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A Whistler in the Nightworld: Short Fiction from the Latin Americas
Excellent Book
- GenresFictionShort Stories
432 pages, Paperback
First published August 27, 2002
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141 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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October 21, 2011This appears to be something else than what I usually read. It is supposedly with an urban twist. I look forward to it. The cover certainly is promising:-)
Early September 2011:
"Nothing To Do" by Pedro Juan Gutiérrez:
We follow the narrator in a brief period of time, when he is going to visit his aunt, who is dying of cancer. In this time we also follow his thoughts. It all has a stream-of-consciousness like texture, without exactly being such a story.
Nothing much really happens, but it was intense nonetheless, and considering it is a very short story it held up all right.
September 5, 2011:
"The Scent of Invisible Roses" by Laura Restrepo:
In the autumn of life a man gets a chance to see the love of his youth. It's not an easy decision, especially since he is still married and they are both with (adult) children of their own. There's a life time between them.
This was a story that moved me unexpectedly. The indecision of a man who is attracted to the youth that once was his but which has, he feels, escaped him in some way. I enjoyed it from the beginning, where he connects with his old love over the phone, and to the last part, where they actually meet and live together for a few days. And how very different things turn out to be... Which may not be such a bad thing.
I highly recommend this story. It already haunts me.
September 8, 2011:
"Circle" by Carlos Franz: [My review of this one edited Oct. 21]
Also a story of old age vs. youth. In this case a dying grandmother and her 6 year old granddaughter.
The tale is technically nicely framed -- beginning with the granddaughter's point of view, the middle with the grandmother's (often delirious) point of view, and ending with the granddaughter again (although in some way it can be seen as weaving the first two together in a closed unit). This approach works wonders, and I found myself captured to the bitter-sweet end. It was believable as well as fascinating. I also appreciate that the author does not shy away from describing more disgusting things in a real manner. (I won't say what but if you read the story you'll know what I am talking about.) That was a very nice touch.
Highly recommended. Definitely.
Mid-September, 2011:
"The Documentary Artist" by Jaime Manrique:
Quite a cool story. A professor is looking for a student who was a talented horror movie maker (and the professor is attracted to him), for the student early on mysteriously disappears.
Needless to say he encounters the student again, but every time things are a little weirder, and the student -- now living on the streets as a bum -- is not one you really "get to know," much to the professor's frustration.
I loved the ending... One I will not tell you;-)
September 20, 2011:
"People Like Us" by Javier Valdés:
A man and a woman spend their winter in the mountains, in a strange house. Strange things happen -- and as their casual sex gets wilder they grow strangers. With fatal results.
That's of course a superficial characterization of the story, but it does give you a rough idea of the framework. In many ways a classic and often overused setting, but except for perhaps being a little too long this story works well. The growing madness, the paranoia, the mistrust and slow unveiling of what's going on...
Ooooh, I like!
So far I am very impressed by this collection. It bodes well for the rest of the anthology:-) I hope it manages to keep the top rating I've rated it so far (mid-October 2011).
As always, more reviews coming as I get around to reading more tales.
Early September 2011:
"Nothing To Do" by Pedro Juan Gutiérrez:
We follow the narrator in a brief period of time, when he is going to visit his aunt, who is dying of cancer. In this time we also follow his thoughts. It all has a stream-of-consciousness like texture, without exactly being such a story.
Nothing much really happens, but it was intense nonetheless, and considering it is a very short story it held up all right.
September 5, 2011:
"The Scent of Invisible Roses" by Laura Restrepo:
In the autumn of life a man gets a chance to see the love of his youth. It's not an easy decision, especially since he is still married and they are both with (adult) children of their own. There's a life time between them.
This was a story that moved me unexpectedly. The indecision of a man who is attracted to the youth that once was his but which has, he feels, escaped him in some way. I enjoyed it from the beginning, where he connects with his old love over the phone, and to the last part, where they actually meet and live together for a few days. And how very different things turn out to be... Which may not be such a bad thing.
I highly recommend this story. It already haunts me.
September 8, 2011:
"Circle" by Carlos Franz: [My review of this one edited Oct. 21]
Also a story of old age vs. youth. In this case a dying grandmother and her 6 year old granddaughter.
The tale is technically nicely framed -- beginning with the granddaughter's point of view, the middle with the grandmother's (often delirious) point of view, and ending with the granddaughter again (although in some way it can be seen as weaving the first two together in a closed unit). This approach works wonders, and I found myself captured to the bitter-sweet end. It was believable as well as fascinating. I also appreciate that the author does not shy away from describing more disgusting things in a real manner. (I won't say what but if you read the story you'll know what I am talking about.) That was a very nice touch.
Highly recommended. Definitely.
Mid-September, 2011:
"The Documentary Artist" by Jaime Manrique:
Quite a cool story. A professor is looking for a student who was a talented horror movie maker (and the professor is attracted to him), for the student early on mysteriously disappears.
Needless to say he encounters the student again, but every time things are a little weirder, and the student -- now living on the streets as a bum -- is not one you really "get to know," much to the professor's frustration.
I loved the ending... One I will not tell you;-)
September 20, 2011:
"People Like Us" by Javier Valdés:
A man and a woman spend their winter in the mountains, in a strange house. Strange things happen -- and as their casual sex gets wilder they grow strangers. With fatal results.
That's of course a superficial characterization of the story, but it does give you a rough idea of the framework. In many ways a classic and often overused setting, but except for perhaps being a little too long this story works well. The growing madness, the paranoia, the mistrust and slow unveiling of what's going on...
Ooooh, I like!
So far I am very impressed by this collection. It bodes well for the rest of the anthology:-) I hope it manages to keep the top rating I've rated it so far (mid-October 2011).
As always, more reviews coming as I get around to reading more tales.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2019
I enjoyed most of these - I think there were only two (unfortunately including the last one) that I didn’t enjoy. The rest, I would actually like to read more of. I figure that’s a sign of a good short story; if you don’t want it to end. Right?
December 3, 2009
"The Turn in the River" - Edgard Telles Ribeiro
November 19, 2009
Good stuff. Introduced me to a lot of new authors I'd like to track down and eat.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews