The Houseguest and Other Stories
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-17 08:54:44
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Amparo Dávila
- ISBN：0811228215
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Like those of Kafka， Poe， Leonora Carrington， or Shirley Jackson， Amparo Dávila’s stories are terrifying， mesmerizing， and expertly crafted—you’ll finish each one gasping for air。 With acute psychological insight， Dávila follows her characters to the limits of desire， paranoia， insomnia， and fear。 She is a writer obsessed with obsession， who makes nightmares come to life through the everyday: loneliness sinks in easily like a razor-sharp knife， some sort of evil lurks in every shadow， delusion takes the form of strange and very real creatures。 After reading The Houseguest—Dávila’s debut collection in English—you’ll wonder how this secret was kept for so long。
Reviews
marta the book slayer
，
I am so impressed。 I devoured this book in a single sitting because the stories just got better and better。 For the first couple of stories I was a bit unimpressed; the writing was well done but where was the spookiness I was desiring？ I was proven wrong because suddenly the stories began to perfectly describe paranoia and fear。 Regardless of the "supernatural" elements in these stories， it still felt real and believable （and that is not easy to do）。 There exists no doubt in my mind that Amparo I am so impressed。 I devoured this book in a single sitting because the stories just got better and better。 For the first couple of stories I was a bit unimpressed; the writing was well done but where was the spookiness I was desiring？ I was proven wrong because suddenly the stories began to perfectly describe paranoia and fear。 Regardless of the "supernatural" elements in these stories， it still felt real and believable （and that is not easy to do）。 There exists no doubt in my mind that Amparo Dávila is one of the best short stories writers of all time。 I think I will be recommending this one for years to come since it has earned an honorary place on my all time favorites shelf。 Looks like Kendell Jenner and I have something else in common besides our gorgeous model physique （haha）。 If only I too could be friends with Harry Styles。。 Moses and Gaspar- 3are they cats？ children？ demons？ who knows but they wouldn't be living with me long The Houseguest- 3。5 i think the main character acted absolutely rationally and i fully support her actions Fragment of a Diary- 1meh。 didn't enjoy the format of this one。 was annoyed and confused。 glad it was as short as it was The Cell- 4i did not see that ending coming。。 at all。。。 Mustique Concrete- 5i'll never look at toads the same way again Haute Cuisine- 3for some reason i thought this story was about shrimps， but maybe it is about caviar？ does caviar scream？ i am unsure because i am not rich enough for this indulgence Oscar- 4i think the events in this story are completely plausible to occur in a small town。 also， was he a werewolf？ i'm going to go ahead and assume he was End of a Struggle- 5i think i should read more stories about doppelgängers， even though this story might not have been about doppelgängers Tina Reyes- 5completely believable fear with all the online dating meet-ups going on The Breakfast- 5IF YOU'RE GOING TO READ ONLY ONE OF THESE SHORT STORIES。 IT'S THIS ONE。 A MILLION STARS。 FANTASTIC。 The Last Summer- 5MAYBE READ THIS ONE TOO IF YOU CAN The Funeral- 5YOU MADE IT THIS FAR， WHY NOT READ THIS ONE TOOread as part of spooky season haunted tales that hopefully keep me up till the witching hour🕸 picture of dorian gray🕸 we have always lived in the castle🕸 rules for vanishing🕸 dracula🕸 the iliac crest🕸 dangers of smoking in bed🕸 fever dream🕸 dr。jekyll and mr。hyde🕸 the houseguest and other stories 。。。more
Mimi
，
Took so long to finish this that it became seasonally relevant。 Personally， I’m not a fan of dark and depressing stories—but I do like suspense and the occasional foray into the uncanny， so I thought I’d give this short story collection a try。 A majority of the stories revolve around some mysterious source of psychological terror—I say mysterious because these antagonists are often described obliquely， and frequently blur the line between fantastical and real。 A certain amount of ambiguity can m Took so long to finish this that it became seasonally relevant。 Personally， I’m not a fan of dark and depressing stories—but I do like suspense and the occasional foray into the uncanny， so I thought I’d give this short story collection a try。 A majority of the stories revolve around some mysterious source of psychological terror—I say mysterious because these antagonists are often described obliquely， and frequently blur the line between fantastical and real。 A certain amount of ambiguity can make things interesting， but the trick gets old after awhile， and most of the stories feel like a long walk down a dark corridor without the relief/release of a jump scare at the end。 My favorites were “Fragments of a Diary”， “Haute Cuisine”， and “The Last Summer” which seemed the most focused and specific in their terrors。 。。。more
Stef
，
It's just ordinary stories with unsaid endings。 It's good to remind me of Poe's and Kafka's stories。 It's just ordinary stories with unsaid endings。 It's good to remind me of Poe's and Kafka's stories。 。。。more
Najwa Nadyetta
，
God！ The whole experience was so bizarre， leaning more towards “eerie”， and gripping。I never thought that I’d like a collection of short stories， but I do！ My ultimate favorites are definitely: Fragment of a Diary， Musique Concréte， and Tina Reyes！
Lena ， süße Maus， Esq。
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did nothing for me tbh， but I think that maybe the English translation is just weak and the original version has something that got lost in the translation process， idk。 maybe I'm dead inside， but none of these stories managed to unsettle me in the slightest and all of the themes/underlying meanings of the stories border on being so vague that you can just project whatever interpretation you want onto them。 did nothing for me tbh， but I think that maybe the English translation is just weak and the original version has something that got lost in the translation process， idk。 maybe I'm dead inside， but none of these stories managed to unsettle me in the slightest and all of the themes/underlying meanings of the stories border on being so vague that you can just project whatever interpretation you want onto them。 。。。more
Daphna Ivanka
，
cries this is really good。 There's this Poe-esque feeling， and I was just entranced。 cries this is really good。 There's this Poe-esque feeling， and I was just entranced。 。。。more
Jamie MacDonald Jones
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No real horror contained in these stories （not that there claimed to be） however this collection is well worth reading for the gothic atmosphere in each anx every story。
Gigi
，
Davila’s ability to create stories so short but so spine chilling and human is incredible。 I really enjoyed this :）
Sergio Rh。
，
AMAZING！！！
Sarah Goodner
，
If you would like to read a collection of horror stories that are all essentially the same and not at all scary， this is the book for you。 The characters in each story suffer from looking tired， and the main character in each is overly hysterical。 I'm all about a little show-not-tell in my horror， allowing the reader to make up their own mind about what kind of frightening monster they see。 （Stephen King did it best when describing It。） But when the monster is so ambiguous that I don't know if t If you would like to read a collection of horror stories that are all essentially the same and not at all scary， this is the book for you。 The characters in each story suffer from looking tired， and the main character in each is overly hysterical。 I'm all about a little show-not-tell in my horror， allowing the reader to make up their own mind about what kind of frightening monster they see。 （Stephen King did it best when describing It。） But when the monster is so ambiguous that I don't know if the author is describing a cat， a kid， some poor person with a mental disability， or an actual monster， that is a problem for me。 The stories were more depressing than frightening。 My only fear was that I would be bored to death。 。。。more
Cat
，
very interesting collection of stories。 they're eerie and scary without being at all graphic or gratuitous。 the style is kind of a blend between new and old gothic， like if edgar allan poe and shirley jackson had a literary baby。 my favorites were the titular story， "the houseguest"， and "fragment of a diary"。the only catch with this collection was the lack of diversity， plot-wise。 most of these stories surround an unwanted presence， something that lurks and unsettles the protagonist。 after read very interesting collection of stories。 they're eerie and scary without being at all graphic or gratuitous。 the style is kind of a blend between new and old gothic， like if edgar allan poe and shirley jackson had a literary baby。 my favorites were the titular story， "the houseguest"， and "fragment of a diary"。the only catch with this collection was the lack of diversity， plot-wise。 most of these stories surround an unwanted presence， something that lurks and unsettles the protagonist。 after reading one after the other， you start to feel like all the stories are about the same and they end up blending in together。 not sure if this was a purposeful choice made by the editor of the collection or if it's just a clear representation of the author's body of work but the lack of different subjects and even plot points disappointed me a bit 。。。more
Jose
，
I actually enjoyed each story of the book。 My favorite one was Musique Concretè and Tina Reyes。 What I liked of this book is that in very story there is an intruder that makes you feel uncomfortable。 I would totally recommend it
Nina
，
Idk if this makes sense， but it felt like I was reading a book。 It wasn’t immersive at all and I didn’t connect with any of the characters or stories。 I liked a couple of the stories but the rest just felt like the writing/plot was trying to be stylistic the way Kafka is but ended up being awkwardly domestic with an anticlimactic twist。
Gabriel Medina
，
Esta colección de relatos es un deleite total4。5Créanme cuando digo que son maravillosos porque me almorcé los doce cuentos en una tarde como quien anda insaciable。 Por favor， léanlos。 Denle una oportunidad a esta señora y les aseguro que no es una pérdida de tiempo。 No me voy a poner a darle puntuación a los distintos relatos que componen la antología porque esta vez no voy a desmeritar a ninguno ni mucho menos a comparar o decir cuál me gustó más。 Hay que contentarse con saber que todos tienen Esta colección de relatos es un deleite total4。5Créanme cuando digo que son maravillosos porque me almorcé los doce cuentos en una tarde como quien anda insaciable。 Por favor， léanlos。 Denle una oportunidad a esta señora y les aseguro que no es una pérdida de tiempo。 No me voy a poner a darle puntuación a los distintos relatos que componen la antología porque esta vez no voy a desmeritar a ninguno ni mucho menos a comparar o decir cuál me gustó más。 Hay que contentarse con saber que todos tienen calidad y que no bajan de las cuatro estrellas （para mí， claro está）。 Por cierto， Santiago Caruso haciendo un trabajo muy notable que le da más ambiente y dinámica a los cuentos es otra cosa por apreciar。Si algo tienen en común es que Amparo Dávila maneja una atmósfera sucia， oscura， decadente， en cierto grado gótica y con un estilo narrativo directo， sin ser tan explícito pero finísimo， señores; porque los relatos te dan mala espina sin necesidad de ser escabrosos o grotescos。 El terror subyace pero no te lo lanzan a la cara， es más bien sugerente y atractivo; en algunos psicológico。 También hay cierto suspenso y tensión latentes， así como la constante sensación de que faltó mucho más por contar ya que todos dejan cosas en el aire; sueltas para que se llegue （o no） a múltiples interpretaciones y/o conclusiones que son igual de válidas。 La soledad， la locura y el mal rollo en la misma sintonía。 Esta señora es una reina para no aburrir y mantenerte atrapado entre las líneas。 Así que entretenimiento asegurado。Y finalmente agradecerle a mi profesora de didáctica， quien me mostró a esta maravillosa escritora con El huésped y de allí quedé con ganas de leer más。 Ahora solo me queda leer los que me restan。 。。。more
Bradley Clacy
，
Domestic existential horrors。 I only liked the title story， some were ok， but the rest I didn't really like。 Many failed to create much of a spark， and the story building was a little weak and sometimes clichéd。 Domestic existential horrors。 I only liked the title story， some were ok， but the rest I didn't really like。 Many failed to create much of a spark， and the story building was a little weak and sometimes clichéd。 。。。more
Andrew Herold
，
I read the English translation and so my dislike may be due to that （it has been in the past）。 I found the stories to be juvenile， something that you might hear around the campfire as a child， all with a “gruesome” twist that was generally predictable。 The writing was stilted and child-like， and each story lacked something very specific that robbed it of its impact （not knowing what Gaspar and Moses were， not knowing what the houseguest was， etc）。 The most interesting part of these tales was the I read the English translation and so my dislike may be due to that （it has been in the past）。 I found the stories to be juvenile， something that you might hear around the campfire as a child， all with a “gruesome” twist that was generally predictable。 The writing was stilted and child-like， and each story lacked something very specific that robbed it of its impact （not knowing what Gaspar and Moses were， not knowing what the houseguest was， etc）。 The most interesting part of these tales was the part left out， which in my opinion defeats the purpose。 。。。more
Tamara
，
These just weren't for me。 It was a chore to get through。 These just weren't for me。 It was a chore to get through。 。。。more
Yulia Katsura
，
El libro en sí no me dio miedo， pero me mantuvo a la expectativa， es una buena compilación de relatos。 Me gustó muchísimo leer a Amparo Dávila y definitivamente las ilustraciones de Santiago Caruso son un gran acompañamiento。Mis preferidos fueron:La señorita JuliaEl huéspedMúsica concreta Matilde Espejo Óscar
Rachel Fucci
，
3。5⭐️ solidly spooky！！
dinie
，
i’ve been putting off reading this book for months cs i’m not really a fans of short stories but now i regret not reading it sooner cs i love it。 this book messed with my head and it got me thinking for days。 i hate not knowing stuff and this book did exactly that。 there’s so much mystery that i can’t seem to put into words about what it was and what’s going on。 for example the opening talks about Moses and Gaspar which i did not know whether it’s some weird creatures or little kid。 but overall i’ve been putting off reading this book for months cs i’m not really a fans of short stories but now i regret not reading it sooner cs i love it。 this book messed with my head and it got me thinking for days。 i hate not knowing stuff and this book did exactly that。 there’s so much mystery that i can’t seem to put into words about what it was and what’s going on。 for example the opening talks about Moses and Gaspar which i did not know whether it’s some weird creatures or little kid。 but overall i really love the book 。。。more
Niko
，
As with most short story collections there are some that were a miss but this had several that were a real hit for me！
Madison
，
3。5 *compelling & suspenseful stories that stop just short of revealing too much， but almost a little too short sometimes
Cristina
，
Much like with most short stories， a lot of them end in such a way that I wish they were just a bit longer。 But all in all I enjoyed this collection！
Baby Blue Nakamoto
，
This book was great。 Every story had a different theme and were so fast to read
Alisha Roy
，
It’s the first time I have ventured into alt-lit， and hands down this is the most absurd set of short stories I have ever read。 Absurd but good。 All stories were up for readers’ interpretation because some character or the other is always not described。 The stories are so different that they imprint themselves in your brain。 It’s a whole spectrum of feeling and emotions— rage， despair， anxiety， love（not the good kind）。 I honestly don’t know what more to stay。
cheyenne ashe
，
as fun as dark tales and some of my other recent reads。not as。。。。 experimental as carmen maria machado or samantha hunt but cool none the less。 musique concrete is my personal fav
Noniu2
，
Maravillosa selección de cuentos， terroríficos， de Amparo Dávila， acompañados de ilustraciones。 Una selección perfecta para conocer a esta autora mexicana。 No la conocía y quiero leer más obras suyas。
Tess Pedro
，
3。7
Lavelle
，
A collection of ominous， unsettling， and surreal short stories， The Houseguest is （I felt） primarily about invasion。 Uninvited， unwanted， threatening presences。 A loss of autonomy， and a desperation to escape - escape that often comes at the expense of the self， or some other sacrifice。The stories are rather abstract， but the palpable sense of fear， torment， suffocation， entrapment made for such an enthralling read。 Each story features seemingly normal people， leading normal， everyday lives， tor A collection of ominous， unsettling， and surreal short stories， The Houseguest is （I felt） primarily about invasion。 Uninvited， unwanted， threatening presences。 A loss of autonomy， and a desperation to escape - escape that often comes at the expense of the self， or some other sacrifice。The stories are rather abstract， but the palpable sense of fear， torment， suffocation， entrapment made for such an enthralling read。 Each story features seemingly normal people， leading normal， everyday lives， tormented by some formidable， threatening entities， and slowly unravelling as a result。 Despite the brevity of these pieces， I thought Dávila did a great job of depicting the gradual degradation of the characters' psyche， and thoroughly enjoyed the delicious slow burn of each story。 I also loved that so much of it is left up to the reader's imagination: What does the entity look like？ How did it come to be？ How can the tormented ever truly escape？ These are all questions for you and you alone to answer。In a way， I felt the "demons" in this collection were a personification of the burdens and fears we carry， placed there by others or ourselves—a man left with his deceased brother's demonic pets; a family plagued by an infernal being trapped in their basement; a woman driven to the edge by some amorphous "them" she believes is out for revenge。 Each story is different， but somehow relatable。 A lot of these stories also （intentionally？） feature fears that women grapple with， such as creepy men and threats of violence。The brevity and open-endedness of this collection means it may not be for everyone， but I had a bloody good time devouring this。 ☺️ 。。。more
Cesar
，