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A review by spenkevich
Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica
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