Twisted Crows by Will Canduri, Andrea Labinger (Translator), Megan Herzart (Illustrator)
Publication Date: 15th June 2023
Genre: Short Stories
3 Stars
One Liner: An interesting mix
Anthologies are fun to read for the variety they offer. This collection is translated from Spanish and has twenty-eight stories from different genres, themes, tenses, and POVs. We have historical, contemporary, dystopian, futuristic, horror, gothic, realistic, crime, mystery, etc.
Some stories are in the second-person POV (is this a thing now?) and dialogue heavy. The length also varies, and that adds to its appeal. The translation is rather smooth and seamless (at least for me). The stories do read like they’ve been written in English.
Given the number, I decided not to review them individually but made notes anyway, so I’m adding that part directly to the review. As with most anthologies, I liked some. However, I couldn’t even figure out a couple of stories, so that did dim the enjoyment. Also, I read the book for over a month (don’t go by the GR dates), so it may have affected my reading experience a little.
Here we go:
The Water I Spilled Yesterday- piano, visual artist, ghosts of the house, mental illness (?)
Luis, Luisita and the Luisitos- short, adult-rated with a laugh-out-loud twist
Rot in Hell, Ramón!- missed bus, how life changes for someone else (what’s the connection)
The Legend of the Astronarda- sea, caption, pirate (no idea what it is)
The Mystery of the Bear’s Claw- detective mystery (kinda convoluted)
Madame Lingerie- Casanova bid for madame; quirky maybe
Crow Salad- set in the future and domestic violence (can we please try to make women more assertive, at least in the future. Imagine reading a story set in 2105 with a woman being subjected to domestic abuse. Give us some credit!)
Luke Comes from the Future- The same as previous, with a questionnaire
Barbarito Bond- a retired desk worker at the FBI, talks about his life; read it for the ending
Desideratum- Oh, well, now that’s how you get things done (or maybe not)
Conversation of Tears- different POV, human emotions but not human; well done
Where is Jack Rickshaw?- A journalist struggling to bring or even invent news vanishes; why and how. Interesting
Terror at Lake St. Clair- Spooky, horror-ish, twisted indeed
Mortimer’s Infidelity- What happens when a man confesses to his infidelity and his wife is (too) calm about it? Predictable
Mima- fishermen family, dreams, aspirations, betrayal
On the Shores of the Guatavita- Umm… something happens
Feromondo- Archeology, old manuscript, secret, and then it’s gone
Olivia and Me- a beggar’s life
An Afternoon in Cayapán- A wagon driver’s day in a teeny village on a hot summer noon
Between Two Moons, Your Eyes- Moon’s POV peeking into a house?
Flight 1039- Empty flight for a person? Really?
Aleja Ventura- Life story of an 86yo. Peels off layers, one by one. Nothing is as it seems.
Ludovico- A discussion between a psychopathic son and an estranged father? Or is it?
The Phantom’s Revenge- An invisible guy, second person POV, creepy but maybe surprising at the end
Pocaterra- Commander, political thingy. Betrayal and revenge
Lanky’s Helmet- gang wars, death, life; short and impactful
Letters in the Darkness- A short detective story about a death in a hotel room. Lots of telling, but is fast-paced.
Two Rocking Chairs- A story about a stubborn old man and his life. The ending is rather sweet and made me smile.
As you can see, not many stories managed to wow me. This is a fairly mixed read (timepass types) but not something I’ll remember in the long run.
To summarize, Twisted Crows is a varied collection of short stories that will appeal to a wide range of readers. Each reader will have different preferences, so you might like it better than I did.
Thank you, NetGalley and BooksGoSoical, for the eARC.
#NetGalley #TwistedCrows
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