Monstrilio

By: Gerardo Sámano Córdova

Narrated by: Victoria Villarreal, Johnny Rey Diaz

Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

A "genuinely scary" horror debut written in "prose so beautiful you won't want to rush" about a boy who transforms into a monster, a monster who tries to be a man, and the people who love him in every form he takes (Ana Reyes)

Grieving mother Magos cuts out a piece of her deceased eleven-year-old son Santiago's lung. Acting on fierce maternal instinct and the dubious logic of an old folktale, she nurtures the lung until it gains sentience, growing into the carnivorous little Monstrilio she keeps hidden within the walls of her family's decaying Mexico City estate. Eventually, Monstrilio begins to resemble the Santiago he once was, but his innate impulses—though curbed by his biological and chosen family's communal care—threaten to destroy this fragile second chance at life.

A thought-provoking meditation on grief, acceptance, and the monstrous sides of love and loyalty, Gerardo Sámano Cordova blends bold imagination and evocative prose with deep emotional rigor. Told in four acts that span the globe from Brooklyn to Berlin, Monstrilio offers, with uncanny clarity, a cathartic and precise portrait of being human.

©2023 Gerardo Sámano Córdova (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Great Character Development!

This book is so unique and interesting. The story, all together, is so out there and unexpected. And at the same time it feels like weirdly natural development, like we should have expected that all along.

Do yourself a favor: listen to this great book!

This book is a fabulous example of latin-magical-realism! The story is just weird enough to delight & engage, while it examines what it means to be "human." The reader really brought the characters to life, too. This author is now on my "favorites" list!

Heartbreaking but also odd

I truly enjoyed this book, as someone who has come face to face with grief this book really struck a chord in me. The struggles of grieving someone who is gone, the coming to terms with not just your own humanity but the tormented & grimy sides of us all. It was well written and I found myself wanting to listen more and more even at the very end. I truly felt myself immersed in this book. Love it.

Very unique !

I'd give it 5 stars since it kept me engrossed all the way through. Yet it's not for everyone. if you like some weirdness, a touch of horror yet want some humanness, you might love it too.

Man- just so good.

Buy it, use a credit, whatever just get this in your ears asap. Easily in my top 5 for horror this year. (2023)

Fascinating

This book is part folklore, part horror, part memoir. It was completely captivating, while being fast paced. Love it

A rather bizarre unpleasant novel

Unfortunately I didn't find much in the way of redeeming qualities here. It was occasionally heartwrenching, ocassionally dipping into weird horror - though without much of the latter word. If I want to feel sad I can read the news instead of wasting my time with this monstrillo of a story. I'd skip this one

Really a great read

I listened to this while I read it and it was such an oddly emotional and surreal horror book. Truly enjoyed it.

Mesmerizing magical realism

I enjoyed how the author integrated elements of horror, trauma, grief, and the various kinds of love humans experience in a fluid manner. I was impressed by the different perspectives, backgrounds, and voices provided by the characters. The author is writes explicitly and boldly about desires, fears, and desperation motivated by diverse sources such as loss and craving. The complex landscape of human emotion is traversed smoothly.

Unexpected beautiful story about surviving

I had a lot of assumptions about what this book would be, and I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly the story began, and intrigued how it developed.  The coping and survival of the variety of characters in this book was easily, my favorite part, and what made this story really stand out. The narrator was fantastic and the ending was unexpected. Highly recommend.