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55 reviews for:
This Strange Way of Dying: Stories of Magic, Desire and the Fantastic
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
3.9 AVERAGE
55 reviews for:
This Strange Way of Dying: Stories of Magic, Desire and the Fantastic
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
3.9 AVERAGE
4.5 stars, rounded up, simply because, while SMG's writing is always beautiful, and I enjoyed all of the short stories in this collection, I loved some more than others. (As is common when reading short story collections.)
Standouts for me included:
Standouts for me included:
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A collection of the author's early short stories. There's typos here and there and there's a bit more telling than showing than I'm used to from newer Moreno-Garcia. works.
Each story still has its own familiar eeriness and clever humour I've come to love, though some stories are stronger than others.
It's very cool to see what skills the author has sharpened over time.
Each story still has its own familiar eeriness and clever humour I've come to love, though some stories are stronger than others.
It's very cool to see what skills the author has sharpened over time.
dark
mysterious
reflective
This was on my wishlist for a very long time and was worth the wait. The debut from S M-G, but she seems to have emerged pretty much fully formed. Strong concepts and writing. Some ideas here continue to be important in her more recent novels. Mexican film, Indig cultural ideas, strong young women and others.
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Scales As Pale As Moonlight: a interesting short story that centres around the Mexican myth of the alicante (snake), which catches the scent of a woman's breast milk, and immediately seeks out the source. The snake then uses its powers on her (and if she has a nursing baby, sticks its tail in the baby's mouth, as a sort of pacifier) in order to feed on the sleeping woman ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maquech: centres around a living brooch, a maquech. The brooch is made from a living beetle. The brooches are decorated with paste gemstones, bric-à-brac, and imitation gold, and are tethered to a woman's blouse by a small chain. Gerardo acquires and sells exotic pets and the maquech is one of those hut upon selling it he feels the loss of the animal when he returns to his apartment. I vaguely remember hearing about live jewellery but this was a very interesting short story, though the exotic pet trade is very sad ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Stories With Happy Endings: a journalist chatting to a vampire in a restaurant 👌🏻 my favourite exchange: ⬇️
Journalist: "No castle?"
Vampire: "In this fucking economy"
Excellent! 😂
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bed of Scorpions: an ok stoey that was atmospheric but may have been better if it was a little longer ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Jaguar Woman: I couldn't get into this ⭐️
Nahuales: I liked this. Very atmospheric and a quick, well written short story giving insight into the nahual myth. A nahual looks pretty cool ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Doppelgängers: this one was a bit eerie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Driving With Aliens in Tijuana: a sci fi short with Aliens (kotch'o). Not my favourite (because aliens) but some good atmosphere and descriptions of Mexico ("there's an illusory calmness about the city when you watch it from afar...you can't spot the sixteen corpses with plastic bags around their heads on the side of the road") ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flash frame: I read this earlier in the year, right after I fijished Silver Nitrate. I liked what I read and would potentially have enjoyed this as a novella or full length novel ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Cemetery Man: I liked this. It reminded me of the Orphan Black storyline where they put a parasite into Sarah's face. Yeah, I liked this. I'd read it as a full length novel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Death Collector: the plot, while based on a true story, wasn't the best part. It was the gritty descriptions of Mexico City that I loved:
• "Forty-seven years in the other direction the streets of Mexico City smell of charred human meat and the screams of the wounded"
• "Might as well stay home, stare out the window and watch the narcos drill bullet holes into a car"
• "Fifty thousand federal agents can't stem the deaths in the narco north"
• "Senseless decapitations in Morelos. Heads roll all through the country"
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This Strange Way of Dying: this one didn't hit, unfortunately ⭐️
Bloodlines: Mexican witches. I absolutel loved this one and need a full length novel immediately ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Shade of the Ceiba Tree: I couldn't get into this one ⭐️
Snow: odd and atmospheric, I knew there'd be giant penguins 😂 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maquech: centres around a living brooch, a maquech. The brooch is made from a living beetle. The brooches are decorated with paste gemstones, bric-à-brac, and imitation gold, and are tethered to a woman's blouse by a small chain. Gerardo acquires and sells exotic pets and the maquech is one of those hut upon selling it he feels the loss of the animal when he returns to his apartment. I vaguely remember hearing about live jewellery but this was a very interesting short story, though the exotic pet trade is very sad ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Stories With Happy Endings: a journalist chatting to a vampire in a restaurant 👌🏻 my favourite exchange: ⬇️
Journalist: "No castle?"
Vampire: "In this fucking economy"
Excellent! 😂
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bed of Scorpions: an ok stoey that was atmospheric but may have been better if it was a little longer ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Jaguar Woman: I couldn't get into this ⭐️
Nahuales: I liked this. Very atmospheric and a quick, well written short story giving insight into the nahual myth. A nahual looks pretty cool ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Doppelgängers: this one was a bit eerie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Driving With Aliens in Tijuana: a sci fi short with Aliens (kotch'o). Not my favourite (because aliens) but some good atmosphere and descriptions of Mexico ("there's an illusory calmness about the city when you watch it from afar...you can't spot the sixteen corpses with plastic bags around their heads on the side of the road") ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flash frame: I read this earlier in the year, right after I fijished Silver Nitrate. I liked what I read and would potentially have enjoyed this as a novella or full length novel ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Cemetery Man: I liked this. It reminded me of the Orphan Black storyline where they put a parasite into Sarah's face. Yeah, I liked this. I'd read it as a full length novel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Death Collector: the plot, while based on a true story, wasn't the best part. It was the gritty descriptions of Mexico City that I loved:
• "Forty-seven years in the other direction the streets of Mexico City smell of charred human meat and the screams of the wounded"
• "Might as well stay home, stare out the window and watch the narcos drill bullet holes into a car"
• "Fifty thousand federal agents can't stem the deaths in the narco north"
• "Senseless decapitations in Morelos. Heads roll all through the country"
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This Strange Way of Dying: this one didn't hit, unfortunately ⭐️
Bloodlines: Mexican witches. I absolutel loved this one and need a full length novel immediately ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Shade of the Ceiba Tree: I couldn't get into this one ⭐️
Snow: odd and atmospheric, I knew there'd be giant penguins 😂 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot