South American writers have a long tradition of weird, macabre, horrorific and disturbing stories. I asssume it's the influx of the Spanish culture and of their troubled history.
This is a collection of short stories that are disturbing and weird. There's not one that I would consider light but they're all well written.
Not a relaxing book but an interesting one.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Some hits, some misses, but overall none of the short stories are particularly memorable, despite the skilled writing.

Some of these short stories really got in to my head, while others barely scratched the surface. I love the author’s writing style, but much preferred her fleshed out (pun intended) full length novella instead. Would recommend to fans of Tender is the Flesh and The Dangers of Smoking in Bed though!

Was dying to read more Bazterrica after Tender Is The Flesh and this one did not disappoint!! It may not be as thought-provoking as TITF but it's an amazing piece of literature in its own way. I didn't "get" all the stories (which is on me, not on the book or author) but the writing was exquisite and I had a great time reading this one. Looking forward to what the author has in store for her next release!

🐦‍⬛Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica🐦‍⬛

𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞, 𝐦𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐁𝐚𝐳𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬.

𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐥, 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐫, 𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫.

So firstly, thank you to Netgalley and Pushkin Press for sending me an ARC of this collection of short stories.

I absolutely loved Tender is the Flesh, I know that it really divided opinion and I think that this book will do exactly the same.

Personally, I love Bazterrica's writing style. I read a review of this book that described it as modern art - and it really is a great description, the language she uses is so evocative. There are a few themes that run through all of these stories, as you would expect they are all pretty dark, most of the characters are pretty lonely or isolated (a coldness and distance I also noticed in Tender is the Flesh). Several stories I loved, and a few of them left me scratching my head wondering what the hell I had just read. Overall though I enjoyed this collection and it just left me wanting to read more from this author.

My favourite stories were Roberto, Earth, Teicher vs. Nietzsche, Elena-Marie Sandoz and The Solitary Ones.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book is released in the UK on May 4th 2023.

#nineteenclawsandablackbird #agustinabazterrica #shortstories #netgalley #netgalleyreads #bookstagram #tenderistheflesh #horror #horrorbooks

This short story collection is from the same author as Tender Is the Flesh, a novel of cannibalism that will live on in my mind forever. Sadly, the same can’t be said for Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird. It isn’t terrible, just a mixed bag, and I had been expecting more body horror along the lines of her longer fiction. My favourite story ‘Elena-Marie Sandoz’ was quite close to the obsession found in Heather Parry’s Orpheus Builds a Girl, while ‘The Continuous Equality of the Circumference’ about a woman who wants to be a circle - not to be like one, but to be one - was delightfully weird.

After Tender is the Flesh, I was looking forward to reading more by Agustina Bazterrica and Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird was quite an interesting read.

Blending dark realism with surreal elements, Bazterrica explores topics such as abuse, murder, suicide and alienation throughout the nineteen stories in this collection.

As with most short story collections, there will be hits and misses within the stories.

While the stories in this collection all had intriguing premises, a lot of them were not as impactful as I wanted them to be. Most of the stories felt like they were building up towards something but in the end they ended quite abruptly before the theme of the story could be further explored to make a lasting impact.

And while I oftentimes enjoy books and stories that end on a speculative note, a lot of the endings in this collection fell a bit flat for me.

That said, it was still an enjoyable and quick read which I would recommend to fans of dark and strange stories.

My favorites were: Elena Marie Sandoz, No Tears, and The Solitary Ones.

Thank you to publisher Pushkin Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is probably the first time I've been completely lost for words when trying to write a review. That should give you an idea of how shocking this collection of short stories really is! I have read a lot of horror and gruesome crime fiction but it was the way that each story made me feel so uncomfortable that made them stand out against other stories in this genre. As I was reading, everything in my body was telling me to stop - that I shouldn't read on, but at the same time it was impossible to not carry on. I give full marks to the author and translator for taking topics that most people don't like to talk about or think about and just going for it! Before I put anyone off reading it, the great thing about this was that just when I thought I would have to stop reading - that I didn't want the story to go where I thought it was heading - there was sudden relief with a burst of humour or the story would completely switch on you and the meaning or moral would change which really kept the tension rising up and down throughout.

As these are short stories, I won't go into detail about each one as all it will do is give too many spoilers. However, my favourite story from the book has to be Roberto - definitely one which will grab your attention and prompt a lot of debate. I almost feel weird telling everyone that I enjoyed it - you'll just have to read it to find out why!

I really feel like this collection of stories was one big and complex therapy session. All designed as a way to work through different challenges people may have to face in life; break-ups, death, assault, depression, murder. This led to some very uncomfortable explorations which you have to break through for them to all start making sense. It was almost a message that you have to push through the difficult, embarrassing or impossible to come out the other side.

This was an arc from netgalley. From the author of tender is the flesh (a massively overrated book).It took me so long to get through this. I did not enjoy this 1 bit. The last two stories were somewhat decent, but apart from those this was torture to get through.

I think this will be 1 alot of people are talking about and recommending, but I hated this so much. I had to force myself not to DNF this. This was only a 1.5 star rating for me.

This collection of very short stories has echoes of a number of other collections I've read recently about girls and women, sex and violence; the stories that worked better for me in Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird, like 'Roberto' and 'Unamuno's Boxes', are reminiscent of writers like Julia Armfield, Carmen Maria Machado and Kate Folk, whereas the more experimental and bizarre pieces, like 'Candy Pink' and 'Dishwasher', reminded me more of Irenosen Okojie's stories with their accumulation of detail, a style I've struggled with in the past. Most of the stories aim to shock and I found that, once I'd worked out the pattern, I was often just waiting for the twist ending, so although they are tonally different, they also feel very similar. I skipped Agustina Bazterrica's Tender is the Flesh because I knew the content would be too disturbing for me; this wasn't the case here, but I wasn't especially impressed.

Bizarre, surreal and perhaps obscure on occasion, these ambiguous and perturbing stories leave you with a sense of unease. I did get the feeling that perhaps parts didn’t quite translate into English well however. One of my draws to this author was the straight down the line writing style I experienced in Tender Is The Flesh but this is less evident here with things often being a little convoluted and I was left a little confused from time to time. Although I still tore through it in one day!

The stories that stood out for me included:

Roberto - the contrast of innocence and the horrifying.
Elena-Maria Sandoz- urban legend/local lore
Mary Carminum- cult vibes
The Solitary Ones - creepy as hell!

I do think that, like Tender Is The Flesh, this will have readers divided. Grab your copy now and see which side you land on.

Agustina Bazterrica has interested me since I heard about Tender is the Flesh, so I was excited to read her selection of short stories. These did not disappoint. Some are very short (1 page), yet all pack a punch. They range from wildly strange and imaginative, to down right real and in your face. It’s hard for me to imagine a selection of shorts where I love EVERY story, so it’s not bad to say that not every one was a hit for me. However, they all make you think and many really get you to feel. Even with the short page count, I don’t think I’d be able to read these all in one sitting. I’d like to thank NetGalley & Pushkin Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

First published in 2020, Argentine writer Agustina Bazterrica’s collection echoes concerns that surface elsewhere in her work from the damage wrought by capitalism to the threat of patriarchy, to the myriad forms of violence and disorientation that might lurk beneath the surface of the seemingly mundane and too often aimed at women or children by predatory men. Bazterrica seems fascinated by themes of alienation and the possible disconnect between surface perceptions and underlying realities, and she’s often fiercely invested in the kind of atmospheric but gruesome, feminist body horror I associate with writers like Mónica Ojeda and Sayata Muraka. Unsettling accounts of murder and abuse resurface across Bazterrica’s narratives, in “Unamuno’s Boxes” a taxi driver who shares the famous author’s name may or may not be a serial killer; in the striking “Earth” a child kills her abusive father; while “A Hole Hides a House” comments on poverty and the trafficking of young girls. Sometimes Bazterrica’s writing takes on aspects of the surreal as in her twisted fairy tale “Mary Carminum” or delves into the realms of the bleakly absurdist – on prominent display in entries like “Dishwasher” which reads like a parody of a fifties romance starring actors like Doris Day. Standouts like “Candy Pink” present an ironic view of the aftermath of a breakup in a style that reminded me at times of Dorothy Parker; and I was unexpectedly drawn in by the darkly comical tones of “Teicher vs. Nietzche” an unlikely convergence of cat, jilted football fan and elements of Nietzche’s philosophy. Bazterrica’s worlds are riddled with cruelty and exploitation, sometimes fantastical but grounded in her awareness of the rampant inequalities and fault lines of contemporary Argentine society. It’s a place in which children and animals are particularly vulnerable and, here, a place peopled by characters too often caught up in obsession – unable to deal with their bodily existence as in “The Continuous Equality of the Circumference” in which a woman has an unusual response to the pressure of conforming to impossible beauty ideals. But like so many collections this can be quite uneven, some pieces like “The Wolf’s Breath” are more gesture than finished story, while others feel strangely slight despite the seriousness of their subject matter. Translated by Sarah Moses.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Pushkin Press for an ARC
Rating: 3 to 3.5

“You wouldn’t understand, Carrie, it’s just a feeling.The feeling that there are these things that break apart into big pieces that choke me.”

Augustina Bazterrica once again thrills the reader with this collection of dark fiction that delves deep into the recesses of human nature. Contained in these disturbing stories are a variety of hells where fear and desperation for human desire bring out an unsettling reality that is difficult to swallow.

The moment I realised we had another book by this author I knew I had to pick it up straight away. “Tender Is The Flesh” is one novel that strikes an unsettling chord with me. Going into this new collection I was excited to experience something equally messed up again.

I was not disappointed. Laced with brutality and dark humour, some of these stories will make you feel uncomfortable and make you put the book down for a second to process what you have read. I found myself doing this often with this collection. As shocking as some of these were I found I enjoyed being surprised at every turn with this book.

What the author has created here are unforgettable stories that will have you reaching for them time and time again. A uniquely disturbing set of dark fiction I would definitely recommend to those who have yet to try this author.

A surreal and unsettling selection of stories by the author who brought us the fantastic 'Tender is the Flesh'. Most of the tales are wonderfully bizarre but there one or two that didn't quite hit the mark for me. A great mix for the most part, particularly the final story which really freaked me out just before bedtime. Thanks for that ;).

Hight quality weird fiction or literary horror? It's not easy to put these stories in a box. They are all portraits of unusual situations in prose, beautifully translated and superbly edited. Neither is it easy to see the author of 'Tender is the Flesh' in these tales: they are more haunting and poetic than shocking and grotesque, far more personal and empathetic than nauseating and macabre. The subtle humor, the depressed voices of urbanites, the cries of abused women, the existential ambiguity of cats named after famous personages; the claustrophobia of this kind of narration (usually given directly in second or first person) is outweighed by the freedom of Bazterrica's prose, the utterly unrestrained flow of words - reminiscent of the power of incantantions. Most of the stories are very short, but they are not exactly flash fiction: the writing reveals them as self-contained worlds, be it a story about grief ('The Dead'), revenge ('Earth' - my favorite, incidentally) or a dream ('the Wolf's Breath'.) The book is like a hole filled with darkness and memory: don't expect twists or intrigues, expect echoes; don't ask for explanations - you'll get mysteries. Many thanks to Pushkin Press for an ARC via NetGalley.

Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird: Stories by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by  Sarah Moses
Publication date: 4 May 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and Pushkin Press for providing me with an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
~~~~~
A collection of nineteen brutal, darkly funny short stories which delves into our deepest fears and through our most disturbing fantasies.
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Tender is the Flesh was one of my favourite reads of 2021, so I was so excited to be able to review this. As with all short story collections, a few of the stories didn't land for me but I'm ready to admit that I was probably too dumb for them and they went over my head.
Bazterrica's writing is amazing, compelling and lyrical; the imagery she creates is so vivid. The stories that worked for me are going to stay with me for a long time.
"Roberto" starts with the line "I have a bunny between my legs." It is disturbing and horrible; I feel I need to bleach my brain after reading it but it sure made an impact.
"Candy Pink" is the story about a woman reeling from the break-up of her relationship. The way that one builds up is masterful; it becomes more and more unhinged and feels like a fever dream.
"Earth" is raw, awful in its themes and heartbreaking.
"Teicher vs. Nietzsche" was my favourite story, about a man who tries to kick a cat. This was deliciously dark and humorous.
Please do check content warnings for this book before picking it up as the themes of some of the stories could be triggering.
~~~~~

Bizarre, creepy and chilling, this collection of short tales of the macabre had me hooked from the very first one. Bazterrica has an incredibly unique, thrilling narrative style and I enjoyed these stories immensely.

This is not a collection for the faint-hearted, themes of death and horror throughout. But there are some extremely thought-provoking moments and a brilliant line up of intriguing protagonists. I will absolutely be recommending this to everyone! And I look forward to giving this a re-read, preferably around Halloween to really get in the spooky mood!

Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird is a collection of 20 stories by Agustina Bazterrica, author of Tender is the Flesh. Earlier in the year, I eagerly read Tender is the Flesh after seeing all the hype, so I was excited to read something else by this same author. While I enjoyed this one, I found that a lot of the stories were very short and left me wanting more. The atmospheric and chilling themes running through the book are sure to be loved by horror fans. The author knows how to write well and is able to convey a lot of emotion and impact in these stories. I think I’ll keep my eye out for their next full length novel. Definitely an author to watch.

This was an interesting selection of stories, with some genuinely thought-provoking characters and storylines. Themes include suicide, death, grief, desire, wealth, misogyny and sex. My personal favourites were 'No Tears' (two unsettling characters attending wakes uninvited) and 'Mary Carminum' (a very disturbing 'rock concert' for two very deserving douchebags).

I definitely enjoyed some stories more than others (something I think is inevitable with anthologies), and some went over my head. I don't think this is entirely the writer's fault; I am not familiar with South American culture or history, and I think a few stories would benefit from an understanding of this. I found some of the stories a bit abstract and overwritten, but some of this is my own personal preference and I liked that there were different lengths and styles of writing.

Some of the language was really beautiful -especially the pairing of unexpected adjectives - but in other places it felt like perhaps something had been lost when translating from Spanish. I did read this book in quite a short space of time, and I feel I might have appreciated the stories and language more if I had some breathing space between them.

I would definitely read more by Agustina Bazterrica, and take my time a bit more to appreciate it.