Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Pájaros en la boca

Hard book to read given recent events (particularly the story "Heads Against Concrete"). These are unsettling stories - some work better than others.

The first story felt so familiar - I swear I've seen it in movie/tv form. I'm curious to read this author's other novel Fever Dream after this. I think I wanted more from at least half of the stories, but in terms of grappling with the underbelly of humanity and nature, it's successful. The writing is accessible, immediately draws you in and creates a scene, vibe, and strong characters. I want to stay with it - explore the depths more of these little worlds the author creates, but again, not really a short story collection at that point.

Do check the content warnings.

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emory's review against another edition

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challenging dark

4.0

I really enjoyed this book and was a bit sad to see how many reviews were negative, and not about the writing itself, but about how they were unaware of the upsetting content! So if you by odds read reviews before deciding to read a book, know that there are, in particular, a story including the graphic death of small birds (eponymous story Mouthful of Birds), a story in which the narrator is forced to kill a dog (The Test), and a story from the point of view of a man violently racist against Korean and other Asian people (Heads Against Concrete). All are challenging reads, and I don't know if I'm particularly happy with how the final in that list was handled, but they do serve a purpose, although are easily skippable if necessary.

This is such a unique collection. I've had it on my radar since reading Fever Dream and absolutely adoring it. This is such a haunting writing style. Schweblin's characters all exist in the perfect space between realistic enough not to break the reader's suspension of disbelief yet odd enough to consistently intrigue and unsettle. The mood drives the stories, and close to all of them left me with a disquietting and moved feeling at their conclusion with only a few pages each. Some are allegorical--and I find these ones particularly strong--some are simply about the feelings they evoke, and some I haven't figured out yet. But if you are also looking for stories in which the author is setting you up with something to think about rather than giving you all the answers, I think this is an excellent short story collection. I especially loved her exploration of depression and hopelessness, parent and child relationships, and the nature of violence in art. There were a couple of stories that did not work for me, and sometimes i found the pacing challenging, but overall I found this a very good read.

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