A review by klor
The Houseguest: And Other Stories by Amparo Dávila

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

While the book has a good tone, I found it hard to go through it due to the slowness of it all. Maybe I'm just not used to the writing style but in a lot of the short stories, the scares and the feeling of dread feels almost juvenile but also not as engaging. I must say it does have some elements that are common in gothic literature or in works like Junji Ito's but at the end of the day, it just wasn't for me.

My favorite short here is Musique Concrete. I liked the narration a lot as well as the character progression and study.
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