Exceptional.—The New York Times Book Review
The novel is about the length of a baby carrot and its prose is so spare it almost reads like a blueprint—but you know what they say about good things and small packages.—Vulture
María José Ferrada examines the Pinochet regime through the eyes of a traveling 7-year-old in How to Order the Universe. Traveling salesman D is his daughter, M’s, whole world. But readers will catch the subtle shifts taking place around them in Chile, even if the novel’s young protagonist does not.
—Bustle
Charming. . . . Fans of The Elegance of the Hedgehog will want to make time for this one.
—The Chicago Review of Books
Filled with tenderness, awe, and love, How to Order the Universe. . . . is a gem of a book, short and brilliant, a shooting star we would want to hold on to, but, as anything worth experiencing, can’t.
—The Common
Arresting.—Sydney Review of Books
A tale that captures a child’s perspective on a world created and disrupted by adults.—The Christian Science Monitor
I was so delighted with it. . . . It’s one of these novels in translation that you can read in a sitting or extend it out in a way that’s really lovely.—So Many Damn Books podcast
This quick and quirky book is as charming as it is unsettling, as appealing as it is wise.—Kirkus, Starred Review
A moving tribute to childhood, Ferrada’s novel is an enthralling tale of resilience, deception, and trauma during a dark time in Chile’s history.—Publishers Weekly
A debut as haunting as it is charming, a study in contrast between the simplicity of childhood and the heaviness of adulthood. Readers will fly through this slim novel, which is perfect for discussion.—Booklist
Outstanding.—World Literature Today
Through a child’s clever but innocent point of view, this inventive debut novel considers family, hope and the harsher realities of 1980s Chile.—Shelf Awareness
Sparse, poetic. . . . Ferrada organizes her work in short, breathable chapters, each of which is constructed like a poem without ever feeling pretentious.—Rain Taxi
A Paper Moon-esque story set in Pinochet-era Chile. . . . A really bittersweet story of a girl’s love for her dad and the things in life that even the most intelligent children don’t understand when they are young.
—Book Riot
How to Order the Universe is rife with wisdom, lists and wishes, and Ferrada unpacks the strangeness of M’s early years in poetic and simple prose.
—Bookreporter
Intimate, intense. . . . Luminous and tender, How to Order the Universe is a novel about the love—filled with words unsaid—between a father and daughter who are caught up in the tides of change that engulf their ordinary, ordered way of life.
—Foreword Reviews
How to Order the Universe is a dreamscape of a book. In an assured and striking voice, María José Ferrada tells the story of M, a girl who skips school to join her traveling salesman father on the road. Along the way, M witnesses tragedy, desire, secrecy, and grief as she finds her own truths and learns to separate her father’s disappointments from her own. I adored this compelling, wise, and utterly unique coming-of-age tale.
—Tara Conklin, author of The Last Romantics
Complex in its simplicity, and full of life and mystery.—Frances de Pontes Peebles, author of The Air You Breathe
Powerful and accomplished.—Complete Review
Honest, endearing and nostalgic—it seems to scratch an urge one didn’t even know they had. Its length and accessibility may make it the perfect novel to pick up on a Sunday afternoon with a cup of tea.—Sounds and Colours
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