Short-story collection by Samanta Schweblin
Mouthful of Birds (Spanish: Pájaros en la boca) is a short story collection by Samanta Schweblin. Originally published in Spanish, it was translated into English by Megan McDowell in 2019.[1][2]
The stories feature uncanny plot twists and unexpected endings.
"Olingiris" first appeared in English in a 2010 issue of Granta.[3] In 2017 "The Size of Things" was published in The New Yorker.[4] In 2019 "Toward Happy Civilization" was published in The Atlantic[5] and was read aloud by LeVar Burton for the Stitcher Radio podcast LeVar Burton Reads.[6]
Contents
Story
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"Headlights"
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"Preserves"
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"Butterflies"
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"Mouthful of Birds"
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"Santa Claus Sleeps At Our House"
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"The Digger"
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"Irman"
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"The Test"
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"Toward Happy Civilization"
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"Olingiris"
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"My Brother Walter"
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"The Merman"
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"Rage of Pestilence"
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"Heads Against Concrete"
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"The Size of Things"
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"Underground"
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"Slowing Down"
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"On the Steppe"
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"A Great Effort"
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"The Heavy Suitcase of Benavides"
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Literary significance and reception
Like Schweblin's novel Fever Dream, Mouthful of Birds received enthusiastic reviews.
The Guardian wrote, "Delving into the cryptic depths of the human psyche, this is a highly imaginative and thought-provoking collection."[7] A review in the Los Angeles Review of Books concluded, "One of the greatest effects of Schweblin's writing is the sensation of having a trapdoor kicked open in your own mind — of not knowing this weird space even existed, but of course. There you are."[8]
Book critic Michael Schaub said of the collection: "Mouthful of Birds is a stunning achievement from a writer whose potential is beginning to seem limitless."[9]
Parul Sehgal, writing in The New York Times, noticed a variety of influences in Schweblin's stories, including Jesse Ball, Kelly Link, but, most of all, David Lynch.[10]
References