I loved Tender is the Flesh and had very high hopes for these short stories!

Some of these stories were good, but most were not very memorable. My favorite story and the one that stood out to me the most was Mary Carminum; it was perfectly weird and I loved it!

Although this collection of stories was a mixed, I still found the reading experience to be enjoyable! I cant wait to see was Bazterrica comes out with next!

Okay so when i saw that Agustina was coming out with another book i near fell over. I absolutely adored Tender is the flesh in fact it still haunts to this day! Then i found out that this was comprised of short stories i again near fell over with joy. Each story is as chilling as the first i finished in a day. I loved this book so much i wish i could forget it and re read for this first time again. I’m giving this 5 starts and if you enjoyed tender is the flesh as much as i did then i highly recommend you pick up a copy at your local bookstore! I cant wait to see what els Agustina comes out with next!

A dark and twisted translated short story collection that nightmares are made of. Bazterrica gives frightening accounts of dystopian worlds full of violence, isolation, and the complexities of humans and their ability to be evil. After reading her other book Tender is the Flesh and being absoultely appauled and transfixed, I knew this collection of short stories were going to be amazing. With hauntingly beautiful prose and horrendously gruesome stories about the mundanity or life, Bazterrica gives a stunning novel for horror lovers all over.

Nineteen Claws and A Black Bird is a remarkable collection that showcases Agustina Bazterrica's talent as a storyteller and her keen insight into the human experience. With its haunting narratives, poetic prose, and profound exploration of humanity, this book leaves an indelible impression on its readers. I highly recommend this collection to those who appreciate thought-provoking literature and seek a deeply introspective and captivating reading experience. Bazterrica's ability to illuminate the shadows of the human condition is truly extraordinary.

🪶Pub. Date: Jun. 20 2023

🪶Genres: General Fiction (Adult), Novellas & Short Stories

🪶Plot: From the Tik-Tok Author of "Tender is the Flesh" comes a collection of sinister, dark tales sure to leave your spine tingling.

🪶Review: Subtly spooky, these stories left me feeling reflective as some points, and outright shaken at others. Truly, a master of the horror story. This book will be a hit among horror fans who want to experience Bazterrica's writing without the terror of "Tender is the Flesh"

I was very excited to receive a copy of thus book. I absolutely loved Tender is the flesh but unfortunately this one was a flop for me. I do appreciate the overall creepiness of the stories. That unsettling factor is something that Agustine does very well. I think since this is a translation, but not sure the full effect came through. I will try to read the stories again in Spanish and see if this is maybe just a one off seeing at how much I loved her other work. I think if you are just looking for a short collection of short stories to read fast then this will entertain you. It does read fast as I was able to read it in one day. I really liked the last story and Candy Pink, and the one about the bunny.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review! I will continue to be excited for future works from this author.

With this being the follow up to Tender is the Flesh, I feel like I was expecting more with the horror aspects of these stories. Some were strong, and those stood out, but they were too many that maybe I just didn’t get or felt were unnecessary.

Incredible , disturbing and absolutely terrifying !

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the eArc

Thank you to @scribnerbooks and @netgalley for the chance to read this early, and to @treatyoshelvess for reading with me! This publishes on the 20th of this month 💕

Agustina Bazterrica cemented herself as an author of interest to me after I read Tender is the Flesh (also thanks to Netgalley) in 2020. This new release didn’t disappoint either, and I’ll continue to pick up her work in the future!

This collection of stories is zany and weird and thrilling and it is exactly what I needed at the exact time I needed it. Fans of horror are right in that the genre allows for a different (and at times deeper) exploration of grief and other emotions, and it’s something I’ve increasingly felt drawn to over the last year.

(In particular, the story Candy Pink rocked my world. I have it saved in my camera roll and I read it not infrequently. No other book or short story has ever gotten this treatment)

As a story collection Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird definitely had some stories that had similarly disturbing components as Tender is The Flesh. Then there were some stories that initially felt milder, only to be stuck in my head days after I've read them. While each story is short (1-20 pages), a lot of them had me scratching my head a bit an wanting to discuss with someone immediately. I think this will definitely be a hit with connoisseurs of weird fiction. Thank you so much to Scribner for the ARC and finished copy of Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird.

Let me preface this by stating that I was absolutely blown away by Bazterrica’s novel Tender is the Flesh, so of course I was beyond excited when I received an ARC for this. I love short stories, but it’s also hard for me to read a whole collection in one go, so I took a break midway through it and then picked it back up recently. Now, as all short story collections, there are always going to be hit or miss ones, because that’s just the nature of short story collections, but overall, I really enjoyed this collection.

What I enjoyed the most is that with almost all of the stories, I didn’t quite know how they were going to end so that was a pleasant surprise.

One of my fave stories was A Light, Swift, and Monstrous Sound. I know some people don’t like the second person, but I really love the second person POV (maybe because a lot of Italian authors use this POV too?). It’s so descriptive and evocative in all its monstrous ways.

Another of my faves was Candy Pink (also in second person POV), but I love a good breakup story cause that’s when things get really unhinged.

The Solitary Ones is also in second-person POV, but it’s a story that sort of stuck with me, as it’s very creepy and atmospheric, and just the idea of being stuck in tunnels in the dark is very terrifying.

Overall, these twenty short stories range from different genres and POV’s. Some of them have stuck longer than others, but I would recommend this collection if you too love short stories and want to read a genre-bending author. I will say that I did enjoy the fact that these were indeed short stories and not mini-novellas disguised as short stories. This is the perfect beach read since you can finish a story and pick up the book again whenever you want.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Scribner for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

✨ Review ✨ Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica; translated by Sarah Moses

A collection of 20 short stories that are filled with dark, creepy, horror vibes. From the dark humor of the story of a woman who tries to turn herself into a circle (eating round foods, cutting off her limbs) to a story of a soccer fan who dies while watching his favorite team play on tv rather than calling for help. It's filled with dark-humor and the macabre, and definitely isn't for those squeamish about blood, death, etc. etc.

Books like this are still outside my comfort zone but I appreciated the range of this. Not every story hit for me, but many of them pulled me in. If you like dark/horror/creepy short stories, definitely give this one a shot!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: short stories, dark humor / horror
Reminds me of: Eric LaRocca's The Trees Grew Because I Bled There: Collected Stories
Pub Date: out now

Thanks to Scribner and #netgalley for advanced copies of this book!

Each of these stories was so quietly haunting. Nothing outrageous like Tender is the Flesh, but I've enjoyed seeing another side of the author. She's an auto-buy for me.

If you’ve read Tender is the Flesh, you can only imagine how dark and twisted Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird is. It’s a quick read, coming in under 200 pages but it’s packed full of sinister stories that will make you think “wtf am I reading?” in the best way possible. I had a few favorites from this anthology, but I really did enjoy them all and can’t wait for more from Augustina Bazterrica. Thanks to Simon and Schuster Book Club Favorites for my physical copy and to Scribner for my eARC. Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird is available now.

Although interesting, this wasn’t as good as I’d hope. I do believe there are a lot of people who will love this, but it wasn’t it for me. Some of the stories were so short that it was hard to connect to them. It made reading them harder for me, I didn’t care. That being said, the author is absolutely talented and has a very creepy way of writing that sits with you for a long time and gets under your skin.
I look forward to more of her work, I just wasn’t really feeling this one. I do think if you love horror and/or short stories you should give this a go- you may enjoy it very much! It definitely won’t be for everyone and some of the stories are triggering, which isn’t surprising if you’ve read Tender Is The Flesh lol. Speaking of that book, I STILL think about that ending, it haunts me. So I do want to read more from her, but I’ll stick to her completed stories. Thanks to both the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

The aspects of the stories here that I liked reminded me a lot of Bazterrica’s Tender is the Flesh — horror-ish, grotesque, unexpected. A few will stick with me and I’ve continued thinking about them well after finishing, like Pink Candy, Nietzsche, and the very last story in the collection. Bazterrica is clearly not afraid to make readers feel uncomfortable. But a few stories felt a little underbaked to me, which isn’t to say they’re bad but just that I needed more to enjoy them or understand their meaning. Even though some stories were very short, the collection started to drag a bit for me, just because of my personal taste.

This book was okay. It had some good spooky stories like I was hoping for, but others were not quite up my alley. I would recommend though!

While, admittedly, I wasn’t THE biggest fan of TENDER IS THE FLESH, I still expected this one to pop off.⁣⁣
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Don’t get me wrong, some of these stories still had me cringing and quite shook, but not all so positively, ya know?⁣⁣
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I guess I only really enjoyed two, maybe three stories (‘Candy Pink’ is for the girls hehe jk I’m fine), but the rest I found to be either boring or just went over my head completely.
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Maybe I just wasn’t the audience for this one this time around because I’ve seen a couple people still sing the author’s praises with this one.

After greatly enjoying Tender is the Flesh, I was excited for a short story collection from this author, and curious how they would pack so much in so few pages (19 stories in under 200 pages?!).

There were several stories I really enjoyed in this collection, and some that went over my head. Many I thought had potential, but didn't leave a huge impact on me personally. Overall averaging my rating out to about a 3 star.

My favorite stories:
- A Light, Swift, and Monstrous Sound (intriguing & loved the 2nd person framing)
- Unamuno's Boxes (a very relatable horror of overthinking)
- Anita and Happiness (quirky and fun)
- Dishwasher (engaging)
- Perfect Symmetry (unique and kind of funny)
- Mary Carmimum (spooky cult atmosphere)
- The Solitary Ones (VIBES)

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this story collection! My favorite was candy pink. It was a great exploration into depression and a manic episode with a satisfying end for horror lovers. I found the collection funny and quirky and I enjoyed how some of the stories played into irony and some were a bit more nuanced. Love love love!