Cabaret in Flames, by Hache Pueyo

[mrissa]

 

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Like Pueyo's debut, this is an extremely well-done example of something that is very, very much not my thing. This is another monsterfucking book! I am using that term as a genre term of art rather than a pejorative: there are guls, they eat human flesh, the main character ends up romantically/personally entangled with one despite or perhaps because of her complicated history.

There's vivid writing here--which if you are not interested in stories of human flesh being eaten is not necessarily going to appeal to you--and there are cultural touchstones I wish we saw more of in things published in the US. It's great to see a really Brazilian speculative novella--and the politics of contemporary Brazil give this speculative story weight and deep roots. It's done so well. It's just so beautifully written. But also, and crucially for me, it is body horror basically start to finish, so: approach with care, depending on your tastes.