“It was an incredible year for horror. Here are 10 great titles that stood out,” he clarified. Gabino Iglesias, writer and literary critic, to the portal The New York Times He added: “There were a ton of incredible horror books published in 2023, and as a genre, horror offered a lot: from remakes of vampire stories to historical works examining racism and misogyny. That made Selecting just 10 titles for this list is a formidable task.. So he considers this as a personal pantheon of favorites from 2023 onwards.”
Over the weekend, the New York newspaper’s literary contributor, Gabino Iglesias, had the responsibility of developing a top ten books on the theme of horror and terror. A tradition that the publication carries out at the end of the year with books of different genres, along with other lists linked to cinema and music. The choice of the Puerto Rican writer to assume responsibility for the payroll is not arbitrary; last year his novel “The Devil Takes You Home” got andl Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association.
“Some of the books on this list are easy reads and others will challenge you. Some are long and multi-layered, while others have a great sense of humor or unfold at breakneck speed. Some adhere to a classic understanding of horror and others seek to redefine it. The important thing is that they are all outstanding,” Iglesias announced. The curious fact, and at the same time anecdotal, is the appearance of two Argentine writers and horror references in the recommendations.
Among these extraordinary texts, occupying fifth place, is “The hatchery” of Gustavo Abrevaya, translated by Andrea G. Labinger as “The sanctuary” for the Schaffner publishing house. The novel by the Argentine writer, which has several reissues in the country and in Spain, was awarded in 2003 with the Boris Spivacow Award and published just this year in English for the North American market. “In the era of State terrorism, horror novels for me were like our daily bread, I told my friends that I preferred Dracula all my life before Videlawhich I maintain,” the author and psychiatrist born in 1952 told TELAM.
“Part mystery and part horror, “The Sanctuary”by the Argentine author Gustavo Eduardo Abrevaya, is a short, sharp, and claustrophobic novel about a man searching for his missing wife in a small town in the middle of nowhere. An incessant existential dread drips from the pages, but the emotional turmoil of its main character keeps you glued to the story and longing for a happy ending,” he criticized the NYT and added: “The Sanctuary is a sample of cosmic black horror that deserves a place on your shelf next to greats like Thomas Ligotti, John Langan and Laird Barron.”
On the other hand, Mariana Enriquez She was the next national author, closing the list of horror books of 2023. “‘Our part at night’, by Mariana Enríquez, is an epic, intricate and intense, 600-page novel that jumps back and forth in time to tell the tale. The story of a tormented man who tries to protect his son from an evil sect,” Iglesias described and concluded: “The story Enríquez crafts is strange and wonderful, dark, with a magnificent atmosphere and stellar writing. Shocking cruelty, gruesome rituals, an elaborate magical system, and the brutality of the Argentine military dictatorship and its aftermath share center stage here, and the mix is intoxicating.”
The bestseller by Mariana Enríquez, translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell, with the title in English “Our share of the night” maintains an outstanding journey inaugurated in 2019 with its launch as Herralde Novel Prize of that year. Furthermore, a few weeks ago the book was included by the Time magazine on the list of The 100 best books published in the United States in 2023, becoming the only Argentine work to integrate this top of literary recommendations.
Finally, the list of the American newspaper is completed with the books “Silver nitrate”, by Silvia Moreno García; “Lone women”, by Víctor Lavalle; “Human sacrifices”, by María Fernanda Ampuero; “The salt grows heavy,” by Cassandra Khaw; “What Kind of Mother,” by Clay McLeod Chapman; “The Insatiable Volt Sisters,” by Rachel Eve Moulton; “No one will come back for us and other stories”, by Premee Mohamed; and “Black sheep”, by Rachel Harrison.
Image gallery
