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emory's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child abuse and Physical abuse
One story (Heads Against Concrete) is written from the POV of a violent racist attempting to justify himself. He is explicitly racist against specifically Korean people and others of Asian descent. Includes mention of physical assault against these groups, as well as others throughout the narrator's life including a girlfriend. Another story (The Test) is about a person who must kill a dog in order to prove themselves to a group of people. Graphic and upsetting.heidishartrandnewell's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
feministmidwife's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Each story was fantastic and fantastical. The most intense dance of entrances and exits, of interrelatedness with nature and animals, and incredible portrayal of relationships and self that I've ever read. This is my second Samanta Schweblin book after Fever Dream, and she's absolutely a new favorite author. Can't wait to keep reading her work. The second story, Preserves, is one I will teach and talk about related to reproductive decision-making. Beautifully done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
books_onthe_ground's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This one was confusing for me because there were many aspects that I really enjoyed and many aspects that I didn’t. There were also many aspects that I didn’t understand. That might be because I don’t understand or really know if the Argentinian culture and it’s literature (though I’m very interested in it’s literature now especially after reading Tender is the Flesh which I adored.) Unfortunately I didn’t love this collection. It’s hard to judge a collection as the stories can differ so much so here are some numbers to help you see what my overall thoughts were. I think the Mode rating is a 3 stars. There are 20 stories out of those 20 I rated 19. I couldn’t give one a rating because I just didn’t know what rating fitted it. So out of the 19 I had: one 1 star, four 2 stars, seven 3 stars, five 4 stars and two 5 stars. Give or take a few .5’s that I’ve thrown around.
The main thing that REALLY let down the rating was the inclusion of the f slur (both the 3 letter one and the 6 letter) in stories 5 and 7. These were not needed. They added NOTHING to the story. It is a word I am sensitive to especially the 6 letter word and it did trigger me a bit to see it. That is a word I have bad history with and I don’t respect seeing it without reason and without warning. I have seen no evidence towards her being lgbt either so as far as I’m concerned she has no right to use those words. People, in my opinion, can write narratives different to what they know but within reason and I am highly against people using slurs that they have no right to use with the excuse of literature. You’re still saying a slur and it’s still offensive.
Moving away from that, some stories I really liked and others I found a little boring if I’m honest. A quote from J M Coetzee stated that her word is like “the Grimm brothers” and that she writes “darkly humorous tales”. The daily Mail described this collection as “an eerie blend of the supernatural and the all too real.” The daily Mail I agree with but I wanted MORE. I wasn’t creeped out or spooked at all. I didn’t get any shivers. Some had great atmosphere and there were a few that did border on creepy but were just too short to have much impact. The only exception being stories 14, 16 and 19. But I didn’t like waiting until story 14 out of 20 to get the eeriness I was promised. Many of the stories also just didn’t have a lot going for them in the sense of story, characters, or theme and I feel like even in a short story you need something, anything, to give you a reason to keep reading. I didn’t feel like this collection had a overarching theme or even genre as some stories just felt out of place. Do I regret picking this up? A little bit yes. More because I don’t have a lot of money so it’s sad that it went to something I didn’t love but that’s the gamble of books. Would I recommend this? No. However, I wouldn’t stop anyone from reading this. I would warn them of the slurs obviously but literature, at the end of the day is subjective and apart from what I’ve previously stated I didn’t find anything particularly wrong with this book so others might enjoy it for more than I did. Overall ending feeling as I closed the book was disappointment but not dislike.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
TW: homophobic slurs used