Grief, A Fanged Monster: Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
When Santiago, an eleven-year-old with a single underdeveloped lung, passes away, his parents Magos and Joseph grieve in their own ways. Magos is driven by a fierce need to keep a piece of her son with her, and rather than settle for a traditional lock of hair, she opens him up and takes a piece of the lung that betrayed them all. An old folktale told by her mother’s “housekeeper” drives her to feed the piece of meat and to the surprise of all, it begins to grow. Welcome to the debut horror novel Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova. He’s so cute, with a face only a mother could love. This novel is split between four main characters - Magos, Joseph, Lena (Magos’s best friend who is madly in love with her), and M. The story is surreal, deeply rich, with a deep exploration of the inner lives of the four main characters. Magos insists that Monstrilio IS Santiago and this remains a central conflict throughout. Magos was perhaps my least favorite character, because she seemed so...
