Amparo Davila

Written in sharp, impressionistic prose steeped in horror, Amparo D vila's stories are tiny nightmares come to life. She is a writer obsessed with obsession, who shows, sometimes in just a few pages, that the narrow line between sanity and madness is even finer than it had seemed at first glance, and that anyone could be one false step away from their doom. Gothic, dark, surrealist, atmospheric, this newly translated selection from the author of The Houseguest "casts a delightful and disconcerting spell" (Los Angeles Times).

"A literary feast that is both heartwarming and nostalgic . . . This anthology makes the perfect companion for cozy winter evenings."--The Los Angeles TimesThis seventh installment in our beloved Very Christmas series is a celebration of the Mexican Yuletide spirit. Replete with mouthwatering Nochebuena meals, mysterious felines, multicolored boxes, marvelous sweet rolls, and many a bedside tale, A Very Mexican Christmas is sure to delight, warm, and astonish by turns. You'll find spellbinding work by some of Mexico's most important writers, including Carlos Fuentes, bestselling Laura Esquivel, and other contemporary favorites like Amparo D vila, Sandra Cisneros, Fabio Mor bito, and Carmen Boullosa, as well as fresh translations of classics by Sor Juana In s de la Cruz, Amado Nervo, and Ignacio Manuel Altamirano. Get a glimpse of how Christmas is done in a land of no snow, as well as among Mexicans living north of the border, with this sparkling assortment of literary gems that will guarantee a very feliz Navidad.With a gorgeous cover design by Cecilia Ruiz.

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.