Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird

Stories

By: Agustina Bazterrica, Sarah Moses - translator

Narrated by: Aida Reluzco, Andy Garcia, André Santana, Christian Barillas

An NPR Best Book of 2023

A collection of twenty dark, wildly imaginative short stories from the author of the award-winning TikTok sensation Tender Is the Flesh.

From celebrated author Agustina Bazterrica, this collection of twenty brutal, darkly funny short stories takes into our deepest fears and through our most disturbing fantasies. Through stories about violence, alienation, and dystopia, Bazterrica’s vision of the human experience emerges in complex, unexpected ways—often unsettling, sometimes thrilling, and always profound. In “Roberto,” a girl claims to have a rabbit between her legs. A woman’s neighbor jumps to his death in “A Light, Swift, and Monstrous Sound,” and in “Candy Pink,” a woman fails to contend with a difficult breakup in five easy steps.

Written in Bazterrica’s signature clever, vivid style, these stories question love, friendship, family relationships, and unspeakable desires.

It was a let down

Tender is the Flesh is a favorite of mine so I was excited to listen to this, but it was overall disappointing. Writing out some weird thoughts and some things that dont entirely make sense and then passing it off as the character being crazy is lazy horror. If your character wants to be a circle, lean into the horror, leave just the thoughts and end it by having the character contort their body into an actual circle, yknow magnus archive style. Most of these stories dont go anywhere and are more just like obsessive dark thoughts.

Not Quite

I love her writing but most of these stories were a hit or miss. There were a few really good stories but I felt that most were unfinished. I wanted more out of the ones I enjoyed. They didn’t come to a close and it was hard to decipher the meaning.

WTF?

its all very confusing. I. I don't know what this is. a translation error? cultural differences? Just very confusing

A Disappointing Dive

As an avid reader, I recently picked up "Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird" with high hopes, mainly because of the author's previous work, "Tender is the Flesh." However, after delving into the pages of this novel, I was left profoundly disappointed and underwhelmed. While "Tender is the Flesh" showcased the author's talent, "Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird" fell short in numerous ways, making it difficult to recommend to anyone.

If you are considering reading "Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird" solely because of your admiration for "Tender is the Flesh," I implore you to skip it. This novel fails to live up to the expectations set by its predecessor and offers little to engage or captivate readers. Save yourself the disappointment and spend your credit on anything else.

Underwhelmed...

I struggled to finish this book, even having to switch to audio halfway through. The stories were mostly dull, and I found myself not caring about most of the characters. I rolled my eyes after more than one story... If you're reading this because you enjoyed Tender is the Flesh, skip it.