I decided to treat myself the other week to a full-price copy of Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin, convinced it’d be a knockout short story collection... I am sorry to report I was disappointed 😭 It 100% could be the fault of my reading mood this last week, but out of 20 stories, I only thought 10 of them were memorable and impactful. The rest... not bad, but I finished them and just thought ‘huh? What? What was I supposed to get from this?’ I’m sad about it because I really liked Little Eyes by Schweblin last year, and I’ve seen numerous excellent reviews for this collection from reviewers I trust. But I dunno, this one just fell short for me.

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However, as I said, of the 10 stories I did like, there were some heavy hitters. I LOVED Toward Happy Civilisation, where a man is unable to buy a ticket out of a backwater train station, but realises something more sinister is at play. And Preserved, where a couple resort to an unorthodox way of delaying an unexpected pregnancy. Rage of Pestilence and Underground were both super short but lingered on my mind long after I finished them. And the last story, The Heavy Suitcase of Benavides, was just brilliant.

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As usual, Megan McDowell’s translation can’t be faulted. I like Schweblin’s style because she doesn’t feel the need to embellish or convince the reader with flowery prose. She just puts it down on the page, clear as day, and that shines through in McDowell’s confident translation.

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But yes, one I wish I borrowed from the library or waited to find a secondhand copy in the charity shops. Still worth picking up if you like unsettling short stories!