Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin, Translated by Megan McDowell

Original Title:

Pájaros en la boca

Book number 3 for Hispanic Heritage Month brings Mouthful of Birds us another short story collection from an Argentinean author. And another translation by Megan McDowell!

Edition:

Digital library loan

Synopsis:

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.

Awards/Nominations:

  • International Booker Prize Nominee for Longlist (2019)
LOOK AT THAT COVER

My Thoughts:

Mouthful of Birds is a truly haunting collection of stories.

The Stories:

Headlights
Newlyweds stop at a gas station so the wife can use the restroom, but when she comes out she discovers he has gone – and she’s not alone.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Preserves
A couple isn’t ready for a massive life change, so they do something about it. This one is sort of sci-fi but also sort of mystical, and I loved it!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Butterflies
This micro-fiction is about being careful with vulnerable beings, and was absolutely lovely and also terribly sad.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Mouthful of Birds
A family learns to deal with their daughter’s bizarre new diet.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Santa Claus Sleeps at Our House

A darkly funny and festive family drama.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The Digger

A man rents a house unaware that it comes with its own digger. I still don’t really ‘get’ this one.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Irman

Travelers encounter a very bizarre scenario at a roadside restaurant.

Rating: 2 out of 5.

The Test

A man wants to join a gang, and must perform a test. I didn’t like this one because there was animal cruelty that felt unnecessarily graphic alongside human violence which felt totally glossed over. I did like the ending, but I hated getting there.

Rating: 1 out of 5.

Toward Happy Civilization

A man finds himself trapped at a train station when the ticket master refuses anything other than exact change for the fare.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Olingiris

An assistant at an institute has an affinity for fish stemming from childhood. Again, this one just didn’t click for me. This was a bit of a rough patch in the book for me where I almost DNF’d, but I’m glad I stuck it out, because it gets much better again!

Rating: 2 out of 5.

My Brother Walter

An incredibly relatable (for me, at least) exploration of depression, and what it’s like both living with it, and what it sometimes feels like when dealing with people who don’t suffer from it.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Merman

A young woman finds her true love on the pier, but she’s unable to make herself take the necessary steps to hold onto him.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Rage of Pestilence

A story of starvation, and about the dangers of being confronted with what you’re missing out on.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Heads Against Concrete

A painter struggles to control his rage throughout his life. I am not sure I entirely got the point of this one, but I am just so fucking tired of stories that present the violent rage of men as something that “just is.” I think this story had a lot of redeeming factors, but seriously, I’m tired of that line of thinking.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The Size of Things

This is a sad, sad story about a man who has endured life-long abuse finding tiny moments of happiness and agency in a world where he has very little of either.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Underground

A man is told a truly strange tale by and old man in a bar.

Rating: 4 out of 5.
There’s probably a reason for this gif, but I’m not telling.

Slowing Down

A former Human Cannonball fears that he is slowing down in his old age.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

On the Steppe

A couple desperate for a child are willing to go to great lengths to get one. Especially once they meet a couple who has captured something mysterious to act as a proxy – I have been trying to do some research to see if this is just a Changeling-type scenario or what, but so far I’ve come up empty-handed. I get the sense that it is something else though.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

A Great Effort

A masseuse helps bring together a dysfunctional family.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

The Heavy Suitcase of Benavides

I thought I was going to have the same problem with this story as I did with Heads Against Concrete, but luckily this one is a lot deeper. Benavides isn’t just violent because he is, he’s violent because he has serious psychological issues for which he is receiving treatment. I also think that this story is more about the way that societies glorify violence and that we tend to not hold celebrities accountable for their bad and/or criminal behavior.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Overall Rating:

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Although the middle portion of the book was a lot more misses than hits for me, what I liked here I liked a lot.

About the Author:

Samanta Schweblin was chosen as one of the 22 best writers in Spanish under the age of 35 by Granta. She is the author of three story collections that have won numerous awards, including the prestigious Juan Rulfo Story Prize, and been translated into 20 languages. Fever Dream is her first novel and is longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize. Originally from Buenos Aires, she lives in Berlin.

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Mouthful of Birds
By: Samanta Schweblin
Translated by: Megan McDowell
Riverhead Books
ISBN: 9780399184628
Published: January 8, 2019 
Originally Published: 2009
Hardcover, Paperback, E-book, Audiobook
240 Pages
Author's Website
Publisher's Website
Author: Angie
Stranger Sights is a genre entertainment blog. It is run by me, Angie, and all opinions you'll find here are my own.

4 thoughts on “Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin, Translated by Megan McDowell

  1. Oooh! You had much better luck with this one than I did. We seem to have similar tastes in may reads though, so maybe I just picked it up at a bad time. Maybe I’ll try again! 🙂

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