Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird

 Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird: Stories, by Agustina Bazterrica, 154 pgs. 

I've evolved from a fiction reader to more of a non-fiction reader as I've gotten older, but I've always been a big fan of short stories--there is an art to them. Short stories force authors to do more with less, produce more dramatic characters and convince readers of setting and place quickly. In short (lol), they can be kind of a wild rollercoaster ride when done well. This newest collection, by Argentinian writer Agustina Bazterrica, checks all of those boxes. If you like dark humor with a shot of magical realism, this is your bag. Centered in the tradition of similar authors like Borges, Bazterrica has become a literary fixture in the Brazilian creative scene since her cult novel, Tender is the Flesh (yep, you guessed it--it's about cannibalism). These stories are terse, yet powerful, and shocking moments abound: a taxi driver who may or may not be a serial killer, a little girl coming of age with a surprising secret, the fixation of a dead body just after committing suicide--Bazterrica's stories start in a dreamlike trance and take you places you're not sure you should go.