As the world grows more and more deranged, I find myself seeking the most bizarre, oppressive, incomprehensible horror available. But there’s something strangely comforting about horror like Amparo Dávila’s. Stories that seem mostly normal, albeit odd, until something twists at the last moment and you’re left wondering. Seeing things in the corner of your vision, shadows on the walls, yawning eye sockets. Dávila’s writing makes the terrifying feel quiet, almost intimate.
Behind the Gate by Amparo Davila, (List Price: $16.95, New Directions, 9780811240581, October 2026)
Reviewed by Charlie, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA