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Horatio Quiroga: The Decapitated Chicken

abecedarian

abecedarian

Well-Known Member
This is a collection of rather disturbing stories by Uruguayan writer Horatio Quiroga. Quiroga's life was rather bizarre, so I suppose it is only natural his stories reflect that. While this is not the book to hand to just anyone, there were three stories that stood out. Sunstroke, Anaconda, and The Son..each reminded me of radio dramas I heard on The CBS Radio Mystery Theatre back in the 1970's. Another story, A Slap in the Face, is a study of insanity and was actually very disturbing.
I'd recommend The Decapitated Chicken, but only to mature readers, those who can read disturbing images and still get to sleep at night.
 
Thanks for this, abecedarian.

I know the book has been translated from Spanish, but was it good translation? Did you feel the English prose captured a certain style that was carried over from the original text. Does Quiroga have much of a style.

And, to press you furher, what sort of disturbing images are we talking about here? And what are some of the stories about?
 
I thought the translation was fine, but since my highschool Spanish is ancient history, I 'm not the best judge of that!

The stories are:

The Feather Pillow: a young bride wastes away while the doctor scratches his head..only upon her death do they discover the hiddeous parasite hidden in her pillow.

Sunstroke: A plantation owner's dogs see Death coming for their master

The Pursued: a study on insanity

The Decapitated Chicken: The four idiot sons of a family, who normally just sit around all day laughing at the sunshine and thunderclaps, spring into action one day, with disasterous results

Drifting: A fellow steps on a poisonous snake..

A Slap in the Face- A brutal Patron gets his just rewards

In the Middle of the Night-A story of survival during flood season..a stingray story.

Juan Darien: Story of a tiger who became a boy..

The Dead Man: A worker falls on his machete and waits for death

Anaconda: What if all the snakes banded together to get rid of Man?

The Incense Tree Roof: not a clue, I didn't get this one at all!

The Son: A man struggles with reality when his son goes hunting alone..and doesn't come back at the appointed time.

I think the most difficult images here were the ones in Anaconda, The Decapitated Chicken, and The Son..in the latter two he really doesn't get all that graphic, its the whole horribleness of it all. The Pursued is spooky enough to make one check the door to make sure there's no one watching!
 
ABC I love the "sound" of this book. Creepy, gruesome, strange...... I am soooo ordering a copy of it. Thanks for the review.
 
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