Coyote Songs | Musings of the Monster Librarian

Book Links: Stoker Awards 2018 Final Ballot for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection

Well, we didn’t get all reviews for every category in before the Stoker Awards were actually announced, but I finally can provide you with links to reviews to all the books nominated for the category of Superior Achievment in a Fiction Collection. The award went to Eric J. Guignard for That Which Grows Wild on Saturday, and you can check out our review of his book, as well as those of the other nominees, by clicking on the links below. Congratulations to all the nominees, and well done, Eric!

That Which Grows Wild by Eric J. Guignard

Garden of Eldritch Delights by Lucy A. Snyder

Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias

Spectral Evidence by Gemma Files

Dark and Distant Voices by Tim Waggoner

We still have one more review of a Stoker nominee (in the Long Fiction category) to publish, so keep your eyes peeled for that and for the links to all the reviews for the nominated titles in the category of Superior Achievement in Long Fiction.

Enjoy!

Book Review: Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias

Coyote Songs by Gabino Iglesias

Broken River Books, 2018

ISBN-13: 978-1940885490

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition

Some books are difficult to review. Others are very difficult, even impossible to truly convey. Coyote Songs is a brutal beauty of a novel, a blistering read that is fascinating, and incredibly raw. Gabino Iglesias takes on one of the most controversial topics in America today– the border and immigration– viewed through the eyes of individual Latinos.

Pedrito, The Mother, The Coyote, Jamie, Alma and La Bruja– these are the voices of Coyote Songs. Each has a story to tell about the terrors of life today as a Latinx who seeks peace, safety, and acceptance here in the United States. Each speaks of his or her horrors in a manner that chills the reader. Many of the stories within are short, so I won’t summarize them in this review. However, here are a few tidbits, to intrigue the reader to pick up this book.

Pedrito is a young boy fishing with his father before tragedy strikes in the form of brutal violence and racism. The event will shape his being in a manner that readers view on the news daily. The Coyote ferries young souls across the border in the hope for a better life– but the manner in which this is accomplished will leave a scar on the reader’s soul. The other characters express emotions varying from despair to hope to terror as they maneuver through the current environment of ICE, Border Patrol, and the current American administration, forcing a lens to focus on the ordeals of the innocent souls who are attempting to simply live in America.

Gabino Iglesias tackles important issues here, that are crucial to the fabric of our nation, and reveals the gritty underbelly that many people prefer to ignore. His writing is pure. His prose is sharper than a rusted strand of barbed wire, unadorned by the language that would obscure the raw poetry underneath. These tales need to be read. This is fiction that reveals an ugly reality that we all should be aware of. Highly recommended reading, but have a drink ready for afterwards.

Reviewed by Dave Simms

Editor’s note: Coyote Songs is a nominee on the final ballot of the 2018 Bram Stoker Awards in the category of Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection.