illustrated_librarian 's review for:

Good and Evil and Other Stories by Samanta Schweblin

3.75

dark mysterious reflective

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This latest collection from Schweblin builds on the quieter unnervingness of her previous one, Seven Empty Houses, this time focussing on human relationships rather than domesticity. Each familial, romantic, or friendly relationship has an uncanny element to it — a secret buried, a truth denied, or moment that cannot be moved past. 

Schweblin has a gift for establishing character and mood in the opening beats of a story in quick, confident strokes that makes each one easy to get caught up in. From the opening shocker in which a woman submerges herself in the lake behind her house while her husband and daughters are out, then seemingly changes her mind, to the closing tale of a lonely women whose attempt at kindness goes wrong, it's easy to understand the theme of each story yet remains rewarding to dig deeper and mull them over. 

I liked every story, but particular standouts for me were Welcome to the Club, which the moment I thought I'd got what was going on slithered away again like slippery moss at the bottom of a lake, and The Woman from Atlántida — the dreamlike wanderings of the two sisters, their weird relationship with the poet, the way in which no one seems to quite grasp the consequences of anything — so strange and good. 

And of course, I can't not mention An Eye in the Throat. Ostensibly about the consequences of one moment of a father's inattention, I loved how much was layered into a brief glimpse into these characters' lives. The exploration of silences, guilt, love, and distance blew me away. 

Thanks to Picador for my early copy!