Book Review - Behind the Gate By Amparo Davila

 This collection of short stories is a good one for want-to-be writers in any genre. 

I am not a Want-to-be writer in any sense, but I know what's good... and what offers a unique perspective and shows a reader and a writer a different way to approach things. 

  I'm a little sad to find out the author is deceased, but I am thrilled that her work is getting translated into English! Davila is a Mexican author and her work is so interesting to me as it was created and published from 1950's through the 1970's and beyond.  Such a different time than today, and I think her writing reflects that a bit , but is also somewhat timeless in the way that most great writing can be. 

Behind the gate is a short collection of stories. Each one is a master class in how to create and build tension without chainsaws, extreme gore or jump scares.  It's a great volume for a reader who wants to start to read horror but is not interested in engaging with some of the more familiar tropes. 

Each of these stories was uniquely written in the third person. At first I was a bit confused because the third person is so rarely used. Eventually I got used to it and rather enjoyed the idea that the narrator was telling it as it was, rather than a protagonist telling us their version. Secondly, Davila really economizes with her text. There's nothing flowery, or fluffy about her stories, they get to the meat of the matter, but don't leave a reader feeling like they were missing anything. The atmosphere that these stories create is gothic, creepy and so unsettling.  I felt like it was a master class in getting maximal impact from minimal words. 

If you're looking to add in one more spooky book, this is one I'd recommend. It originally has a pub date on October 13, but I am now seeing November 3 on the website. One to pre-order, perfect for a rainy afternoon. 

STATS

First Published:  Translated volume 11/3/26

Pages: 111

Available as an Audio Book :  Maybe? 

Trigger Warnings: death, insomnia, psychological terror. 

(this is not a full list, read responsibly)