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In Absence
In Absence is the fresh and frightening short story collection by Laura Diaz de Arce. Enjoy tales of shape-shifting nature beasts, an affectionate giant squid, an ancient Greek drama on the subway, a Sinatra-loving were-goat, take a trip to a museum in Hell, and more. What brings together this eclectic work that spans genres, tone, and voice is the exploration of the varying shades of grief. Like Tales of Transformation, readers are sure to find works that pull at their heartstrings while still delivering on gore and body horror.
194 pages, Paperback
Published August 26, 2022
About the author
Laura Diaz de Arce
15 books30 followersLaura Diaz de Arce (1987-Present) was born and raised in South Florida by two immigrants. In 2011 she graduated from the University of Florida and went on to earn her masters in literature. Her words can be found in Clash, Enchanted Conversations, and Book Riot. She lives in South Florida with her husband and two cats in a cabin built on a swamp. In her off time, she dyes her hair new and unnatural colors. You can often find her as a recreational tour guide at Ikea (she is not paid by Ikea) or on late night ice cream binges. Or you can follow her musings on Twitter, Instagram, and Patreon at @QuetaAuthor.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 19, 2022
I've loved the author's previous work, so when she offered me a review copy of this one, I was happy to accept!
Admittedly, surrealism/magical realism isn't my greatest strength and this book has a lot of it. I could see that the stories were meant to have big metaphoric meaning... that I'm sure someone else will understand. That being said, I loved the poetry of the whole thing and the emphasis on culture in every story.
Because I'm a cinnamon roll, my favorite stories were the oddly adorable ones like "Heartstrings" and "Strangers in the Night." They were great foils for the more heartbreaking ones ("Floaters" GUTTED me) and made for a nice change of pace. I also liked the Orpheus and Eurydice retelling.
The author also continues her story telling trop of "woman refuses to deal with the nonsense of assholes dude in highly visceral ways." I have all the love in the world for Ruth, Terri, and Dulce. Iconic, the lot of them.
As someone that's dealt with infertility, the metaphoric mentions of miscarriage and loss did hit close to home, but they're wrapped up in enough metaphor that it should help ease the blow for any one else struggling. And of course the general body horror is... well, body horror. With all the gore that implies. Probably not the best if you're squeamish, but an excellent example of the genre if you're into that kind of thing.
All in all, a fantastic collection!
Admittedly, surrealism/magical realism isn't my greatest strength and this book has a lot of it. I could see that the stories were meant to have big metaphoric meaning... that I'm sure someone else will understand. That being said, I loved the poetry of the whole thing and the emphasis on culture in every story.
Because I'm a cinnamon roll, my favorite stories were the oddly adorable ones like "Heartstrings" and "Strangers in the Night." They were great foils for the more heartbreaking ones ("Floaters" GUTTED me) and made for a nice change of pace. I also liked the Orpheus and Eurydice retelling.
The author also continues her story telling trop of "woman refuses to deal with the nonsense of assholes dude in highly visceral ways." I have all the love in the world for Ruth, Terri, and Dulce. Iconic, the lot of them.
As someone that's dealt with infertility, the metaphoric mentions of miscarriage and loss did hit close to home, but they're wrapped up in enough metaphor that it should help ease the blow for any one else struggling. And of course the general body horror is... well, body horror. With all the gore that implies. Probably not the best if you're squeamish, but an excellent example of the genre if you're into that kind of thing.
All in all, a fantastic collection!
August 23, 2022
I think that it might be fair to say that Laura Diaz de Arce is one of my favorite authors.
I’ve now read both of her short story collections (Monstrosity and this one) and they have blown me away. I loved so many stories in this collection. And I usually am not a short story reader.
This collection centers on grief, and while I usually bill it (and hear it billed) as a horror collection, there is so much nuance to these stories. Yes, some are more strictly horror (and very grotesque at that), but others are very heartfelt and I could not stop reading.
Some of my absolute favorites from this collection were: Frijoles, A Murder on the Plains, Pain Eater, The Beast of Many Faces, Iguana Hunting, Heartstrings, and Tokens Beneath the Tongue. And that’s only saying that these stories were a full 5 stars by themselves. Every other story in this collection was a 4 or 4.5!
I could imagine so many of them being adapted for the screen because they were so vivid. And I do think part of that is how well Laura weaves her culture into the stories, and how real the characters feel.
CWs according to the author note: Death, Mutilation, Child Death and Mutilation, Animal Death and Mutilation, Body Horror, Violence, Cannibalism, Allusions to Miscarriage, and Raw Food Consumption.
Thank you so much to the author for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. You’ve got a reader for life!
I’ve now read both of her short story collections (Monstrosity and this one) and they have blown me away. I loved so many stories in this collection. And I usually am not a short story reader.
This collection centers on grief, and while I usually bill it (and hear it billed) as a horror collection, there is so much nuance to these stories. Yes, some are more strictly horror (and very grotesque at that), but others are very heartfelt and I could not stop reading.
Some of my absolute favorites from this collection were: Frijoles, A Murder on the Plains, Pain Eater, The Beast of Many Faces, Iguana Hunting, Heartstrings, and Tokens Beneath the Tongue. And that’s only saying that these stories were a full 5 stars by themselves. Every other story in this collection was a 4 or 4.5!
I could imagine so many of them being adapted for the screen because they were so vivid. And I do think part of that is how well Laura weaves her culture into the stories, and how real the characters feel.
CWs according to the author note: Death, Mutilation, Child Death and Mutilation, Animal Death and Mutilation, Body Horror, Violence, Cannibalism, Allusions to Miscarriage, and Raw Food Consumption.
Thank you so much to the author for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. You’ve got a reader for life!
August 17, 2022
An excellent collection of short stories that are horror and horror adjacent. I personally loved "Iguana Hunting", "The Devil Sat in the Last Pew", and "Strangers in the Night". Great choice for a end of summer read or while chilling with your cats (No I am not projecting...). In all seriousness check it out and enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews