Well, it was
the title that caught my eye: The
Decapitated Chicken and Other Stories by Horacio Quiroga. Who could resist?
My eye caught the title when it was mentioned in a post on a friend’s Facebook
page. I had to investigate. At first I thought it was a joke, particularly when
I heard it described as a classic of Spanish literature. But yes, it is.
The book is a
collection of short stories written by Horacio Quiroga, who was born in Uruguary, and spent much of
his adult life “across the river” in Buenos Aries. His passion however
was for the far north Misiones region of Argentina (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misiones_Province
). The Misiones is a tropical environment, the edge of the vast jungle that
dominates much of central South America. It’s called the Misiones because it
was “founded” by Jesuit missionaries – Pope Francis incidentally, from Argentina, is a
Jesuit.
There are 12
short stories in the collection, best categorized as gothic.
All will unnerve you. Many of Quiroga’s stories have lead
characters that are animals. Imagine Charlotte’s Web or Animal Farm, but written
by Edgar Allan Poe. Another three or four of the selections detail individuals at death’s door. The Raven would have many friends in Quiroga's works.
The Decapitated Chicken, the title
story, is short. It involves allegedly
human characters, and is utterly gruesome.This is not bed-time reading, but I
can’t tell you why without giving a spoiler alert. There is also superb a short
story about a boy named Juan Darien who is actually a tiger. He returns to his tiger
self after being witch-hunted in his village.
My favorite from
the collection is Anaconda, though now having read it I’ll probably have
nightmares for years. It details the convening of a Congress of snakes and
vipers (yes, there is apparently a difference) to devise a plan of attack
against four humans who are plotting against them, trying to make the jungle
safe for humans. The Congress includes
an Anaconda, the “top dog” among South American snakes, and a King Cobra, transplanted
from India, who plays the same role in the “vipers” contingent. They will eventually battle for control.
Talking
animals or not, Anaconda is neither a children’s book nor a zoology study.The book is an allegory on the political history
of the region, in much the same way as Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, or
even The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. I
must confess however that South American political history is not one of my
strong suits. And in all honesty, I’d
much rather be tied down by a bunch of Lilliputans than surrounded by snakes
and vipers.
Recommendation: If one a student of Spanish language
literature, yes; if one is an Edgar Allan Poe fan, definitely; but if one has a
problem with snakes and vipers, maybe not.
ummmm. Save that one for me!
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