12/01/2022
Part novel, part short story collection, this work follows six main characters in a stream-of-consciousness narrative that creates a portrait of life on the border. La Bruja recounts the horrific fate of many people trapped in the back of a truck with no air or water, slowly dying as an uncaring coyote brings them north. Alma is an artist of Black and Puerto Rican heritage who tries to express herself through her art. Coyote brings children across the border, and while doing horrific things to them, convinces himself he is doing God's work. Jaime, newly out of jail for attacking his mother's abusive white boyfriend, is once again on the run. Young Pedrito is fishing with his beloved papa but then finds himself in a house of nightmares. Night after night, The Mother gives birth to a monstrous creature, which brutalizes the local community. Narrators Amanda Alcántara, Fernando Avila, Jean-Marc Berne, Nicholas A. Ortiz, Ann Osmond, and Jane Santos each reads a different story. Listeners will appreciate their authentic voices, particularly as sections of untranslated Spanish are interwoven throughout. VERDICT First published in 2018 and now available in audio, Iglesias's (The Devil Takes You Home) haunting mix of crime, horror, and magical realism will not be easily forgotten.—Allison Gray
