a collection of twisted, uncanny, and incredibly imaginative short stories by Argentine author Silvina Ocampo around the cruelty lurking in our everyday realities.
this book was opened with an introduction by Helen Oyeyemi who recalls the incident where Ocampo was denied the National Prize for Literature because her stories were "far too cruel", and this particular collection was chosen at her her behest with her translator to comprise of her "cruelest stories".
now, this reputation of cruelty is very interesting because her stories embody cruelty beyond the traditional sense of the word. the descriptions are never grotesque. here, the background is ordinary lives, mundane details, familiar events, and unassuming objects that slowly shift and mutate into cruel, sinister forms evading detection. there is a distortion of reality while still being completely tethered to it, there is never a full departure into fantasy or even a full embrace of traditional elements of horror and the surreal. the cruelty resides through the actions of the characters -- who out of self-preservation, or out of perversion, or due to naivety and innocence, or for reasons beyond comprehension, engage in cruel acts.
there is a pervasive feeling of ambiguity, Silvina Ocampo never imposes any sort of judgment on the events and actions of the characters. the ambiguity is both moral and narrative -- the motives are never quite clear or singular, neither is the concept of time and identity. it is filled with premonitions; it is filled with dreams (often nightmares). here, people embody another, or, sometimes create the other, and lovers flirt by talking about death. some regret their acts of cruelty, others refuse to admit it.
the narration is rather matter-of-fact, and there is always uncertainity around the events -- whether they are real, supernatural, imagined, or dreamt. a lot is simply left for interpretations, hence, rereads are rewarding (i reread a few already, some or rather most stories are incredibly short).
she was a contemporary of Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares (also her husband) but did not receive the same acclaim, especially compared to Borges who prefaced this edition and called her one of the greatest poets in the Spanish language.
my favourite stories were "The House Made of Sugar", "Magush", "Thus Were Their Faces", "Cornelia Before the Mirror", and "Icera".
and i loved it overall, i do wish i had paced myself more and read it more slowly. but i can always do what when i reread. she is incredibly, so so imaginative and i love her prose.
she reminded me, especially in her preface to this, of Clarice Lispector, especially her short stories which also revolve around domestic realities that follow a psychological and metaphysical breakdown. i could also see the clear influence of Ocampo on Samanta Schweblin who is a contemporary Argentine horror author (i'm pretty sure Schweblin cited Ocampo specifically as one of her key influences but i'll have to check). so fans of Borges, Clarice Lispector, and Samanta Schweblin should check her out.
also, this is exactly the same as the NYRB edition "This Were Their Faces", except unlike the NYRB edition, this doesn't mention the name of the collection and year the stories are form in the table of contents.
