Mouthful of Birds (Spanish: Pájaros en la boca) is a short story collection by Samanta Schweblin. Originally published in Spanish, it was translated into English by Megan McDowell in 2019.[1][2] The stories feature uncanny plot twists and unexpected endings.
 First edition (Spanish) | |
| Author | Samanta Schweblin |
|---|---|
| Original title | Pájaros en la boca |
| Translator | Megan McDowell |
| Language | Spanish |
| Genre | Short Stories |
| Publisher | Emecé Editores (Argentina) |
Publication date | 2009 |
| Publication place | Argentina |
Published in English | 2019 |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 240 |
| ISBN | 978-0399184628 |
"Olingiris" first appeared in English in a 2010 issue of Granta.[3] In 2017 "The Size of Things" was published in The New Yorker.[4] In 2019 "Toward Happy Civilization" was published in The Atlantic[5] and was read aloud by LeVar Burton for the Stitcher Radio podcast LeVar Burton Reads.[6]
Contents
edit| Story |
|---|
| "Headlights" |
| "Preserves" |
| "Butterflies" |
| "Mouthful of Birds" |
| "Santa Claus Sleeps At Our House" |
| "The Digger" |
| "Irman" |
| "The Test" |
| "Toward Happy Civilization" |
| "Olingiris" |
| "My Brother Walter" |
| "The Merman" |
| "Rage of Pestilence" |
| "Heads Against Concrete" |
| "The Size of Things" |
| "Underground" |
| "Slowing Down" |
| "On the Steppe" |
| "A Great Effort" |
| "The Heavy Suitcase of Benavides" |
Literary significance and reception
editLike Schweblin's novel Fever Dream, Mouthful of Birds received enthusiastic reviews.
The Guardian wrote, "Delving into the cryptic depths of the human psyche, this is a highly imaginative and thought-provoking collection."[7] A review in the Los Angeles Review of Books concluded, "One of the greatest effects of Schweblin's writing is the sensation of having a trapdoor kicked open in your own mind — of not knowing this weird space even existed, but of course. There you are."[8]
Book critic Michael Schaub said of the collection: "Mouthful of Birds is a stunning achievement from a writer whose potential is beginning to seem limitless."[9]
Parul Sehgal, writing in The New York Times, noticed a variety of influences in Schweblin's stories, including Jesse Ball, Kelly Link, but, most of all, David Lynch.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Samanta Schweblin". Granta Magazine. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ "Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ "Olingiris". Granta Magazine. 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ Schweblin, Samanta (2017-05-22). "The Size of Things". ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ "Toward Happy Civilization". The Atlantic. 2019-01-01. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ "'Toward Happy Civilization' by Samanta Schweblin". Stitcher. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ Beckerman, Hannah (2019-02-17). "Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin review – surreal and unsettling". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ McNamara, Nathan Scott. "Emergency Lights Blinking: On Samanta Schweblin's 'Mouthful of Birds'". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ "Existential Dread Is Deceptively Simple In 'Mouthful Of Birds'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-08-01.
- ^ Sehgal, Parul (2019-01-01). "In Stories From an Argentine Surrealist, Circles of Madness and Violence". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-08-01.