Martínez's writing shows a deep understanding of being a woman going through life dedicated to her family, who is bound to destroy her. <i>"That's what family is, a place to stay, and food on the table and in return you're cooped up with a bunch of living relatives and another bunch of dead ones. All families keep their dead under the mattress, my mother used to tell me, it's just that we can see ours."</i> As the old woman tells her family's story, it is evident is has broken her down to the bare bones of herself while she works her life away to keep her family "values."

Martínez creates an intricate world revolving around a house in rural Spain that is so deep and reflective for the reader. I felt parts of my personality and soul seen through her work that I have never seen explained before. She writes, <i>"We hate what reminds us of ourselves,"</i> which is such a simple idea, but in regards to the context of the novel delves into the complex relationships of self vs. family, and nature vs. nurture.

I give this book five stars for the beautiful writing, haunting themes, and retrospectiveness when I reach the end.

I really love a good haunted house story, especially one that has allegorical merit. I was very drawn to the strong female characters and their immense suffering and resilience. I really enjoyed the alternating perspective, and the voices were differentiated enough to avoid confusion. I did get confused a bit by the timeline, and I honestly could have read more about the granddaughter and grandmother in the aftermath of “the incident.”

This is a haunted house story about inheritance. Not only do we inherit trauma, but we inherit resentment, grudges, reputations; we inherit ghosts. This novella is captivating right from the beginning. The story is told in a direct way, without pretense, and is written in an almost stream-of-consciousness style. The chapters jump between two different points of view, but the style, the feeling, feels the same, because the characters are reflections of one another, after all, contradicting each other even as they support each other, with equal parts loving tenderness and frustration. There isn’t a lot of story, per se, but rather a slice of life, an exploration of a perpetual haunting. The characters are really beautifully drawn, both our two narrators and all the others who intersect their lives. There is no lengthy exposition, just observation, and it really makes this story feel like a confessional, like bringing the reader in and whispering secrets you cannot unhear. There is a melancholy and an urgency, a condemnation of greed and gossip that rattles floorboards and throws pots and pans around the kitchen. It was a joy to read, really offering a feeling of transportation. It was also the perfect length. Spite and justice are twined together with barbed wire in this short story, and if it went longer I think it would have needed to find more narrative grounding. As it was, the story length and structure complemented each other, and was a lot of fun to read.

I also want to commend the translators, who did a wonderful job of ensuring this story had character and tone, a distinct style that complimented the story and I can only imagine did great service to the original.

(Rounded up from 3.5)

I want to thank the author, the publisher Harper, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Woodworm, translated from Spanish and told from the points of view of a mother and a granddaughter, tackles themes of class and gender through a short, haunting story. I thought the story was unique, and really liked the ending, but there were moments where it would take me a minute to catch on to who the narrator was in a chapter since both characters are unnamed.

Overall, worth the read and I can’t wait to read more books from this author!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

this book is a stream-of-consciousness tale of grief, poverty, and spiritualism. the alternating perspectives between the grandmother and the granddaughter gave way to two different iterations of rural poorness marred by folktales and ominous religiosity. i would have preferred a bit more elements of haunting, as it feels like the more suspenseful elements were less developed in this text.

This was a very interesting little read. I’m torn between liking it and giving it a pass, but have found myself juuust over the like line.

I liked that the end result wasn’t given to the readers or easily figured out. The story made you work for it. However, I think that worked to its detriment in my personal experience.

I think it’s due to the fact that this is a translation, but the lack of punctuation made it difficult to read the story for me. Some of the run-on sentences lacked the cadence that would normally signify the ending of the sentence. That’s most likely a severely personal problem, but I found myself unable to enjoy the story to its ~fullest~ potential due to having to re-read some lines multiple times. Instead of flowing freely, it felt a bit clunky.

I have to be honest and admit that I did not like the younger woman telling her side of the story. Everything she said just felt extremely hateful to me. I enjoyed reading the older woman's chapters, though. In hindsight as I'm writing this (I'm about 68% done with the book), the younger woman could just be being consumed by the hate in the house and the house could just be killing her? Either way, it's markedly harder to get through her chapters compared to the other chapters. Edit to add: as now being finished with the book, this opinion has not changed for the better.

I did enjoy the overall story, though. The look at familial/generational trauma and how it unfolded and manifested was much different than other books I’ve read with these same aspects, but it was very refreshing. I have a few friends in mind who will enjoy it as well and I'll be linking them to the book once it's published in English.

Thank you to NetGalley, Two Lines Press, and Layla Martinez for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book prior to its release. I look forward to receiving more of these opportunities in the future.

I was uneasy, in the best way possible, from start to finish. Layla Martínez crafts a timeless and haunting tale of generational trauma full of fierce women and revenge. Much like with one’s own family oral history, the reader is tasked with piecing together the bits of the narrators’ stories until a complete picture is formed. The gothic tradition is honored but with a Spanish twist. I devoured this novel and look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you, Layla Martínez, Sophie Hughes, Annie McDermott, for a sensational literary experience, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

A haunting tale of revenge and sorrow. As the story unfolded, I found myself more and more enthralled by this complex and dark web. I'll be eager to read more from this author!

In this captivating read, the author masterfully weaves a narrative that is both engaging and thought-provoking. Through a blend of richly developed characters and a meticulously crafted plot, the book offers a unique exploration of its central themes, inviting readers to immerse themselves in the story's depth and complexity. The narrative is paced perfectly, balancing moments of intense action with thoughtful reflection, ensuring that readers are hooked from the first page to the last. The author's ability to evoke emotion and create a vivid, immersive world is truly remarkable, making this book a must-read for anyone looking for an exceptional literary experience.

Beyond its compelling storyline, the book stands out for its insightful commentary on the human condition, weaving philosophical questions into the fabric of its narrative. The author's skillful use of language not only enriches the text but also elevates the reader's experience, offering new perspectives on familiar themes. Whether it's the intricate dynamics of relationships, the exploration of identity, or the confrontation with ethical dilemmas, this book tackles complex issues with sensitivity and intelligence. It's a testament to the power of storytelling to illuminate the nuances of life, making it a valuable addition to any book lover's collection. Regardless of genre, this is a work that resonates on multiple levels, affirming the enduring impact of well-crafted literature.

I wanted to like this book, I really did. The negativity and the jealousy/pettiness of the every day mundane daily life of our protagonists resonate with how small rural areas in Europe are, unfortunately. It felt like reading a dramatic re-telling of a family's history but from multiple points of view spread over multi-generations, sometimes unsure of who was supposed to be speaking. I am not sure if this a translated text, but it reads like it. Dialogues happen sporadically without proper American punctuations to indicate them.

The author is very whimsical and poetic in her prose, very beautiful and atmospheric. It has layers of creepiness woven into the story that you can tell there is more than just a bunch of superstition living in the walls with the women. I am glad it wasn't longer than it was.

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

This is my second reading of Woodworm (Carcoma). I devoured it in Spanish as soon as I found it in a bookshop, its fears and its corners, its monsters and its shadows.
And then I found it in Netgalley, and I was so happy to see it there, sharing its gothic creatures with the rest of the world. I was very intrigued about how the author’s way of phrasing would translate into English, her twists and turns and long thoughts that sometimes disturb even the reader. Oddly enough, I did not get the same weight upon my shoulders.
The story got into my entrails, anyway. Even though I knew what was coming, what was waiting for me under the bed and in the kitchen. An impactful and fast reading that will be welcomed by fans of the most rural gothic horror and the pain that transfers from reader to reader.

I very much enjoyed the creeping gothic horror of Woodworm by Layla Martinez. If you love Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle or T. KingFisher What Moves The Dead, you will love Woodworm. It is a very quick read at under 2 hours that packs in the atmosphere and rich family history told in creeping and disturbing ways.

This was a great read! Super quick and tightly paced, with really strong narrative voices. Interesting reveals even in so short a novel and a really strong thematic throughline. Great characterization of the house.

Set in modern-day rural Spain, Woodworm follows a grandmother/granddaughter duo and the house that haunts them. This is a short novel, easily read in a couple of hours, that adeptly tackles themes of generational trauma (the titular woodworm), class, coming of age, and revenge. It’s also very well translated from the original Spanish, easy for a foreign audience to read while maintaining the necessary cultural context for the setting and story.

As the narrators reveal their long and sordid family history, we begin to understand how multiple generations of women could arrive at the same breaking point, and how they are forever impacted by a series of terrible men (and women, but mostly men), even by the abuses they didn’t personally suffer. Thematically, this book killed it at every turn. It’s one of those rare reads that manages to successfully combine everything it includes; the Saints, the sombras, the female rage, the simultaneous distance and closeness we often have with our families. Everything felt intentional and nothing was too much.

Stylistically, Woodworm is all-tell no-show; a family history relayed to the reader by narrators who directly engage with you, but the prose is skillful enough that this wasn’t a negative. The book is immersive and has a very fun uneasy vibe throughout that a lot of horror is lacking, and it’s certainly visual enough to get away with the way it’s told. There are a few minor choices I didn’t care for, namely the frequent omission of commas in the granddaughter’s chapters, but I still enjoyed Layla Martínez’s prose. She has a very unique voice and a skill for storytelling.

As for stylistic downsides, unfortunately, there were a few. The author makes the perplexing choice to not only leave both of our narrators unnamed (this can be done well, and one of my favorite books features an unnamed protagonist, but Woodworm was not a good example of this), but also have them both discuss their mothers at great length, referring to them only as “my mother.” There were times when I couldn’t tell until maybe the third page of a chapter who we were supposed to be following at the moment because the only mentions would be “I” and “my mother”, which could have been referring to the grandmother’s daughter or the grandmother’s mother, both of whom were also unnamed. I ended up so lost by the end because I was desperately trying to keep track of four nameless related women without getting their threads confused, meanwhile, each chapter was revealing a new layer to the story, switching the perspectives back and forth.

Having multiple characters who could interchangeably be “my mother”, “my grandmother”, or “my great-grandmother” depending on the narrator absolutely broke me after a while. The grandmother has a mother and a grandmother, but the grandmother is also the grandmother of the granddaughter, the other protagonist, who has a mother and a grandmother and a great-grandmother. No, of course they shouldn’t have names; what could POSSIBLY be so confusing?? Especially with the untagged dialogue and the similar voices (the only noticeable distinction is that the granddaughter often says “cuz” instead of because), I really struggled, and overall, I’d say the ambiguity is what knocked this down to 3 stars.

Don’t get me wrong, I hate being spoonfed and I prefer when authors give you the pieces so you can do the work. It’s what I like about reading to begin with; I’m absolutely one of those aggravating lit fic people who enjoys analytic and thematic value more than is reasonable, and I like to think of myself as a fairly savvy reader. That is to say that I don’t want to admit this (mostly because I’m concerned it comes down to stupidity and/or missing something glaring on my part), but even after skimming back through the entire book twice, I still don’t understand the ending. Thematically? Sure, and I loved it. What actually went down? Not even a little bit. It’s not a thinker, it just didn’t make a lick of sense.

Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys feminist/literary horror. It isn’t so much traditionally scary as it a thematic and character-based story, but it does both these things very well and intersperses lots of genuinely creepy moments, as well as highlighting how horrifying regular people can be on their own. I’ll be keeping an eye out for other titles from Martínez.

4 stars

This was a dark and fascinating book. It had a rocky start but once I understood what was going on (about 2 chapters in), it was a quick read.
It has some very heavy themes… generational trauma, revenge, love, hate and so much more.

Totally worth a read, it only took about 2 hours but was totally engrossed the whole time,

Phenomenal book aboht striking baxk. A nice horror with some very fun motifs! Thanks so so much for the arc