Mouthful of birds : stories / Samanta Schweblin ; translated by Megan McDowell.

Originally published in Spanish: Random House Mondadori, 2010.

Headlights -- Preserves -- Butterflies -- Mouthful of birds -- Santa Claus sleeps at our house -- The digger -- Irman -- The test -- Toward happy civilization -- Olingiris -- My brother Walter -- The merman -- Rage of pestilence -- Heads against concrete -- The size of things -- Underground -- Slowing down -- On the steppe -- A great effort -- The heavy suitcase of Benavides.

The brilliant stories in Mouthful of Birds burrow their way into your psyche and don't let go. Samanta Schweblin haunts and mesmerizes in this extraordinary collection featuring women on the edge, men turned upside down, the natural world at odds with reality. We think life is one way, but often, it's not; our expectations for how people act, love, fear can all be upended. Each character in Mouthful of Birds must contend with the unexpected, whether a family coming apart at the seams or a child transforming or a ghostly hellscape or a murder. Schweblin's stories have the feel of a sleepless night, where every shadow and bump in the dark take on huge implications, leaving your pulse racing, and the line between the real and the strange blurs. This selection, chosen by the author, is an indispensible piece of contemporary Argentine literature.

Translated from the Spanish.