The tales in Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird are not for the faint of heart as they draw out some of the most engaging aspects of horror for readers who want to be delightfully disturbed by the uncanny nightmares lurking within Bazterrica’s writing.

After reading and loving Tender is the Flesh, I was excited to read Agustina Bazterrica’s follow-up, Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird. This collection is twenty stories, ranging from very short to medium short, none of the stories much more than ten pages long. With the collection being so many stories but the book length being so short, it is easy for me to forget the plots of some of the stories a few hours after reading them. Many of them feel more like scenes, sketches, and character studies than actual stories.

There are some standout moments in this collection, some moments when I am reminded that Agustina Bazterrica wrote Tender is the Flesh, a nasty, incredible novel about people who eat people because they cannot give up meat. Stories like “Unamuno’s Boxes”, “Elena-Marie Sadoz”, “No Tears” and “The Continuous Equality of the Circumference” remind me that Bazterrica is a great writer, a storytelling with dense, powerful language and strong imagery. These are elements that make Tender is the Flesh such a compelling story. Most of the stories I like in this collection are the stories that are longer, because Bazterrica takes the time to give us more so we can be mesmerized in the language of the story’s world, feel what the characters are feeling, and be attached to the conclusions. Most of these stories have horrible outcomes, many of them end in self-harm and suicide, and when we are given any time with the characters, we can feel their emotions before their final acts. It cannot be understated that by the time I have read a few of the stories, I know that most all of the outcomes are bleak, that all of the stories are being told under a black cloud, and that there are no real happy endings to be seen.

Bleakness has been Bazterrica’s style so far. There is not much happiness in the worlds that she creates, and I can appreciate this type of storytelling. Unfortunately there are many times during this collection when I just do not have the time to get attached to the story, and it is over before it has even really started. I would like to read another short story collection by her with the same page count but with half the stories. Her power is in worldbuilding and creating a breathing character, building up a tower before knocking it all down. Many of the stories in this collection are too short for this to happen.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bazterrica's writing is hauntingly beautiful, weaving together themes of power, mortality, and the complexities of relationships.

Dark, fun, twisty, gross, lots of body horror and reoccurring themes. I didn't know where most of the stories were going to go but I was happy to follow along wherever the author wanted to take me.

Tender is the Flesh got me into reading again, so when I got the chance to read this ARC, I was ecstatic!

This book has everything: drooling men, a black bunny, a perfect circle (in progress), manicured hands, a new dishwasher, crepes

How many times can I mention nostalgia in my book reviews? Whatever! Nostalgia just hits different, and that’s what this book was for me. It brought me back to reading Scary Stories to Read in the Dark at night, but now the horrors are more existential. There were times when my jaw was literally on the floor.

Some of my favorite stories were Roberto, Candy Pink, Anita and Happiness, Perfect Symmetry, The Continuous Equality of the Circumference, and Mary Carminum.

This is definitely one of those books I savored like an expensive whiskey. If you want short stories that pack a punch with all the anxiety-inducing Bazterrica prose, this book is for you!

Thank you, Scribner and NetGalley for the digital ARC! A special thanks to Augustina Bazterrica! All opinions are my own.

These short stories are haunting. A lot are told in prose that skirts around the actual horror, leaving the reader to slowly realize what they’re being told. And that makes each story all the more striking.

This is an easily digestible set of short stories. Like a lot of other reviewers, I typically struggle with short stories. It takes a special touch to hook you in with such a short amount of time. So, some of these did miss the mark for me. But overall it was really moody and enjoyable.

Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird is a beautifully crafted short story collection. Each story left me staring blankly at the wall; having to let the words sink in before moving on to the next. Some stories moved me while others left me feeling a sense of unease.

Overall, it was a great short story collection.

I'm always skittish when it comes to short stories because I don't feel like I will have enough time to connect with characters or storylines, but Bazterrica continues to hit home runs for me. Some of the shortest of the ones in this collection will have the longest lasting impressions on me.

Pick this one up and be prepared to be disturbed.

Like many, I requested this ARC because of Bazterrica's previous work 'Tender is the Flesh'. The general tone and style of writing in this short story collection is on par with that novel. However, only half of these stories really connect for me. I feel like a collection of short stories can be so hit or miss because of how varied and fragmented the stories can be. I appreciate the more experimental pieces in this collection, but those are also the ones that fell somewhat flat for me. My favorites were like bookends, nestled at the beginning and end. The second to last felt like it would have been an excellent jumping off point for a novel and I wanted to know more about the world being portrayed.

Got an ARC of this book because I am a big fan of Tender is the Flesh. This is a very different book- multiple genres are explored throughout the short stories, but all have a similar underlying feeling of dread.

Not going to lie, some of the stories were really heavy, and I had to stop reading a few times. But I think that’s just a testament to the author/translator’s visceral use of language.

I absolutely adore Augustina Bazterrica’s writing, as she has such a unique style. I loved a handful of stories from this collection, and the rest were misses for me. I think that’s something that is always a gamble for readers and short story collections. I still highly recommend this to all horror lovers, as the stories I did love made it entirely worth the read.

Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird by Agustina Bazterrica is a collection of short horror stories. This wasn't for me. I typically love the horror genre, but I just didn't really enjoy this. The imagery was good but the plots to the story were just meh. This is my first book by Bazterrica, but I still plan on reading Tender is the Flesh.

I couldn't quite get in to this book. I can see that it would appeal to others, just not my sort of thing.

These stories start with a crack, bang, and an explosive boom. Think of action words like smack, slash, and whoosh. Combine this with a kind of tender vulnerability and you have the ingredients for surprising results. In the very first story, the author introduces color and texture as ways to describe the heart-pounding feeling of a near-miss with calamity. The flow of danger towards the main character has a menacing component, nearly alive. The shock of it

Thank you to Scribner & NetGalley for allowing me to read this book

I couldn't put this down, but I also wanted to take my time reading because I was enjoying it so thoroughly! The dark humor left me audibly gasping and running to my partner to read excerpts to him.

I knew I wanted to read Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird because I love all things short stories, macabre, and Latin American literature. The stories are clever and told through a sharp lens. Many of the stories left me questioning what I'd just read, in awe of their expert execution. The commentary on prominent issues, like violence on women, is poignant, powerful, and chilling. I love Augustina's style of writing and ability to set a haunting atmosphere.

I hadn't read Tender is the Flesh yet because I had it on hold at my library, but the fact that it finally came in today is kismet! Augustina is now an auto-buy author for me, and I just ordered a physical copy of Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird to be able to keep for my personal library. I plan on revisiting each story again to meditate on each one slowly with how on point their messages are.

Thank you for sharing an e-copy with me!

I loved these spooky stories! There are only a few that are gory, most are more tense and creepy than anything. They still alighted on the sometimes lonely and depressing nature of being a person. I loved the writing style and need to read Tender is the Flesh!

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for sending me a digital copy of this collection in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first time reading Agustina Bazterrica's work and I'm glad that I did. This collection does a great job of exploring familiar concepts like family, religion, solitude, community, and death in a way that is haunting and disgusting in the most thoughtful way. The raw and sometimes difficult to read stories made me see the world a bit differently, and I admire Bazterrica's careful craftsmanship with each of these horrifying vignettes. I'll likely read more work by this author in the future.

Intimate snapshots of creeping horror do not disappoint.
Some of these stories play out more like small scenes, often beautifully written, the greater stories depend on our imagination, an interesting take on literary horror that was a good fit for me, but took me a bit to settle into. Each story built upon the others momentum until nowhere was safe, least of all my mind.

A lot is said this collection of short stories and there are some that I would rate 5 and others I would rate 2. They're weird and engaging with a lot of commentary on patriarchy, violence against women, etc, which I really liked about it. I just also found the concept of some of them to be fascinating enough to want more and others I found myself wishing were slightly shorter. I don't often read a collection of short stories, so I would count this one as a win.

Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird is a nice little collection of short horror stories in the same line as Agustina Bazterrica's other work. If you liked Tender is the Flesh, you'll love this.

I really liked this collection and I ran through it in no time. I really enjoyed having multiple mini works by the author in one collection.

My favorites were Mary Carminum & The Solitary Ones.


Thank you for the ARC of this book.


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