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| Cover Image courtesy of Mulholland Books |
The Devil Takes You Home, by Gabino Iglesias is an intense and dark read about a man who deals with loss by burying himself in the shady life of a hit man. It’s a well written piece, and it takes some wild curves that rely on religious superstition to justify the weirder aspects of it. The main characters are also bilingual, so if trying to decipher passages of Spanish text bothers you, be forewarned.
I personally find the Spanish a challenge in a good way. First, it lends authenticity to the characters of Mario and Juanca in particular. Second, it gives me a chance to judge my progress in Duolingo, and I’m happy to report that I got the gist of what was being said. Most of the time. When I didn’t, I decided I was experiencing the story like the other gringo characters, and that could be considered important too.
The weirder aspects of the story, without spoilers, involve blessings and curses and devil magic, and they didn’t always land well with me —there’s often a fine line when it comes to suspending disbelief in stories like this—and sometimes I was scratching my head. In retrospect the supernatural horror elements are laid out in a way that connects the threads of weirdness, but I was definitely pausing to determine what was going on, on occasions.
Also, there’s not a lot to like about the main characters, with exception to their loss. If you need a main character to root for, you won’t find it here. This story is gritty and rough and it deals with how we get through loss, so it’s an interesting take on it from a horror perspective. And, of course, sometimes taking a ride with extremely flawed characters gives us a new perspective on things. Take the show Breaking Bad for example. This story brings us into a world of drug cartels and border crossings and Mexican gangsters doing heinous things, so if you like those kinds of stories, then you’ll want to check this one out.
Find it here, or wherever your favorite books are sold.
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