Space Invaders by Nona Fernández was originally published in Spanish in 2013, and translated into English in 2019 by Natasha Wimmer.

This story follows the jumbled memories, letters, and dreams of some of the classmates of Estrella González, a young woman who mysteriously disappeared under the Pinochet military regime in Chile.

Ten-year-old Estrella González is dropped off by her father at Avienda Matta school where neatly-clothed children sing the Chilean national anthem, pray to the Virgin del Carmen, and annually reenact scenes from the War of the Pacific.

They remember her by her braids, her voice, her hand-written letters, her father’s prosthetic hands, and the times they played Space Invaders.

Opposition to the Pinochet Regime is discouraged through death and torture, and the influence of politics begins to establish divisions among the curious, aging students of Avienda Matta school.

Politics are not the only new source of fascination for the children as they are enamored by new physical attractions and the bright red Chevy Chevette that González’s Uncle Claudio drives.

The children recognize the criminal’s faces on the news to be Uncle Claudio and Estrella’s father, their suspicions confirmed by the sight of his gloved prosthetic hand.

Consequently, many of the details in Space Invaders are true and directly extracted from Fernandez’s personal memory, including the names of the characters.

[1] Natasha Wimmer's translation is praised for retaining the tone, format, and flow of the original language without changing the meaning.