Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird: Stories

Wow wow wow, I am thoroughly impressed. Not only are these short stories frightening and engaging, Bazterrica's writing style sucks you in whether you want it to or not. I went into this having already read Tender is the Flesh, a book I enjoyed but felt was lacking in direction, and was expecting maybe the same quality, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much more I enjoyed this book. I feel like short stories are where Bazterrica really shines and is able to show us just how talented she really is. Each story was interesting, thought provoking, and some were genuinely “get under your skin” creepy, 4 stars!

There is something of an ethereal and atmospheric quality to most of the stories in this collection. Some of the stories I wanted more from, some I didn't really get and some were really outstanding. All of this to say that there is a pretty good variety of themes in there and at under 200 pages it's a pretty quick read.

That being said the tone remained pretty steady throughout the book and I could definitely tell it was the same authorial voice as the one behind Tender Is the Flesh. Bazterrica absolutely came through with her signature discomfort inducing style and ability to perceive the horror in the mundane and ordinary.

I received an eARC from Simon & Schuster Canada, Scribner though NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars!!!

This was one of my most anticipated releases, after reading Agustina Bazterrica's novel Tender is the Flesh, and I was not disappointed! While I did enjoy some of the short stories more than others, the ones that I didn't LOVE were still really good. The only thing that I didn't enjoy is that I wanted some of the stories to be longer, but that's not a bad thing! I kept getting sucked in to the stories and didn't want them to end. I'll always read anything Bazterrica publishes and I'm sure I'll love it.






Thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review