Book Review OUR SHADOWS HAVE CLAWS eds. Yamile Saied Mendez and Amparo Ortiz

Thank you to the authors, and editors Yamile Saied Mendez and Amparo Ortiz, and publishers Algonquin and Hachette Books for an advance paperback copy of OUR SHADOWS HAVE CLAWS. Thank you also to Libby for an accomanying widget. All views are mine.


"I make beautiful things to balance out the cruelty in the world," her abuela said.... "Our art is like a prayer--when we make beautiful things, the gods listen...." "The Hour of the Wolf" p324

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. I love the Latin American theme these stories share. For me, it means exposure to some wonderful myths and legends I hadn't heard of before! Great examples of use of legend and myth is "El Viejo De La Bolsa" p49

2. I love that most of these stories are socially and stylistically subversive. Makes the reads challenging and enjoyable and also meaningful and outspoken.

3. In most of these stories, the main character is small or young, which emphasizes the human element of each story through an increased natural vulnerability. Such a powerful thread connecting the pieces of the collection. 

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. The theme of mental illness proliferates the stories of this collection. Most if not all of the pieces contained herein touch on this important subtopic. I don't think, however, that all the authors' treatment of this important subject work to advance public knowledge or opinion about this community who must deal so heavily with stigma and the resulting violence. There is a way to use the experiences of mentally ill people for horror writing without stigmatizing their lives and I challenge writers to learn how to do this in their work!

2. The themes get a little repetitive. With rare exception, every story includes a theme of fear of loss of family or the drive to protect family. It's a good theme, but it really dominates this collection, along with mental illness, and youthful protagonists. Perhaps some variety could have been included in the collection. Perhaps these tropes define a certain Gothic composed especially by Latin American writers. It's not hard to look past the repitition, as it is; each story shines.

The blue ribbon that had fallen from her hair was like a heartbreak you could touch. "The Other Side of the Mountain." p245

Rating: ☠️💀🦴🪦.5 angry spirits
Recommend? Yes!
Finished: Nov 10 23
Format: Advance paperback, digital, Libby
Read this book if you like:
📃 short story collections 
👻 ghost stories
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 family stories, family drama
😵 curses
👥️ mental health rep

A couple sentences about the stories:
1. "The Nightingale and the Lark" A fantastic story about how we misjudge what we judge to be different from ourselves, and how we carry violence with us.
2. "¿Donde Esta el Duende?" This is an interesting piece about mental illness and monsters. Is the depression apparent in some of the characters actually what happens to them when they find the goblin?
3. "El Viejo de LA Bolsa" This is a story about hunger, about feeding your hungers, and being careful to understand what will fill the holes inside of and around you. Wonderful twist!
4. "Beware the Empty Subway Car" This is an excellent story about inhereted curses, family curses. This author uses repitition to great effect!
5. "Dismembered" Another great ghost story about getting the closure we need with the family we love most.
6. "Blood Kin" A story about shape-shifting and how we complete the shapes our lives demand.
7. "La Boca del Lobo" A rather abstract tale, this one is a story about vulnerability and intimicy, and the darkness against which we remain vigilant, but which ultimately subsumes us.
8. "Bloodstained Hands Like Yours" This piece has a creative form that experiments with both time and character integrity. It's a lot of fun and completely terrifying. Like many stories in this collection, it visits themes of family and mental illness. Top 3!
9. "The Boy from Hell" A gory fighting vampire story.
10. "La Patasola" A truly excellent piece about how femme-ness, queerness, and browness, struggles to coexist with or stand up against white toxic masculinity. 
11. "The Other Side of the Mountain" It starts as a witch hunt. But how bad can it really get when the bruja might be the innocent one?
12. "La Madrina" Needy children, a mother demon, and a terrifying and brilliant setting. Wonderful Gothic. Top 3!
13. "Sugary Death" A freaking great story about the predators who prey on the young girls of the city and the gargoyles who prey on the predators. Top 3!
14. "Leave No Tracks" Losing her mother and discovering the maternal side of her family teaches Guapita where she belongs.
15. "The Hour of the Wolf" A werewolf story in which a young woman comes into her strength and learns to stand up against stronger things than she is.









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