across languages and regions, kentuki “keepers” and “dwellers” are randomly connected when the device starts up for the first time, and people soon realize that this unique relationship is not easily navigated.

The arrival of kentukis establishes a type of hybrid being that is both gadget and human, intelligent and sentient, but with limited autonomy and ability to communicate. Schweblin’s vignettes of different pairs of kentuki users around the globe explore the full spectrum of demented outcomes when this technology is left unregulated. As kentuki users attempt to establish their ideal dynamic, whether it’s as a voyeur, a tourist in another lifestyle, a companion, a caretaker, or a star of their own reality show, the relationships devolve into obsession and emotional turmoil when issues of privacy and freedom inevitably surface.
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The novel is an exploration of the artificial boundaries we perceive when we interact virtually. It is an epic thought experiment into how these anonymous actors change peoples’ concept of self-identity. The psychological highs and lows that unfold will bring readers deep into the complex lives of these thrilling devices and the power dynamics that users must negotiate.

Samanta Schweblin is the author of the novel Fever Dream, a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize and her first book translated into English. She was chosen as one of the 22 best writers in Spanish under the age of 35 by Granta and is on the Bogota39-2017 list. Her stories in Spanish have won numerous awards, including the Juan Rulfo Story Prize, and have appeared in English in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, and elsewhere. Her work has been translated into 20 languages. Originally from Buenos Aires, she lives in Berlin.

Little Eyes is a publication by Riverhead Books. Click here to purchase.
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Reviewed by
Samantha Olvera
​​7/8/2020

Samantha Olvera is a freelance writer, book reviewer, and avid reader of diverse literature. She currently resides in Costa Rica, where she farms tropical fruits and teaches about sustainability. She is passionate about intersectional feminism, food systems and regenerative agriculture, and lifting up underrepresented voices. 

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