Samanta Schweblin. This is a name I have been hearing for years but for some reason I had never read any of her books before this past December. After three books, she is definitely one of my favorite writers. Well, after one book, really. As soon as I finished her story collection “Siete casas vacías” I knew I was in literary love. For me, Schweblin is Lucy in the Sky with a touch of Kafka. Her stories are surreal and whimsical but with a dangerous edge, you know in your gut that things are oh so very wrong even when they appear extremely normal.
A Mouthful of Birds is a collection of short stories selected by the author. They are unsettling, disturbing and addictive. Samanta Schweblin’s world seems almost normal, maybe just a little bit off. It is inhabited by regular people who find themselves in the most surreal and odd circumstances, and this is exactly where she finds the horror that she renders in such a visceral way.
Full review on my blog.