Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Augustina Bazterrica, Translated by Sarah Moses

3.18 Stars on Goodreads; 3 Stars from me

Review:

This anthology was very different than the type of horror I tend to read. Most of the stories were psychological horror and a bit thriller in a way. A few of the stories honestly were mind boggling and twisted. They all had an aspect of WTF did I just read, and you have trouble even trying to analyze the story they were out of this world. I’m not sure if I would recommend this book unless you are looking for something insane to read as I had no idea where any of the stories were going and how to explain the plot of them.

Synopsis:

A collection of nineteen dark, wildly imaginative short stories from the author of the award-winning TikTok sensation Tender Is the Flesh.

From celebrated author Agustina Bazterrica, this collection of nineteen brutal, darkly funny short stories takes into our deepest fears and through our most disturbing fantasies. Through stories about violence, alienation, and dystopia, Bazterrica’s vision of the human experience emerges in complex, unexpected ways—often unsettling, sometimes thrilling, and always profound. In “Roberto,” a girl claims to have a rabbit between her legs. A woman’s neighbor jumps to his death in “A Light, Swift, and Monstrous Sound,” and in “Candy Pink,” a woman fails to contend with a difficult breakup in five easy steps.

Written in Bazterrica’s signature clever, vivid style, these stories question love, friendship, family relationships, and unspeakable desires.