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L'ospite e altri racconti
I racconti di Amparo Dávila, sacerdotessa della scrittura del terrore, sono intrisi di inquietudini spesso suscitate da presenze e rumori sfuggenti, a malapena descrivibili eppure paralizzanti, tali da spingere il lettore a chiedersi se non sia questa la vera sostanza della realtà: un incubo di terribile fascino che solo pochi iniziati hanno il privilegio di vedere alla luce del sole. Come Leonora Carrington, Edgar Allan Poe e Shirley Jackson, le grandi firme della letteratura a cui è stata paragonata, Amparo Dávila ha visto cosa si cela nelle pieghe tra il sonno e la veglia, tra il sogno e l’incubo, senza trovarvi alcuna differenza: il resoconto lo tenete nelle vostre mani.
144 pages, Paperback
First published June 18, 2018
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57599 people want to read
About the author
Amparo Dávila
40 books386 followersAmparo Dávila born 1928 in Zacatecas, Mexico is a Mexican author. Dávila was the sole surviving child of her parents. The oldest son died at childbirth. The next son died as a result of meningitis, and the last son died during his infancy. She learned to love reading at an early age from spending time in her father's library. Her childhood was marked by fear, a theme that appeared in a number of her future works as an author. Her first published work was Salmos bajo la luna in 1950. This was followed by Meditaciones a la orilla del sueno and Perfil de soledades. She then moved to Mexico City where she worked as Alfonso Reyes's Secretary. In 1966 she was a part of the Centro Mexicano de Escritores (Mexican Writer's Center) where she received a grant to continue writing. In 2008, Davila was recognized by el Palacio de Bellas Artes de Mexico (the palace of fine arts of Mexico).
Davila is known for her use themes of insanity, danger, and death, typically dealing with a female protagonist. Many of her protagonists appear to have mental disorders and lash out, often violently, against others. Many times the women are still unable to escape from their mental issues and live with the actions they have taken. She also plays with ideas of time. She uses time as a symbol of that which we cannot change.
Her other works include:
Salmos bajo la luna (1950)
Meditaciones a la orilla del sueño
Perfil de soledades (1954)
Tiempo destrozado (1959)
Música concreta (1964)
Árboles petrificados (1977)
Muerte en el bosque (1985)
Davila is known for her use themes of insanity, danger, and death, typically dealing with a female protagonist. Many of her protagonists appear to have mental disorders and lash out, often violently, against others. Many times the women are still unable to escape from their mental issues and live with the actions they have taken. She also plays with ideas of time. She uses time as a symbol of that which we cannot change.
Her other works include:
Salmos bajo la luna (1950)
Meditaciones a la orilla del sueño
Perfil de soledades (1954)
Tiempo destrozado (1959)
Música concreta (1964)
Árboles petrificados (1977)
Muerte en el bosque (1985)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,933 reviews
January 26, 2025
Ehhh ... this was too good to be true. When I first heard of this book in one of Jack Edward's videos (I think the one where he was reading all the books that Kendall Jenner had recommended on her social media), I knew that I had to pick it up. Apart from the fact that Jack is excellent at hyping up books, I had never read something by a Mexican author in my life before (can you actually believe that?), the book cover was a thing of beauty, and the prospect of reading some horror short stories sounded fun.
Alas! This collection didn't really do anything for me. It wasn't even hit or miss ... it was just bleh. All twelve (!) stories got 2-3 stars from me, and that's just kinda disappointing. Even though none were absolutely atrocious, none really stood out.
I rarely read horror but what really frustrated me in The Houseguest is that almost none of the stories were really scary, creepy or off-putting. The writing didn't work for me. Maybe it's the translation, but it wasn't atmospheric at all. Her writing kinda put me to sleep.
On top of that, I hated the fact that all stories remained abstract and ominous. None of the "mysteries" were solved or explained. Thus, we got one abstract open ending after another ... and quickly, that just felt cheap. It seemed like Dávila herself didn't really know what she was writing about. She gave the reader nothing to work with, no clues to figure something out, no hints, no logic. Just "look at this weird thing" and "just accept this weird thing but I won't be doing anything with it." For example, in the opening story "Moses and Gaspar" it is never explicitly revealed whether the titular characters are actually pets ... or kids. I would've loved if she had either played with the reader's unsettlement even more, or at least given a sense of closure by the end.
One thing I found notable though is the fact how heavily her stories focused on female characters. I wasn't necessarily expecting that but it was a breath of fresh air. Most of her stories have a very clear feminist message. In the titular story, Dávila explored misogyny by deconstructing the trope of "the hysterical wife", as the female protagonist is belittled by her husband for her terror and fright, but eventually ends up being the one in the right, and thus rightfully scared.
"Fragment of a diary" explores the suffering of a young woman who is love-sick and, as it seems, amidst her lesbian awakening.
After a bit of research I found out that Dávila is actually known for her use of themes of insanity, danger, and death, typically dealing with a female protagonist. So it's not surprising that many of the protagonists in The Houseguest appear to have mental disorders and lash out, often violently, against others. Many times the women are still unable to escape from their mental issues and live with the actions they have taken.
And lastly, as amazing as it is that Dávila's is now finally in print in English as well, this edition could've really used an introduction, a translators' note, and other accompanying texts. This is Dávila's first book in English after all, most readers will be wholly unfamiliar with her, thus more information and context on her and her work would've been appreciated.
Alas! This collection didn't really do anything for me. It wasn't even hit or miss ... it was just bleh. All twelve (!) stories got 2-3 stars from me, and that's just kinda disappointing. Even though none were absolutely atrocious, none really stood out.
I rarely read horror but what really frustrated me in The Houseguest is that almost none of the stories were really scary, creepy or off-putting. The writing didn't work for me. Maybe it's the translation, but it wasn't atmospheric at all. Her writing kinda put me to sleep.
On top of that, I hated the fact that all stories remained abstract and ominous. None of the "mysteries" were solved or explained. Thus, we got one abstract open ending after another ... and quickly, that just felt cheap. It seemed like Dávila herself didn't really know what she was writing about. She gave the reader nothing to work with, no clues to figure something out, no hints, no logic. Just "look at this weird thing" and "just accept this weird thing but I won't be doing anything with it." For example, in the opening story "Moses and Gaspar" it is never explicitly revealed whether the titular characters are actually pets ... or kids. I would've loved if she had either played with the reader's unsettlement even more, or at least given a sense of closure by the end.
One thing I found notable though is the fact how heavily her stories focused on female characters. I wasn't necessarily expecting that but it was a breath of fresh air. Most of her stories have a very clear feminist message. In the titular story, Dávila explored misogyny by deconstructing the trope of "the hysterical wife", as the female protagonist is belittled by her husband for her terror and fright, but eventually ends up being the one in the right, and thus rightfully scared.
"Fragment of a diary" explores the suffering of a young woman who is love-sick and, as it seems, amidst her lesbian awakening.
I’ve always liked stairways, with their people who go dragging their breath up and fall dully down them in a shapeless mass. Maybe that’s why I chose the stairs to suffer on."Tina Reyes" explores a single woman's fear of being raped and stalked. It was definitely one of the more chilling stories in this collection. Dávila found a great balance between showing that women are rightfully scared of men following/stalking them (at night) and being unable to take a no, whilst also exploring how these men sometimes don't even realise how threatening they seem/ are in these situations.
After a bit of research I found out that Dávila is actually known for her use of themes of insanity, danger, and death, typically dealing with a female protagonist. So it's not surprising that many of the protagonists in The Houseguest appear to have mental disorders and lash out, often violently, against others. Many times the women are still unable to escape from their mental issues and live with the actions they have taken.
And lastly, as amazing as it is that Dávila's is now finally in print in English as well, this edition could've really used an introduction, a translators' note, and other accompanying texts. This is Dávila's first book in English after all, most readers will be wholly unfamiliar with her, thus more information and context on her and her work would've been appreciated.
October 5, 2021
Esta colección de relatos es un deleite total
4.5
Créanme cuando digo que son maravillosos porque me almorcé los doce cuentos en una tarde como quien anda insaciable. Por favor, léanlos. Denle una oportunidad a esta señora y les aseguro que no es una pérdida de tiempo.
No me voy a poner a darle puntuación a los distintos relatos que componen la antología porque esta vez no voy a desmeritar a ninguno ni mucho menos a comparar o decir cuál me gustó más. Hay que contentarse con saber que todos tienen calidad y que no bajan de las cuatro estrellas (para mí, claro está). Por cierto, Santiago Caruso haciendo un trabajo muy notable que le da más ambiente y dinámica a los cuentos es otra cosa por apreciar.
Si algo tienen en común es que Amparo Dávila maneja una atmósfera sucia, oscura, decadente, en cierto grado gótica y con un estilo narrativo directo, sin ser tan explícito pero finísimo, señores; porque los relatos te dan mala espina sin necesidad de ser escabrosos o grotescos. El terror subyace pero no te lo lanzan a la cara, es más bien sugerente y atractivo; en algunos psicológico. También hay cierto suspenso y tensión latentes, así como la constante sensación de que faltó mucho más por contar ya que todos dejan cosas en el aire; sueltas para que se llegue (o no) a múltiples interpretaciones y/o conclusiones que son igual de válidas. La soledad, la locura y el mal rollo en la misma sintonía. Esta señora es una reina para no aburrir y mantenerte atrapado entre las líneas. Así que entretenimiento asegurado.
Y finalmente agradecerle a mi profesora de didáctica, quien me mostró a esta maravillosa escritora con El huésped y de allí quedé con ganas de leer más. Ahora solo me queda leer los que me restan.
4.5
Créanme cuando digo que son maravillosos porque me almorcé los doce cuentos en una tarde como quien anda insaciable. Por favor, léanlos. Denle una oportunidad a esta señora y les aseguro que no es una pérdida de tiempo.
No me voy a poner a darle puntuación a los distintos relatos que componen la antología porque esta vez no voy a desmeritar a ninguno ni mucho menos a comparar o decir cuál me gustó más. Hay que contentarse con saber que todos tienen calidad y que no bajan de las cuatro estrellas (para mí, claro está). Por cierto, Santiago Caruso haciendo un trabajo muy notable que le da más ambiente y dinámica a los cuentos es otra cosa por apreciar.
Si algo tienen en común es que Amparo Dávila maneja una atmósfera sucia, oscura, decadente, en cierto grado gótica y con un estilo narrativo directo, sin ser tan explícito pero finísimo, señores; porque los relatos te dan mala espina sin necesidad de ser escabrosos o grotescos. El terror subyace pero no te lo lanzan a la cara, es más bien sugerente y atractivo; en algunos psicológico. También hay cierto suspenso y tensión latentes, así como la constante sensación de que faltó mucho más por contar ya que todos dejan cosas en el aire; sueltas para que se llegue (o no) a múltiples interpretaciones y/o conclusiones que son igual de válidas. La soledad, la locura y el mal rollo en la misma sintonía. Esta señora es una reina para no aburrir y mantenerte atrapado entre las líneas. Así que entretenimiento asegurado.
Y finalmente agradecerle a mi profesora de didáctica, quien me mostró a esta maravillosa escritora con El huésped y de allí quedé con ganas de leer más. Ahora solo me queda leer los que me restan.
December 14, 2018
¡Excelente selección! Me encanta que pusieron Griselda, quizá mi cuento favorito de Amparo y las ilustraciones de Caruso son un agasajo. Un libro magnífico que recomiendo sin duda a quienes quieran acercarse a la obra de la magnífica Amparo Dávila.
November 10, 2022
Dnf @6th story
-------------
Mosses and Gasper :- 2 stars
- what the hell are they? Demons? I think, since this book is marked as magical realism. Weird.
The houseguest :- 2.5 stars
- Both the stories I read—this one and the one before it—had substance, but neither had what it takes to truly frighten someone. I understand that they might not be your normal horror stories, but they had absolutely no impact.
Fragment of a diary :- 1 star
-This was unclear, and to be completely honest, I had little interest in it.
The cell :- 3.5 stars
-I have to read between the lines to really appreciate these stories because there are underlying messages that I can't take lightly. For instance, this tale may appear to be a typical revenge tale, but if you carefully read between the lines, you will discover a sense of fear and a sense of being held captive in order to escape one fear just to find yourself back in the same predicament.
Musique Concrete :- 1.5 stars
-This collection keeps getting worse just when I think it's getting better. What a dull tale. Although the writing was excellent and experienced, I felt that the story lacked depth and would be similar to many other vengeance tales for me.
Haute Cuisine :- 2 stars
-What even is the purpose of this narrative. I mean, I kind of get it, but this collection has thus far been below average, and this tale has only made things worse.
-------------
Mosses and Gasper :- 2 stars
- what the hell are they? Demons? I think, since this book is marked as magical realism. Weird.
The houseguest :- 2.5 stars
- Both the stories I read—this one and the one before it—had substance, but neither had what it takes to truly frighten someone. I understand that they might not be your normal horror stories, but they had absolutely no impact.
Fragment of a diary :- 1 star
-This was unclear, and to be completely honest, I had little interest in it.
The cell :- 3.5 stars
-I have to read between the lines to really appreciate these stories because there are underlying messages that I can't take lightly. For instance, this tale may appear to be a typical revenge tale, but if you carefully read between the lines, you will discover a sense of fear and a sense of being held captive in order to escape one fear just to find yourself back in the same predicament.
Musique Concrete :- 1.5 stars
-This collection keeps getting worse just when I think it's getting better. What a dull tale. Although the writing was excellent and experienced, I felt that the story lacked depth and would be similar to many other vengeance tales for me.
Haute Cuisine :- 2 stars
-What even is the purpose of this narrative. I mean, I kind of get it, but this collection has thus far been below average, and this tale has only made things worse.
October 7, 2020
I had high hopes for this debut collection in English translation from Mexican writer Amparo Dávila, but they didn't quite come to fruition. While I appreciated the dark themes, in many cases the delivery turned me off or left me disinterested. It's possible some of this was due to the translation, but likely not much of it. The first couple of stories featured first-person narrators with flat tones and little personality. These two stories and several others also rely on similar tropes—the kind of repetitiveness I find irksome in a collection. The back cover makes comparisons to Kafka, Poe, Leonora Carrington, and Shirley Jackson. Of these, I'd say Poe and Jackson are the most relevant, particularly concerning Jackson's twist endings, which some of these utilize. There is one story ('Fragment of a Diary') that owes a debt to Kafka, and it was probably my favorite, although it felt like an aberration in this collection. As for Carrington, I don't really see that at all; the stories are not boldly absurd or surreal enough to warrant that comparison, nor do they contain any humor. The one that comes closest would be 'The Cell,' which not surprisingly was my other favorite. The others are mostly slow domestic tales with 'normal' characters who must endure some strange and/or menacing circumstances. As a reader of these I felt too distant—I wanted to be pulled farther in. All this being said, the two tales I really enjoyed were enough to make me want to read more Dávila, so hopefully more of her work will make its way into English translation.
September 7, 2024
I feel lucky, like I just stumbled upon a little known secret. Amparo Dávila, Mexican writer born in 1928, was only translated into English for the first time in 2018, in this fascinating collection of short stories. She's been compared to Poe, Jackson, and Kafka, because her works lean towards the surreal and frightening side, with some metaphor thrown in.
For months I've been slowly making my way through Joy Williams' The Visiting Privilege: New and Collected Stories. It's nothing short of brilliant, but the stories are often quite demanding, and take time to both read and then absorb. I've had to put it aside temporarily, with the happy knowledge that I will return to it soon and will be rewarded hugely.
Dávila's collection isn't like that, by comparison. I found each story incredibly accessible and immediately intriguing, not to mention compact (some just a few pages long), so I easily consumed each dark bite with relish, one after the other. Why she hasn't been translated until just recently boggles my mind.
Some favourites:
'Moses and Gaspar' - a grieving man is left his deceased brother's ... pets?? children?? We don't know. The tension in the story is in what we are not told, in regards to these creatures who cry silently, who scream in his absence, and who slowly ruin his life.
'Musique Concrete' - a man sees a friend of his who is a shadow of her former self. She confides that her husband is cheating on her, and is convinced that the woman (who looks like a toad) has been stalking her. She hears hideous croaking day in and day out. The man is disturbed and very concerned for his friend, and one day decides to confront this toad-woman...
'Oscar' - a family held hostage by a monstrous son who lives in the basement...
'End of a Struggle' - a man who sees... himself! walking along the road, wearing his clothes, with a beautiful blonde woman who isn't his wife... he wonders who is real and who is a figment...
'The Breakfast' - a woman tells her family about a disturbing dream she had depicting the gruesome death of her lover, and then comes a knock at the door...
'The Last Summer' and 'The Funeral' are also striking and memorable - you'll have to read them for yourself.
The stories are claustrophobic, filled with paranoia and obsession. The comparisons with the authors mentioned above are spot on, and I'll throw in Yoko Ogawa too, for good measure.
Now, back to Joy Williams.
For months I've been slowly making my way through Joy Williams' The Visiting Privilege: New and Collected Stories. It's nothing short of brilliant, but the stories are often quite demanding, and take time to both read and then absorb. I've had to put it aside temporarily, with the happy knowledge that I will return to it soon and will be rewarded hugely.
Dávila's collection isn't like that, by comparison. I found each story incredibly accessible and immediately intriguing, not to mention compact (some just a few pages long), so I easily consumed each dark bite with relish, one after the other. Why she hasn't been translated until just recently boggles my mind.
Some favourites:
'Moses and Gaspar' - a grieving man is left his deceased brother's ... pets?? children?? We don't know. The tension in the story is in what we are not told, in regards to these creatures who cry silently, who scream in his absence, and who slowly ruin his life.
'Musique Concrete' - a man sees a friend of his who is a shadow of her former self. She confides that her husband is cheating on her, and is convinced that the woman (who looks like a toad) has been stalking her. She hears hideous croaking day in and day out. The man is disturbed and very concerned for his friend, and one day decides to confront this toad-woman...
'Oscar' - a family held hostage by a monstrous son who lives in the basement...
'End of a Struggle' - a man who sees... himself! walking along the road, wearing his clothes, with a beautiful blonde woman who isn't his wife... he wonders who is real and who is a figment...
'The Breakfast' - a woman tells her family about a disturbing dream she had depicting the gruesome death of her lover, and then comes a knock at the door...
'The Last Summer' and 'The Funeral' are also striking and memorable - you'll have to read them for yourself.
The stories are claustrophobic, filled with paranoia and obsession. The comparisons with the authors mentioned above are spot on, and I'll throw in Yoko Ogawa too, for good measure.
Now, back to Joy Williams.
December 19, 2021
Yo creo que estoy en condiciones de decir que se ha convertido en mi antología favorita de terror, y Amparo una de mis escritoras favoritas. Si pudiera darle mil estrellas más, lo haría. Pero me voy a tener que contentar con recomendar este libro hasta mi último día. Qué maravilla, por favor.
October 16, 2021
I am so impressed. I devoured this book in a single sitting because the stories just got better and better. For the first couple of stories I was a bit unimpressed; the writing was well done but where was the spookiness I was desiring? I was proven wrong because suddenly the stories began to perfectly describe paranoia and fear. Regardless of the "supernatural" elements in these stories, it still felt real and believable (and that is not easy to do).
There exists no doubt in my mind that Amparo Dávila is one of the best short stories writers of all time. I think I will be recommending this one for years to come since it has earned an honorary place on my all time favorites shelf.
Looks like Kendell Jenner and I have something else in common besides our gorgeous model physique (haha). If only I too could be friends with Harry Styles..
Moses and Gaspar - 3
are they cats? children? demons? who knows but they wouldn't be living with me long
The Houseguest - 3.5
i think the main character acted absolutely rationally and i fully support her actions
Fragment of a Diary - 1
meh. didn't enjoy the format of this one. was annoyed and confused. glad it was as short as it was
The Cell - 4
i did not see that ending coming.. at all...
Mustique Concrete - 5
i'll never look at toads the same way again
Haute Cuisine - 3
for some reason i thought this story was about shrimps, but maybe it is about caviar? does caviar scream? i am unsure because i am not rich enough for this indulgence
Oscar - 4
i think the events in this story are completely plausible to occur in a small town. also, was he a werewolf? i'm going to go ahead and assume he was
End of a Struggle - 5
i think i should read more stories about doppelgängers, even though this story might not have been about doppelgängers
Tina Reyes - 5
completely believable fear with all the online dating meet-ups going on
The Breakfast - 5
IF YOU'RE GOING TO READ ONLY ONE OF THESE SHORT STORIES. IT'S THIS ONE. A MILLION STARS. FANTASTIC.
The Last Summer - 5
MAYBE READ THIS ONE TOO IF YOU CAN
The Funeral - 5
YOU MADE IT THIS FAR, WHY NOT READ THIS ONE TOO
read as part of spooky season haunted tales that hopefully keep me up till the witching hour
🕸 picture of dorian gray
🕸 we have always lived in the castle
🕸 rules for vanishing
🕸 dracula
🕸 the iliac crest
🕸 dangers of smoking in bed
🕸 fever dream
🕸 dr.jekyll and mr.hyde
🕸 the houseguest and other stories
There exists no doubt in my mind that Amparo Dávila is one of the best short stories writers of all time. I think I will be recommending this one for years to come since it has earned an honorary place on my all time favorites shelf.
Looks like Kendell Jenner and I have something else in common besides our gorgeous model physique (haha). If only I too could be friends with Harry Styles..
Moses and Gaspar - 3
are they cats? children? demons? who knows but they wouldn't be living with me long
The Houseguest - 3.5
i think the main character acted absolutely rationally and i fully support her actions
Fragment of a Diary - 1
meh. didn't enjoy the format of this one. was annoyed and confused. glad it was as short as it was
The Cell - 4
i did not see that ending coming.. at all...
Mustique Concrete - 5
i'll never look at toads the same way again
Haute Cuisine - 3
for some reason i thought this story was about shrimps, but maybe it is about caviar? does caviar scream? i am unsure because i am not rich enough for this indulgence
Oscar - 4
i think the events in this story are completely plausible to occur in a small town. also, was he a werewolf? i'm going to go ahead and assume he was
End of a Struggle - 5
i think i should read more stories about doppelgängers, even though this story might not have been about doppelgängers
Tina Reyes - 5
completely believable fear with all the online dating meet-ups going on
The Breakfast - 5
IF YOU'RE GOING TO READ ONLY ONE OF THESE SHORT STORIES. IT'S THIS ONE. A MILLION STARS. FANTASTIC.
The Last Summer - 5
MAYBE READ THIS ONE TOO IF YOU CAN
The Funeral - 5
YOU MADE IT THIS FAR, WHY NOT READ THIS ONE TOO
read as part of spooky season haunted tales that hopefully keep me up till the witching hour
🕸 picture of dorian gray
🕸 we have always lived in the castle
🕸 rules for vanishing
🕸 dracula
🕸 the iliac crest
🕸 dangers of smoking in bed
🕸 fever dream
🕸 dr.jekyll and mr.hyde
🕸 the houseguest and other stories
June 5, 2022
❀ blog ❀ thestorygraph ❀ letterboxd ❀ tumblr ❀ ko-fi ❀
Whenever an author is compared to Shirley Jackson, I feel compelled to check their work out. More often than not, upon reading their stuff, I end up rather perplexed by the comparisons to Jackson. In the case of Amparo Dávila, well, this comparison isn’t wholly unearned. Jackson and Dávila’s approach to the horror genre certainly share similarities. Their stories are imbued by a surreal, almost fantastical, quality that seems to blur the line between reality and fantasy. Their characters are paranoid to the point of being delusional, but there are times when their fears are not wholly unfounded and that the people, places, and situations that cause them to feel such anxiety and terror are not wholly normal. I appreciated that Dávila sets many of her stories within a household or building, rarely venturing beyond their thresholds. This ‘restricted’ setting augments the oppressive atmosphere of her stories and often worsens her characters’ paranoia. Dávila upsets normal family dynamics and every day activities by introducing sinister guests and entities within her characters’ homes. Alienation, loneliness, madness, and despair are running motifs throughout this collection. Sadly, the stories ended up blurring together somewhat. The characters are thinly rendered and often interchangeable with one another. The writing was at times repetitive and there were instances in which certain descriptions & dialogues came across as stilted (i read the eng. translation so that may be why). There was also an overuse of ellipsis which made many scenes rather dramatic. I found myself wishing for Jackson’s humor as I found myself completely unamused by Dávila’s stories. Compared to contemporary horror authors such as Samanta Schweblin, well The Houseguest doesn’t quite come on top.
Whenever an author is compared to Shirley Jackson, I feel compelled to check their work out. More often than not, upon reading their stuff, I end up rather perplexed by the comparisons to Jackson. In the case of Amparo Dávila, well, this comparison isn’t wholly unearned. Jackson and Dávila’s approach to the horror genre certainly share similarities. Their stories are imbued by a surreal, almost fantastical, quality that seems to blur the line between reality and fantasy. Their characters are paranoid to the point of being delusional, but there are times when their fears are not wholly unfounded and that the people, places, and situations that cause them to feel such anxiety and terror are not wholly normal. I appreciated that Dávila sets many of her stories within a household or building, rarely venturing beyond their thresholds. This ‘restricted’ setting augments the oppressive atmosphere of her stories and often worsens her characters’ paranoia. Dávila upsets normal family dynamics and every day activities by introducing sinister guests and entities within her characters’ homes. Alienation, loneliness, madness, and despair are running motifs throughout this collection. Sadly, the stories ended up blurring together somewhat. The characters are thinly rendered and often interchangeable with one another. The writing was at times repetitive and there were instances in which certain descriptions & dialogues came across as stilted (i read the eng. translation so that may be why). There was also an overuse of ellipsis which made many scenes rather dramatic. I found myself wishing for Jackson’s humor as I found myself completely unamused by Dávila’s stories. Compared to contemporary horror authors such as Samanta Schweblin, well The Houseguest doesn’t quite come on top.
March 9, 2025
i loved the first story in this! i think after you've read one, you've essentially read them all. each story relies on the offscreen, dread-inducing tension of a "thing" (monster, animal, person) slowly closing in on the main character. often, the stories end before the "thing" is revealed or able to have a conclusive face-off with the main character in peril. the first three stories in particular followed a near identical format of a human having to figure out how to cohabitate with a monsterly creature in their house.
i think, for early twentieth century mexico (+ its relationship to patriarchy and gender-based violence), this format of dread/horror makes a lot of sense and i imagine packed more of a punch, especially in the local literary scene. today, i didn't find much to sink my teeth into. nonetheless, i appreciate the historical value of a collection like this and think amparo dávila was an undeniable darkhorse. 2.4/5.
i think, for early twentieth century mexico (+ its relationship to patriarchy and gender-based violence), this format of dread/horror makes a lot of sense and i imagine packed more of a punch, especially in the local literary scene. today, i didn't find much to sink my teeth into. nonetheless, i appreciate the historical value of a collection like this and think amparo dávila was an undeniable darkhorse. 2.4/5.
August 21, 2023
Along with a few others, the first story, “Moses and Gaspar,” could also be given the title “The Houseguest(s),” which I read as ironic. Hallucinatory yet somehow down-to-earth, the stories are more of invasion of spaces than of welcomed guests. The kind of creatures Moses and Gaspar are—pets, humans, both—is unclear, but it’s clear they’re needy. Their new caretaker experiences the anxiety of obligation, of duty, and perhaps of love. He thinks to his deceased brother (whom he inherited Moses and Gaspar from): “We could have circled around a thousand times and always ended up where we began.” I found Boy, Snow, Bird (reading at the same time) in this line, as well as the idea as theme for the rest of Dávila’s stories.
Each story left me with the impression that, due to a mysterious part of human nature, what happens is inevitable, even in those stories in which characters have committed violence (or think they have). The reader might wonder why the adult siblings of the story “Oscar” didn’t leave their home sooner, but the characters don’t. It was unavoidable.
Each story left me with the impression that, due to a mysterious part of human nature, what happens is inevitable, even in those stories in which characters have committed violence (or think they have). The reader might wonder why the adult siblings of the story “Oscar” didn’t leave their home sooner, but the characters don’t. It was unavoidable.
January 16, 2019
A short story collection by the Mexican author Amparo Davila. I tend to not pick up short story collections because sometimes there is an inconsistency in quality: one story is bad, the next is 'meh', maybe one in the bunch is alright. Well, all of the stories in The Houseguest, IMO, were phenomenal. Davila writes some creepy and surreal stories about fear, entrapment, and responsibilities. Perhaps on accident, Davila wrote in many of her stories about fears particular to women, such as marriage, being followed around by creepy men, fear of assault by men or "the other woman", being disregarded as hysterical instead of as someone with a problem and in need of help, etc. I can't believe this is the first time I've heard of Davila and I'll need to look for more stories by her in the original Spanish
Phenomenal! If The Woman Destroyed and The Turn of the Screw had a book baby, this would be it. The blurb compares Davila to Poe, Kafka, and Jackson.
Phenomenal! If The Woman Destroyed and The Turn of the Screw had a book baby, this would be it. The blurb compares Davila to Poe, Kafka, and Jackson.
October 17, 2022
Qué manera tiene Amparo de ponerte la piel de gallina con esos cuentos donde el mal y la locura y los demonios de la mente se te meten al cuerpo y te hacen tener ojeras, volverte pálida y parecer un espectro. Todas las protagonistas de Amparo son mujeres a las que el espanto las invade, pero es un espanto que solo ellas ven y ahí está la magia.
Amparo confía en sus lectores dejándole el camino para que nosotros sepamos de qué está hablando sin que ella tenga necesidad de explicarlo y eso es lo que hace de esta compilación algo mucho más extraordinario.
No hay demonios, no hay fantasmas porque todo eso vive dentro de cada uno y ahí es donde empiezan las pesadillas.
Amparo confía en sus lectores dejándole el camino para que nosotros sepamos de qué está hablando sin que ella tenga necesidad de explicarlo y eso es lo que hace de esta compilación algo mucho más extraordinario.
No hay demonios, no hay fantasmas porque todo eso vive dentro de cada uno y ahí es donde empiezan las pesadillas.
November 12, 2025
There are definitely intimations of Jackson and Poe here (mainly Poe in the first-person mad narrator trope in a couple tales; the language is much less flowery), but these stories are very spare for the most part. It didn't work in all cases, but in many of them, the economy of language made the sense of unease and occasionally downright disturbing conclusions that much more effective. Favorites included the titular story as well as "The Breakfast," "Musique Concrete," and "The Last Summer" (whoo, boy, did that have a f-cked up ending!).
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November 25, 2018Another constant manifests in Dávila's fiction: the unseen menace. Over and over again characters find themselves in danger, or in thrall to a horror that is not described, only hinted at. Full review at NPR: https://www.npr.org/2018/11/24/669816...
February 18, 2019
There were certainly snippets of fascinating ideas in the first few stories. But it seemed to me that Davila was more interested in developing the more mundane mechanics of her stories. The last few stories lost me altogether.
October 24, 2020
Es muy triste que este año hayamos perdido a la singular Amparo Dávila. Se siente más triste de escribir una reseña lamentando la pérdida versus lo que habría representado celebrar la obra de un tesoro viviente. Pero por otro lado, al final de su vida ella vio su obra renacer, ser apreciada por nuevas generaciones, salir un poco de ese status de “autora de culto” para pasar a un escalafón más visible, el ver traducida su obra y el celebrarla con esta edición del Fondo que es una gala.
Estos cuentos son a la vez parte de una tradición de goticismo mexicano y una manifestación acabada y pulcra. Ahora que Silvia Moreno publicó Mexican Gothic espero que el gran público voltee a ver esta tradición que trae entre sus grandes representantes algunos cuentos del Principio del Placer de Pacheco, el cuento de Amilamia y Aura de Fuentes, los relatos menos surrealistas de Tario y más. La diferencia es la perspectiva femenina y la impronta personal que hizo Dávila para colocar este libro como un representante cumbre.
Para un lector avezado de terror puede que algunos cuentos sienta que les falte punch, algo más macabro. Pero no creo que sea tanto el punto. No es tanto el horror, sino el terror sugerente. La habilidad de Dávila para pasar de esta cotidianidad al espanto en un párrafo es notoria, así como los twists del final de los cuentos representando lo mejor de la tradición global del relato corto. Sólo hubo un cuento que me pareció a contrapelo de la colección y es el último: Tiempo Destrozado. De carácter onírico es el que creo que carece de las virtudes que hacen de este libro uno tan redondo.
Por otro lado aprecio que el libro tocara mis notas personales y locales de terror y además a varios grados. El país es de lo más reconocible en la autora y así puedo reconocer las historias de fantasmas que me sugestionaban de niño en el cuento del departamento en la Zona Rosa, al tema de “sic transit gloria mundi” de El Entierro (reconociendo en la actitud del protagonista a gente cercana que me imagino con esa mentalidad). El cuento que me pareció más fino fue el de El Jardín de las Tumbas por su twist sobre el verdadero terror del adulto y la pesadilla realizada.
Muy, muy recomendable como lectura de días de muertos.
PD. En esta colección falta un cuento clásico de Dávila: el de Moisés y Gaspar
Estos cuentos son a la vez parte de una tradición de goticismo mexicano y una manifestación acabada y pulcra. Ahora que Silvia Moreno publicó Mexican Gothic espero que el gran público voltee a ver esta tradición que trae entre sus grandes representantes algunos cuentos del Principio del Placer de Pacheco, el cuento de Amilamia y Aura de Fuentes, los relatos menos surrealistas de Tario y más. La diferencia es la perspectiva femenina y la impronta personal que hizo Dávila para colocar este libro como un representante cumbre.
Para un lector avezado de terror puede que algunos cuentos sienta que les falte punch, algo más macabro. Pero no creo que sea tanto el punto. No es tanto el horror, sino el terror sugerente. La habilidad de Dávila para pasar de esta cotidianidad al espanto en un párrafo es notoria, así como los twists del final de los cuentos representando lo mejor de la tradición global del relato corto. Sólo hubo un cuento que me pareció a contrapelo de la colección y es el último: Tiempo Destrozado. De carácter onírico es el que creo que carece de las virtudes que hacen de este libro uno tan redondo.
Por otro lado aprecio que el libro tocara mis notas personales y locales de terror y además a varios grados. El país es de lo más reconocible en la autora y así puedo reconocer las historias de fantasmas que me sugestionaban de niño en el cuento del departamento en la Zona Rosa, al tema de “sic transit gloria mundi” de El Entierro (reconociendo en la actitud del protagonista a gente cercana que me imagino con esa mentalidad). El cuento que me pareció más fino fue el de El Jardín de las Tumbas por su twist sobre el verdadero terror del adulto y la pesadilla realizada.
Muy, muy recomendable como lectura de días de muertos.
PD. En esta colección falta un cuento clásico de Dávila: el de Moisés y Gaspar
November 1, 2019
The stories in this collection are strange and engrossing, but leave a lot unsaid. Were Moses and Gaspar… cats? Was the titular Houseguest a human, or a dog? These questions and many more swirl in my mind as I set out to put interpretations to the contents of this collection. Ceaselessly unsettling, I was surprised that these stories mostly felt short of actually making me feel spooked. I think I personally require a greater deal of specificity for a story to give me chills, but if undefined lurking horrors are your thing this collection will be totally up your alley. Populated with significant he’s and she’s, much is left up to the reader’s imagination to follow into the characters’ terror, and to the reader’s interpretation of whether the looming dangers are in the characters’ minds or actually occurring. This collection was very interior and cerebral, and while I feel a little less haunted than I expected going in, these stories have left me a mountain of swirling thoughts to sort through.
I always wonder after reading something billed as “terrifying” whether I just don’t scare easily enough from books, or if I haven’t yet found the right read.
I always wonder after reading something billed as “terrifying” whether I just don’t scare easily enough from books, or if I haven’t yet found the right read.
October 17, 2022
Las historias que nos encontramos en estos 14 cuentos son más que terroríficas, ese toque descriptivo que esconde lo real y que Amparo nos transmite como un secreto, despertó en mi ansías y gran curiosidad.
¿Que nos quiere contar Amparo? que decidió disfrazar estos cuentos detrás del nombre “relatos siniestros”
Si bien sabemos el miedo viene en varias categorías y a mi varios de los relatos me dejaron un tanto inquieta pensando más allá del terror psicológico, en la condición humana, en la salud mental, en las costumbres o en la espiritualidad.
Mi relato favorito sin duda fue “el huésped” y “el último verano”
¿Que nos quiere contar Amparo? que decidió disfrazar estos cuentos detrás del nombre “relatos siniestros”
Si bien sabemos el miedo viene en varias categorías y a mi varios de los relatos me dejaron un tanto inquieta pensando más allá del terror psicológico, en la condición humana, en la salud mental, en las costumbres o en la espiritualidad.
Mi relato favorito sin duda fue “el huésped” y “el último verano”
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October 8, 2021I was spellbound when I saw the blurbs, “Like Poe for the new millennium” and “Mexico’s answer to Shirley Jackson.”
Like Poe, Amparo fixates on obsession driving people to the brink of madness or beyond. Amparo has mastered a way to do this subtlety in a masterful way. The cause of terror is sometimes unseen, but nevertheless unsettles the reader.
In the tradition of classic horror icons Poe and Shirley Jackson, where sometimes the unknown becomes even more haunting. -Lisanne E.
Like Poe, Amparo fixates on obsession driving people to the brink of madness or beyond. Amparo has mastered a way to do this subtlety in a masterful way. The cause of terror is sometimes unseen, but nevertheless unsettles the reader.
In the tradition of classic horror icons Poe and Shirley Jackson, where sometimes the unknown becomes even more haunting. -Lisanne E.
November 13, 2018
¡Qué buena es Amparo Dávila! ¡Qué bueno es Santiago Caruso!
January 10, 2022
La putrescenza delle radici
"E' stato davvero un colpo di genio misurare il dolore per gradi, attribuirgli un limite e una categoria. C'è chi sostiene che il dolore sia interminabile e non si esaurisca mai, eppure io credo che dopo il decimo grado della mia scala non resti altro che la memoria delle cose, che ferisce ormai solo nel ricordo."
"Quando lo vidi per la prima volta, non riuscii a reprimere un grido di terrore. Era un lugubre, sinistro. Aveva grandi occhi giallastri, quasi rotondi e sempre sbarrati, che sembravano penetrare attraverso le cose e le persone. La mia vita, già disgraziata, divenne un inferno. La sera stessa del suo arrivo supplicai mio marito di non condannarmi alla tortura della sua compagnia."
"Mi spaventa l'idea di sprofondare nel cupo mistero del loro essere. Mi si avvicinano silenziosamente, come per annusare il mio stato d'animo o, forse, indovinare i miei pensieri. Ma so che loro lo sentono, devono sentirlo, vista la gioia che leggo nei loro volti, l'aria trionfante che li invade quando io non desidero altro che la loro distruzione."
"Passavo le notti a rigirarmi nel letto, ad ascoltare i rumori della notte, rumori lontani, vaghi, finché non ho cominciato a distinguerne uno che spiccava fra gli altri, e si faceva sempre più forte e più preciso, sempre più vicino, fino ad arrivare sotto la mia finestra dove restava per ore, poi se ne andava, sbiadiva in lontananza e tornava la notte dopo; così tutte le sere, uguale, senza sosta."
Accostata meccanicamente a Shirley Jackson per la tendenza all'innesto del surreale in un contesto apparentemente realistico, Amparo Dàvila sembrerebbe avvicinarsi maggiormente alle trasfigurazioni d'incubo tanto care a Julio Cortázar (autore che riceverà un racconto a lui dedicato: Il funerale). I racconti della scrittrice si sostanziano tra il soffocato lamento femminista di un paese scevro di orizzonti - non v'è nemmeno una vaga pantomina come il sogno americano - e l'irredimibile decadenza che il passato (famigliare e sociale) ha da offrire. La scrittura, cadenzata quanto inesorabile in quello che cerca di trasmettere, persegue una irrisolutezza narrativa per escludere l'evasione dal limbo: che sia moto di riscatto o presa di coscienza.
• Frammento di un diario (ascesa per gradi verso il dolore, sulle scale) ✸✸✸✸
• L'ospite (come accogliere un nuovo membro della famiglia e vivere nel terrore) ✸✸✸✸✸
• La cella (promessa di un matrimonio e prigionia al piano di sopra) ✸✸✸✸✸
• Fine di una lotta (pedinamento di doppelgänger e circolo amoroso autodistruttivo) ✸✸✸1/2
• Alta cucina (cosa cucinare in pentola per diventare vegetariani) ✸✸✸1/2
• Moisés e Gaspar (morte del fratello: eredità di due demoni e grigia convivenza) ✸✸✸✸
• Musica concreta (sospetti gracidii concretizzano l'adulterio) ✸✸✸✸
• La colazione (garofani rossi e musiche avvolgenti: sogno premonitore) ✸✸✸
• Tina Reyes (tentativi di emancipazione soffocati dalle avances di uno sconosciuto) ✸✸✸1/2
• Il funerale (nella spirale di morte risorge l'egoismo della vita) ✸✸✸1/2
• L'ultima estate (l'esubero di figli come condanna) ✸✸✸
• Oscar (abitante della cantina fossilizza la famiglia in una girandola di servigi) ✸✸✸✸
"E' stato davvero un colpo di genio misurare il dolore per gradi, attribuirgli un limite e una categoria. C'è chi sostiene che il dolore sia interminabile e non si esaurisca mai, eppure io credo che dopo il decimo grado della mia scala non resti altro che la memoria delle cose, che ferisce ormai solo nel ricordo."
"Quando lo vidi per la prima volta, non riuscii a reprimere un grido di terrore. Era un lugubre, sinistro. Aveva grandi occhi giallastri, quasi rotondi e sempre sbarrati, che sembravano penetrare attraverso le cose e le persone. La mia vita, già disgraziata, divenne un inferno. La sera stessa del suo arrivo supplicai mio marito di non condannarmi alla tortura della sua compagnia."
"Mi spaventa l'idea di sprofondare nel cupo mistero del loro essere. Mi si avvicinano silenziosamente, come per annusare il mio stato d'animo o, forse, indovinare i miei pensieri. Ma so che loro lo sentono, devono sentirlo, vista la gioia che leggo nei loro volti, l'aria trionfante che li invade quando io non desidero altro che la loro distruzione."
"Passavo le notti a rigirarmi nel letto, ad ascoltare i rumori della notte, rumori lontani, vaghi, finché non ho cominciato a distinguerne uno che spiccava fra gli altri, e si faceva sempre più forte e più preciso, sempre più vicino, fino ad arrivare sotto la mia finestra dove restava per ore, poi se ne andava, sbiadiva in lontananza e tornava la notte dopo; così tutte le sere, uguale, senza sosta."
Accostata meccanicamente a Shirley Jackson per la tendenza all'innesto del surreale in un contesto apparentemente realistico, Amparo Dàvila sembrerebbe avvicinarsi maggiormente alle trasfigurazioni d'incubo tanto care a Julio Cortázar (autore che riceverà un racconto a lui dedicato: Il funerale). I racconti della scrittrice si sostanziano tra il soffocato lamento femminista di un paese scevro di orizzonti - non v'è nemmeno una vaga pantomina come il sogno americano - e l'irredimibile decadenza che il passato (famigliare e sociale) ha da offrire. La scrittura, cadenzata quanto inesorabile in quello che cerca di trasmettere, persegue una irrisolutezza narrativa per escludere l'evasione dal limbo: che sia moto di riscatto o presa di coscienza.
• Frammento di un diario (ascesa per gradi verso il dolore, sulle scale) ✸✸✸✸
• L'ospite (come accogliere un nuovo membro della famiglia e vivere nel terrore) ✸✸✸✸✸
• La cella (promessa di un matrimonio e prigionia al piano di sopra) ✸✸✸✸✸
• Fine di una lotta (pedinamento di doppelgänger e circolo amoroso autodistruttivo) ✸✸✸1/2
• Alta cucina (cosa cucinare in pentola per diventare vegetariani) ✸✸✸1/2
• Moisés e Gaspar (morte del fratello: eredità di due demoni e grigia convivenza) ✸✸✸✸
• Musica concreta (sospetti gracidii concretizzano l'adulterio) ✸✸✸✸
• La colazione (garofani rossi e musiche avvolgenti: sogno premonitore) ✸✸✸
• Tina Reyes (tentativi di emancipazione soffocati dalle avances di uno sconosciuto) ✸✸✸1/2
• Il funerale (nella spirale di morte risorge l'egoismo della vita) ✸✸✸1/2
• L'ultima estate (l'esubero di figli come condanna) ✸✸✸
• Oscar (abitante della cantina fossilizza la famiglia in una girandola di servigi) ✸✸✸✸
May 8, 2019
Compré este libro en la Furia del Libro 2018 por las maravillosas ilustraciones de Santiago Caruso y porque no había leído nada de Amparo Dávila, pese a las recomendaciones. Me encontré con cuentos breves, casi todos oníricos y de pesadilla, protagonizados casi todos por mujeres, sometidas a situaciones límites, a medio camino entre el ensueño y la demencia. Una buenísima sorpresa dentro del terror latinoamericano, con cierto deje a EA Poe. Muy bueno. Las ilustraciones son excelentes, como todo lo que hace Caruso. Ojo en especial con el maravilloso cuento: "Música concreta".
October 27, 2022
explores the haunting depths of paranoia, isolation, and irrational fear through unreliable characters. some stories were fascinating while others weren’t as suspenseful as I’d hoped. overall, this scratched the part of my brain craving for a soft horror read this October while being reminiscent of Poe.
July 7, 2022
“...what I do in literature is come and go from reality to fantasy, from fantasy to reality, the way life itself is.” --Amparo Dávila on her approach to writing.
▪️THE HOUSEGUEST and Other Stories by Amparo Dávila, translated from the Spanish by Matthew Gleeson and Audrey Harris
Original stories from the 1960s, collated, translated, and published in 2018 by New Directions.
#ReadtheWorld21 📍Mexico
What stays with me most after reading Dávila's short stories is what is left unsaid in so many of her stories.
The unsaid leads to the unsettled, and sometimes into the realm of the fantastical. Not quite horror or supernatural, but more the realm of other eeries like Leonora Carrington, Silvina Ocampo, and Shirley Jackson.
▪️Doppelgängers in "End of the Struggle" // "He was buying the evening paper when he saw himself walk by with a blonde woman. He froze, perplexed. The man was himself, no doubt about it."
▪️Talking toad that stalks and harasses a woman in "Musique Concrète"
▪️A man inherits his late brother's pet "creatures" (we never find out *what* they actually are - Guinea pigs? Cats? Capybaras?) in "Moses and Gaspar" and they slow take over his life...
▪️This same unsettling is present in the title story as well - "The Houseguest" is described in such an amorphous way - is this a human? Some other sort of creature?
"I’ve always liked stairways, with their people who go dragging their breath up them and fall dully down them in a shapeless mass. Maybe that’s why I chose the stairs to suffer on." (From "Fragment of a Diary")
Dávila passed away in 2020 at the age of 92. "She would repeatedly say that she had three 'fundamental concerns' — love, madness, and death — and that she wasn’t really interested in imagination or cerebral invention but rather in lived experience."
Matthew Gleeson, one of the translators of The Houseguest, has several great pieces in The Paris Review on translating this work, and an "In Memoriam" piece in the Los Angeles Review of Books.
▪️THE HOUSEGUEST and Other Stories by Amparo Dávila, translated from the Spanish by Matthew Gleeson and Audrey Harris
Original stories from the 1960s, collated, translated, and published in 2018 by New Directions.
#ReadtheWorld21 📍Mexico
What stays with me most after reading Dávila's short stories is what is left unsaid in so many of her stories.
The unsaid leads to the unsettled, and sometimes into the realm of the fantastical. Not quite horror or supernatural, but more the realm of other eeries like Leonora Carrington, Silvina Ocampo, and Shirley Jackson.
▪️Doppelgängers in "End of the Struggle" // "He was buying the evening paper when he saw himself walk by with a blonde woman. He froze, perplexed. The man was himself, no doubt about it."
▪️Talking toad that stalks and harasses a woman in "Musique Concrète"
▪️A man inherits his late brother's pet "creatures" (we never find out *what* they actually are - Guinea pigs? Cats? Capybaras?) in "Moses and Gaspar" and they slow take over his life...
▪️This same unsettling is present in the title story as well - "The Houseguest" is described in such an amorphous way - is this a human? Some other sort of creature?
"I’ve always liked stairways, with their people who go dragging their breath up them and fall dully down them in a shapeless mass. Maybe that’s why I chose the stairs to suffer on." (From "Fragment of a Diary")
Dávila passed away in 2020 at the age of 92. "She would repeatedly say that she had three 'fundamental concerns' — love, madness, and death — and that she wasn’t really interested in imagination or cerebral invention but rather in lived experience."
Matthew Gleeson, one of the translators of The Houseguest, has several great pieces in The Paris Review on translating this work, and an "In Memoriam" piece in the Los Angeles Review of Books.
September 22, 2025
Cuando lei el primer relato, mis expectativas subieron bastante pero, conforme continuaba con la lectura, note, al menos en mi opinion, que no eran consistente. Habia unos muy buenos, otros no tanto. Un 3.5💫 por un relato en particular que me llego y que nos demuestra que no hay monstruo ficticio que se compare con la codicia.
May 19, 2021
Wtf even is this? This is a collection of stories that feel like unfleshed out student work. Where is the plot? Climax? Resolution? I often LOVE ambiguous stories, but come on. This book is UNREADABLE.
October 10, 2021
did nothing for me tbh, but I think that maybe the English translation is just weak and the original version has something that got lost in the translation process, idk. maybe I'm dead inside, but none of these stories managed to unsettle me in the slightest and all of the themes/underlying meanings of the stories border on being so vague that you can just project whatever interpretation you want onto them.
December 29, 2020
This is everything I wanted Samanta Schweblin’s book of short stories to be!! Subtle and creepy little 10ish page stories that sneak up on you and linger in the back of your noggin in the wee hours of night. Davila has a way of leaving out precisely the right pieces of crucial information to unnerve you, like in the first story where a character adopts his recently-dead brother’s pets. She doesn’t say what kind of pets they are, and at first it seems safe to assume they’re probably just cats or dogs, but the neighbors keep saying that the pets are screeching and screaming every time they’re home alone and uncanny details keep piling up... spooky ooky ooky! Not a spoiler to say details like that are never filled in and we’re left to fill in blanks in our imagination, which I love as a scary story technique always. Not a single dud in the bunch but my favorite story is definitely Tina Reyes, a girl-walks-home-alone-at-night story that’s not supernatural but which makes up for it by being real-world anxious. Lots of fun!!
March 4, 2019
Strange undercurrents menace the domestic mundane -- doubles, obsessions, ambiguous unwanted visitors. I'm not surprised to see that Cortazar approved, and though these don't push quite so far into genuine surprise and imagination, they possess many moments that point that way. And I generally enjoyed Davila's primary voice here to her borrowed version in The Iliac Crest, which originally alerted me to her existence. I suspect this collection draws from across her career, which seems to span a number of collections circa the 1950s - 1980s, but am happy to see that at 91, she's still around. Is she still writing? Are any of these new?
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