The Secret Life of Insects
by Bernardo Esquinca
Translated by James D. Jenkins
Bernardo Esquinca’s short story “Señor Ligotti” was one of the highlights of the first volume of The Valancourt Book of World Horror Stories, earning a place as a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award. “The Secret Life of Insects”, is one of a number of “spin-off” collections dedicated to individual authors featured in the volume. It brings together fourteen of Esquinca’s best stories, capably translated into English by James D. Jenkins, with a foreword by another contemporary star of Latin American horror, Mariana Enriquez.
This volume shows the versatility of Esquinca. He taps into several horror tropes – from zombies to Lovecraftian octopi, demonic forces to pagan cults, revenants to haunted dolls – but gives them a unique twist. A characteristic of his style is his blending of genres, particularly the introduction of crime fiction and noir elements, which make his stories particularly gripping. “Pan’s Noontide” is a good example, featuring a professor of mythology and folklore who teams up with a detective in the Homicide Division to investigate a series of ritual killings, which may involve the professor’s ex-wife. The violent history of Esquinca’s native Mexico – whether the blood sacrifices of ancient civilisations, or more recent massacres such as that which took place at the 1968 student uprisings at Tlatelolco – inspire tales of violent horror. But Esquinca’s stories rarely feel gratuitous. On the contrary, most of the pieces featured here achieve their effect through their weirdness, evoking feelings of dread through an Aickmanesque open-endedness (for instance, “Sea of Tranquillity, Ocean of Storms”).
This is a brilliant collection, complemented by
haunting full-page illustrations by Spanish artist Luis Pérez Ochando.
No comments:
Post a Comment