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oph_'s review against another edition
I don’t think short story collections are really my thing … none of them have clicked for me so far
chelsevie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
Anthologies are tough to rate, this one in particular as I was such a fan of the authors debilut novel, Tender Is The Flesh.
There were some really standout stories in this collection, with some pretty haunting psychology, but I found myself bored or unengaged with the majority here.
Some excellent writing regardless, and will look out for whatever she puts out next.
There were some really standout stories in this collection, with some pretty haunting psychology, but I found myself bored or unengaged with the majority here.
Some excellent writing regardless, and will look out for whatever she puts out next.
horrorlife666's review against another edition
4.0
A collection of short stories from a popular author! These were my favourites-
Roberto- I absolutely loved the concept, dark but so empowering!
Anita and happiness- I was hooked on this story, loved every word of it. I wished it was its own novel and not a short story!
Earth- This was a hard hitting story, caused me to feel many emotions, whilst it wasn’t a happy ending was still thoroughly enjoyed.
I enjoyed this book a lot, I liked the dark nature of most of the stories.. however some were hard to get along with, I feel that may be due to translation and not the authors fault.
Also. The colour of this book is gorgeous and definitely eye catching!
I will definitely be checking out this authors future reads!
Roberto- I absolutely loved the concept, dark but so empowering!
Anita and happiness- I was hooked on this story, loved every word of it. I wished it was its own novel and not a short story!
Earth- This was a hard hitting story, caused me to feel many emotions, whilst it wasn’t a happy ending was still thoroughly enjoyed.
I enjoyed this book a lot, I liked the dark nature of most of the stories.. however some were hard to get along with, I feel that may be due to translation and not the authors fault.
Also. The colour of this book is gorgeous and definitely eye catching!
I will definitely be checking out this authors future reads!
fantasyhoard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
lindseyycash's review against another edition
3.0
This book is full of short stories. I have never read a short story collection before, however I have read Tender is the Flesh and gave it 5 stars. This collection started off with the first two stories being 5 stars for me. So I had high expectations. As I kept reading, each story started to bore or confuse me. I was eager to keep reading, looking for another 5 star, until about the half way mark. At this point I was still interested in reading but read for it to be over.
Most of the stories are unfortunately forget for me, except the first two.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this ebook!
Most of the stories are unfortunately forget for me, except the first two.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this ebook!
spenkevich's review against another edition
3.0
‘[O]f the possible constellations, in all the possible universes, this is the first glimpse of hell.’
A walk through subway tunnels shrouded in darkness; a final meal before murder; a sudden suicide recontextualizes a young woman’s life; another goes to great lengths for the body she wants; story after story, Agustina Bazterrica probes the darkness and makes us feel it’s chill creep up our spine in Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird. These 20 stories arrive just under 200pgs, making for bite-sized nightmares coming from all directions. While the stories where the darkness registers as upsetting don’t quite land as well as the stories that are less direct and more generally unsettling, the variety is quite exciting and there are plenty of stories that stick with you to compensate for the ones that fell a bit flat. Though with the range of tales here I suspect each reader will find different ones that really work for them. Wonderfully translated by Sarah Moses, this collection makes a great follow-up for fans of Bazterrica’s [b:Tender is the Flesh|49090884|Tender Is the Flesh|Agustina Bazterrica|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594563107l/49090884._SY75_.jpg|58496867] who want a wealth of tiny terrors.
‘They love one another because they repulse one another.’
Bazterrica can find fright anywhere, and the only thing you can truly expect here is the unexpected. The ability to find horror in the everyday reminds me a bit of the magic [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] pulls in his early work, where even a sunny afternoon can fracture into trauma or a haunting and you are left feeling nowhere is safe. Such is the opening story, A Light, Swift and Monsterous Sound when a neighbor falling to his death possibly having intended to take the narrator into the grave with him causes a woman to realize nothing is safe. Of the many epigraphs to the stories—which made for excellent commentary on them—perhaps the most informative is the one from [a:Jorge Luis Borges|500|Jorge Luis Borges|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1652029755p2/500.jpg]:
The best of the stories seem to embody that idea: and unnerving feeling that can’t quite be translated but lingers with you, recontextualizing everything in shades of fear. For me, its the vague stories that don’t need to punctuate the end that I enjoyed most, something I find [a:Brian Evenson|48355|Brian Evenson|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is excellent at or how much I enjoyed [a:Ling Ma|17343848|Ling Ma|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1545230355p2/17343848.jpg]’s Bliss Montage and her style of unsettling uncertainty. Not that the others won’t be your thing, and there is quite a litany of ways to disturb the reader that comes flying from these pages.
In this way I also particularly enjoyed the stories in Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird that dealt with creeping horror that takes hold of your mind. There are stories such as Unamuno’s Boxes with the mindset of seeing everything as a potential true crime story about to unfold or the commentary on ideas of the “ideal body” can lead to toxic behavior obsessions to obtain it in The Continuous Equality of the Circumference where, in a twist, a woman decides ‘she needs her body to take on the round, infinite shape of a circle.’ Though the most predominant theme is the terrors that come from patriarchy and toxic masculinity, often featuring women subjected to gross and sexually driven aggression or assault, so be advised this can be quite the distressing collection. Some work better as a statement through a horror story than others, whereas some I just found to be rather fucked up without much else to say about it. Still, there are some sharp moments, like Roberto where a girl grows a literal rabbit in her pants much to the unexpected shock of her teacher who thought he was getting away with something asking to see it. I did quite enjoy Mary Carminum as well, where a lewd bet between two men lands them at the mercy of a sort of feminist, religious cult that puts them in their place. As earlier stated, the stories worked best for me when the horror arrives from the everyday moments that suddenly turn sinister and unveil a hell on earth. Perhaps this is also why the final story was one of my favorites.
‘[E]ach of us is a wolf devouring the other in exquisite eternity.’
Agustina Bazterrica’s short story collection Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird is a mixed bag of tales, though there are so many and in such a variety that it still manages to be effective and send shivers down your spine. This does deal with a lot of really heavy themes so reader be advised, though for the most part they manage to tell something greater than the trauma and critique society through the lens of a horror story. Sharp and haunting, this was a worthwhile collection.
3.5/5
A walk through subway tunnels shrouded in darkness; a final meal before murder; a sudden suicide recontextualizes a young woman’s life; another goes to great lengths for the body she wants; story after story, Agustina Bazterrica probes the darkness and makes us feel it’s chill creep up our spine in Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird. These 20 stories arrive just under 200pgs, making for bite-sized nightmares coming from all directions. While the stories where the darkness registers as upsetting don’t quite land as well as the stories that are less direct and more generally unsettling, the variety is quite exciting and there are plenty of stories that stick with you to compensate for the ones that fell a bit flat. Though with the range of tales here I suspect each reader will find different ones that really work for them. Wonderfully translated by Sarah Moses, this collection makes a great follow-up for fans of Bazterrica’s [b:Tender is the Flesh|49090884|Tender Is the Flesh|Agustina Bazterrica|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594563107l/49090884._SY75_.jpg|58496867] who want a wealth of tiny terrors.
‘They love one another because they repulse one another.’
Bazterrica can find fright anywhere, and the only thing you can truly expect here is the unexpected. The ability to find horror in the everyday reminds me a bit of the magic [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] pulls in his early work, where even a sunny afternoon can fracture into trauma or a haunting and you are left feeling nowhere is safe. Such is the opening story, A Light, Swift and Monsterous Sound when a neighbor falling to his death possibly having intended to take the narrator into the grave with him causes a woman to realize nothing is safe. Of the many epigraphs to the stories—which made for excellent commentary on them—perhaps the most informative is the one from [a:Jorge Luis Borges|500|Jorge Luis Borges|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1652029755p2/500.jpg]:
‘There is an hour of the afternoon when the plain is on the verge of saying something. It never says it, or perhaps it says it infinitely, or perhaps we do not understand it, or we understand it and it is as untranslatable as music.’
The best of the stories seem to embody that idea: and unnerving feeling that can’t quite be translated but lingers with you, recontextualizing everything in shades of fear. For me, its the vague stories that don’t need to punctuate the end that I enjoyed most, something I find [a:Brian Evenson|48355|Brian Evenson|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is excellent at or how much I enjoyed [a:Ling Ma|17343848|Ling Ma|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1545230355p2/17343848.jpg]’s Bliss Montage and her style of unsettling uncertainty. Not that the others won’t be your thing, and there is quite a litany of ways to disturb the reader that comes flying from these pages.
In this way I also particularly enjoyed the stories in Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird that dealt with creeping horror that takes hold of your mind. There are stories such as Unamuno’s Boxes with the mindset of seeing everything as a potential true crime story about to unfold or the commentary on ideas of the “ideal body” can lead to toxic behavior obsessions to obtain it in The Continuous Equality of the Circumference where, in a twist, a woman decides ‘she needs her body to take on the round, infinite shape of a circle.’ Though the most predominant theme is the terrors that come from patriarchy and toxic masculinity, often featuring women subjected to gross and sexually driven aggression or assault, so be advised this can be quite the distressing collection. Some work better as a statement through a horror story than others, whereas some I just found to be rather fucked up without much else to say about it. Still, there are some sharp moments, like Roberto where a girl grows a literal rabbit in her pants much to the unexpected shock of her teacher who thought he was getting away with something asking to see it. I did quite enjoy Mary Carminum as well, where a lewd bet between two men lands them at the mercy of a sort of feminist, religious cult that puts them in their place. As earlier stated, the stories worked best for me when the horror arrives from the everyday moments that suddenly turn sinister and unveil a hell on earth. Perhaps this is also why the final story was one of my favorites.
‘[E]ach of us is a wolf devouring the other in exquisite eternity.’
Agustina Bazterrica’s short story collection Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird is a mixed bag of tales, though there are so many and in such a variety that it still manages to be effective and send shivers down your spine. This does deal with a lot of really heavy themes so reader be advised, though for the most part they manage to tell something greater than the trauma and critique society through the lens of a horror story. Sharp and haunting, this was a worthwhile collection.
3.5/5
thexington's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
aliarose's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0