From Powells.com
Hot new releases and under-the-radar gems for adults and kids.
Staff Pick
Chilling and eerie, Schweblin has created a bundle of stories showcasing strange interactions, odd mannerisms, and nightmarish circumstances that haunted the corners of my thoughts long after reading. The tone of her stories have a subtle horror that slowly reveals itself, but is not garish because she has found the most effective way to sprinkle it in. "Mouthful of Birds," "The Digger," and "The Heavy Suitcase of Benavides" were my favorites and all invoked chills that ran down my spine as I read. Recommended By Brianna B., Powells.com
From Samanta Schweblin — author of the haunting novel Fever Dream — comes Mouthful of Birds, a collection of 20 macabre short stories. Schweblin’s sinister, unsettling tales are equal parts eerie and foreboding, blending unforgettably the ominous and the bizarre. Recommended By Jeremy G., Powells.com
You have been driving for hours and you are tired and thirsty, so you pull over at a rest stop. The bright lights make the darkness feel smaller and the drink is refreshing. There is a man next to you staring into his empty glass, a man who sees more than just the foam clinging to the bottom, a man with a story to tell. He will tell it to you for the price of a beer, but buyer beware: the tale you hear might chase you. This is the premise behind one of the stories in this eerily beautiful collection, but it also describes the reading experience itself. Life can be a dreadful, inexplicable thing — let Schweblin's haunting little stories keep you company on nights that are too long and days that are too dim. Both ethereal and substantial, Mouthful of Birds is a dream that blurs into reality. Recommended By Lauren P., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A powerful, eerily unsettling story collection from a major international literary star.
Unearthly and unexpected, the stories in Mouthful of Birds burrow their way into your psyche and don’t let go. Samanta Schweblin haunts and mesmerizes in this extraordinary, masterful collection.
Schweblin’s stories have the feel of a sleepless night, where every shadow and bump in the dark take on huge implications, leaving your pulse racing, and the line between the real and the strange blur.
Synopsis
"Superb" --
Vogue
"What makes Schweblin so startling as a writer, however, what makes her
rare and important, is that she is impelled not by mere talent or ambition but by vision." --
New York Times A powerful, eerily unsettling story collection from a major international literary star.
The brilliant stories in Mouthful of Birds burrow their way into your psyche and don't let go. Samanta Schweblin haunts and mesmerizes in this extraordinary collection featuring women on the edge, men turned upside down, the natural world at odds with reality. We think life is one way, but often, it's not -- our expectations for how people act, love, fear can all be upended. Each character in Mouthful of Birds must contend with the unexpected, whether a family coming apart at the seams or a child transforming or a ghostly hellscape or a murder.
Schweblin's stories have the feel of a sleepless night, where every shadow and bump in the dark take on huge implications, leaving your pulse racing, and the line between the real and the strange blurs.
About the Author
Samanta Schweblin is the author of the novel, Fever Dream, a finalist for the Man Booker International Prize and her first book translated into English. She was chosen as one of the twenty-two best writers in Spanish under the age of 35 by Granta and is on the Bogotá39-2017 list. Her stories in Spanish have won numerous awards, including the prestigious Juan Rulfo Story Prize, and in English have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, and elsewhere. Her work has been translated into twenty languages. Originally from Buenos Aires, she lives in Berlin.
Megan McDowell has translated books by many contemporary South American and Spanish authors, and her translations have been published in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Paris Review, McSweeney’s, Words Without Borders, and Vice, among other publications. She lives in Chile.