This World Does Not Belong to Us

No cover — Natalia García Freire, Victor Meadowcroft: This World Does Not Belong to Us (2022, Oneworld Publications)

English language

Published Nov. 20, 2022 by Oneworld Publications.

ISBN:: 978-0-86154-191-1

(1 review)

Secrets and revenge converge in this chilling tale from a breakout new Latin American voice

Many years have passed since Lucas was expelled from his childhood home by Felisberto and Eloy, the two strangers who arrived uninvited and slowly, insidiously, made it their own. Now Lucas is back, fully grown and intent on claiming his rightful inheritance.

But he is not interested in the house as it once was, nor in his mother's lovingly planted flowerbeds - now conquered by weeds - nor in the lavish portraits covering every wall. Lucas belongs to a darker world, one crawling with the only creatures he really trusts: insects. As the house crumbles before his eyes, Lucas turns to the allies of his underground kingdom to help him take revenge.

Weaving together past and present like a spider's web, This World Does Not Belong to Us is a spine-tingling story of human greed, …

Secrets and revenge converge in this chilling tale from a breakout new Latin American voice

Many years have passed since Lucas was expelled from his childhood home by Felisberto and Eloy, the two strangers who arrived uninvited and slowly, insidiously, made it their own. Now Lucas is back, fully grown and intent on claiming his rightful inheritance.

But he is not interested in the house as it once was, nor in his mother's lovingly planted flowerbeds - now conquered by weeds - nor in the lavish portraits covering every wall. Lucas belongs to a darker world, one crawling with the only creatures he really trusts: insects. As the house crumbles before his eyes, Lucas turns to the allies of his underground kingdom to help him take revenge.

Weaving together past and present like a spider's web, This World Does Not Belong to Us is a spine-tingling story of human greed, from a masterful new literary voice.

3 editions

Stephanie Jane reviewed This World Does Not Belong to Us by Natalia García Freire

A chillingly dark novella

4 stars

This World Does Not Belong To Us is indeed a chillingly dark novella which brought to mind for me tales such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper and The Murmur Of Bees by Sofia Segovia. Freire gradually reveals the circumstances which led to Lucas being exiled from his home so it wasn't until the very end that I felt I had a full grasp of just what had happened to so completely alienate this young man. My uncertainty throughout though made for a really unsettling atmosphere, helped along by Freire's hints at events to come and Lucas' obsession with insects living around him. Initially this felt like a typical child's interest in the natural miniature world, but Lucas' isolation from other children in a pretty dysfunctional adult household means he turns more and more to insects for friendship and even guidance on how to live.

I wondered about the …

This World Does Not Belong To Us is indeed a chillingly dark novella which brought to mind for me tales such as Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper and The Murmur Of Bees by Sofia Segovia. Freire gradually reveals the circumstances which led to Lucas being exiled from his home so it wasn't until the very end that I felt I had a full grasp of just what had happened to so completely alienate this young man. My uncertainty throughout though made for a really unsettling atmosphere, helped along by Freire's hints at events to come and Lucas' obsession with insects living around him. Initially this felt like a typical child's interest in the natural miniature world, but Lucas' isolation from other children in a pretty dysfunctional adult household means he turns more and more to insects for friendship and even guidance on how to live.

I wondered about the connections between the formerly affluent house crumbling away in Lucas' absence and his own crumbling mental state. That said, given the circumstances on his return, perhaps Lucas, in his own way, is the most rational of everyone. I would class This World Does Not Belong To Us as a psychological horror novella. Its gentle pace lulled me into not realising how horrible the denouement would be and the lack of graphic detail at that point gave my imagination a greater freedom to envisage the scenes. This novella is quite the unique read which I don't think will hit the bestseller lists, but I can see it being recommended by word of mouth and becoming a cult classic in time.