Adrián Astur Álvarez reviewed Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin
Review of 'Mouthful of Birds' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Three stars feels a little harsh, this really is a 3 1/2 star read but definitely not 4 stars. The collection of stories is endlessly entertaining and consistently mysterious but it doesn't go past the delights of a smart metaphor to explore more profound and universal themes. Honestly, the stories add up to a real bummer of an atmosphere. Male characters are guaranteed to be awful. Female characters have their hopes dashed at every turn.
The collection actually reminded me of the anthology film Wild Tales by Damián Szifron - dazzling, clever, and dark but where Szifron manages a sense of playfulness, these stories fail to convey any humor. They are, essentially, hopeless tales, and while I can't fault Schweblin, that pessimism accumulated and felt, well, bad and without any examination that bad feeling didn't feel worth it.
Shrug. Your mileage may vary. I'd call these literary campfire tales and …
Three stars feels a little harsh, this really is a 3 1/2 star read but definitely not 4 stars. The collection of stories is endlessly entertaining and consistently mysterious but it doesn't go past the delights of a smart metaphor to explore more profound and universal themes. Honestly, the stories add up to a real bummer of an atmosphere. Male characters are guaranteed to be awful. Female characters have their hopes dashed at every turn.
The collection actually reminded me of the anthology film Wild Tales by Damián Szifron - dazzling, clever, and dark but where Szifron manages a sense of playfulness, these stories fail to convey any humor. They are, essentially, hopeless tales, and while I can't fault Schweblin, that pessimism accumulated and felt, well, bad and without any examination that bad feeling didn't feel worth it.
Shrug. Your mileage may vary. I'd call these literary campfire tales and if you're in that sort of mood definitely pick this up. They won't disappoint.