Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Houseguest: And Other Stories

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Houseguest: And Other Stories by Amparo Dávila

11 reviews

orlagal's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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syinhui's review

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

While I liked the ambiguity and bizarreness of these short stories - and I don’t mind them being open-ended - it’s just that overall, it’s lackluster and pretty much forgettable.

“It’s not my imagination, it’s not a dream, it’s not my nerves as you call them, it’s a reality so terrifying that it’s driving me insane, it’s being so close to death that you start to feel its chill in your bones.”

It’s not as chilling as I thought it would be though. Strange and nightmarish? Yes. Very. But somehow nothing quite managed to unnerve me in a visceral way. The tension and air of mysticism dissipate towards the end of each story (because it’s always cut short!) leaving little to no impression. However, I do think that it perfectly captured the anguish that comes from the feeling of prolonged dissatisfaction and painful monotony of life, implacable despair – the remote hopelessness and helplessness that so afflicts the characters and severe paranoia of the unknown, pushing them to the brink of madness.

Giving this a bonus .50 stars for the cover which I find to be the most remarkable thing in this book. Also, I wasn't sorely disappointed. Actually, I quite liked a few of the stories: Musique Concrète and Oscar, mainly because their resolutions were a bit more satisfying than the others and Haute Cuisine was oddly funny (or is it just me?)

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gellyreads's review

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Moses and Gaspar 3/5. Meh. Cats are dicks. But it was kind of funny.

The Houseguest 5/5. I love women killing! This is a story that should be taught! Really gave me Jackson Hitchcock vibes.

Fragment of a Diary 3/5. Men are gross. I know that's the point, and that should make me like it more, but I struggled to connect to it.

The Cell 3/5. Huh? I struggled to connect to this one.

Musique Concrete 5/5. Holy moly! This made me say "OMG" out loud as I was reading. My favorite in this collection!

Haute Cuisine 3/5. I am dumb and it was creepy. What are they eating? I had to make my partner read it to tell me it was lobster. But it haunted me.

Oscar 4/5. Creepy, but good ending. Less memorable than others in this collection, but a bit more fun.

End of a Struggle 5/5. Again, felt like this one was a bit less memorable than others, but it was really well written. It was chaotic and def Vertigo inspired.

Tina Reyes 5/5. This is the perfect portrayal of female terror. My second favorite in this collection.

The Breakfast 5/5. The ending got me. I love the tension and the setting. You also can sense the family dynamics pretty well from this glimpse of their life.

The Last Summer 2/5. I struggled to follow and care about the characters in this one. My least favorite of this collection.

The Funeral 4/5. This was kind of beautiful and kind of predictable, and a little bit reminiscent of "Struggle" to me, but enjoyable nonetheless.

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ohmyhazz's review against another edition

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3.0

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helenamichelle's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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moonyleo's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

the first few stories were the best, after musique concrète they started getting boring at times, they were also very confusing especially in the beginning

not very horror-esque, probably would have dnf'd if it hadnt been so short

i did really like fragment of a diary tho, that one was pretty good

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savvylit's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

The hype is true: Amparo Dávila was an absolute master at building dread. Her stories have often been compared to those of Shirley Jackson and that comparison is valid. Like Jackson, Dávila wrote stories that are rooted in real domestic scenes and something is just a little... off. That being said, Dávila's voice is still distinctly her own and deeply rooted in the culture of her native Mexico.

Each story in The Houseguest is a perfect example of psychological horror. Where Dávila shines the brightest, though, is in her ability to capture a very specific female fear of male obsession and violence. In several stories in this collection, the true domestic terror isn't mysterious but rather all too familiar: a former lover, an obsessed friend, a stranger on a bus. The latter story featuring the stranger on a bus is one I won't soon forget. That character's fear was so palpable that I instantly adopted it as my own.

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