Haunting Realities in “Human Sacrifices” https://ift.tt/XxGV78C
In Human Sacrifices, Ecuadorian writer Maria Fernanda Ampuero explores issues of social inequality through her gripping horror collection centered on Latina womanhood. Set against backdrops of immigrant struggles and crumbling tropical infrastructures, Ampuero’s exquisite writing explores the nuances of the Latina experience in her home country and abroad. On the surface, this collection offers a unique take on a collection of short fictional horror. But, at its core, Human Sacrifices represents the haunting realities that many women may recognize as their own.
Ampuero’s characters and settings are profoundly flawed, even grotesque. This raw realism succeeds in creating stories that are relatable in their sadness and desperation. Yet, the women in these pages don’t ask for our pity. The protagonists of these stories assert their resilience and agency despite their immense burdens and often violent traumas. Notably, each of Ampuero’s disturbing stories represents a different kind of horror. Within this collection of stories is a diverse ensemble of monsters – from ignored girls indulging in a necrophiliac rebellion in “Chosen” to the violent and alcoholic husband in “Lorena” to the fear of the Other in “Invaders,” each monster is disturbing. Yet Ampuero amplifies the horror by framing these creatures as a manifestation of societal problems and the inescapable cruelties of life.
Ampuero opens the collection with “Biography,” a harrowing story of an undocumented woman in America. Driven by desperation and the promise of a future-saving financial opportunity, she accepts a job opportunity from Alberto, a stranger living halfway across a country she doesn’t know. The narrator explains why she must take such a risk: “We undocumented immigrants have to hold our brightly colored bills close to our chests, warming them against our hearts, treating them as if they were our children. We give birth to them with a wrenching pain the body doesn’t soon forget.” Upon arriving at Alberto’s home, she instantly realizes her mistake when she’s held hostage and terrorized by her captor’s dogs. Her dread increases when she discovers vestiges of other immigrant women who likely had met grim fates. “See me, see me. Tiny thing in a big world, a human sacrifice, nothing,” the narrator says, referencing both the collection’s title and theme: for the elite to maintain their comfort and power, sacrifices must be made: the female, the poor, the undocumented, the invisible. Repeated throughout the story is our unnamed narrator’s silent plea, “See me, see me,” emphasizing the invisibility of the undocumented woman’s experience.
In “Sister,” Ampuero explores the nuanced horrors of girlhood, pairing the trauma of typical childhood bullying with a disturbing paranormal twist. This story captures the paradox of girlhood in a culture that values beauty and thinness above all – if one is too fat, she must fear being unloved, but if she is slender, she must fear becoming fat. Our young narrator observes, “Fat girls live on lies. Starving girls live on helplessness. Lonely girls live on pain. Girls always, always, always feed off the abyss.” This story revolves around two cousins, one slender and pretty, and our narrator, who does not fit society’s beauty standards. Their family exacerbates their differences by celebrating one’s thinness while shaming the other’s imperfections.
The dynamic shifts with the introduction of Mariela, a strange, meek girl who becomes a hanger-on of the slender cousin. While considered inferior by the slender cousin, Mariela is partially forgiven as she appears to have money. She lives in a crumbling mansion with an algae-filled pool, which becomes the girls’ favorite haunt. One night, the slender cousin proposes a game – the Ouija board and the usually subservient Mariela refuses. Overruled, the girls play and unwittingly awaken an unearthly presence – one that Mariela seems to be expecting – and one that wants to feed on our starving, slender girl. Through this unexpected climax, Ampuero highlights a cruel reality – even when women adhere to societal ideas, they still risk being consumed, underscoring the no-win situation many women will recognize.
For readers seeking horror short stories in the company of contemporary Latina horror writers like Samanta Schweblin, Ampuero’s voice adds a chilling feminist perspective to the genre. Published in Spanish in 2021, Frances Riddle’s English translation brings Human Sacrifices to the global audience it deserves.
Human Sacrifices
By María Fernanda Ampuero
Translated by Frances Riddle
Feminist Press
Published May 16, 2023
0 Commentaires