Lucas returns to his childhood home like an insect, crawling through the weeds of his mother’s dilapidated garden and scuttling through the still-loose dirt of his father’s grave. A moth, he is drawn to the lit windows of the home he was cast away from. He watches, as with multi-faceted eyes, the rot that was allowed to seep within the walls and linger there, mixed with his memories of the home that used to be his. But it no longer belongs to him — or even to what left inside who he could call family. But, he has learned, it also doesn’t belong to the dark strangers his father brought home. They may still wander the rooms and hallways, filling the air with their putrid, hot breath, but not for much longer. Lucas has returned after a long communion with the damp, dark soil of the earth and carries on his lips a holy confession, spoken to him from the bellies of worms and the fetid breaths of arachnids - this world belongs not to any beast of the earth or fowl of the air… it belongs to the ones that creepeth and crawleth below.

Natalia Garcia Freire has tackled the unsettling elements of horror with extreme skill. The words and the story flow like poetry. I was drawn in and comforted by the breathtaking prose, even as the horror unfolded across the page. Because you learn early on that Lucas hasn’t returned to play house with these now-unwelcome strangers.

The horror elements blend a tangle of earth, insects, and the dark purity of nature. Lucas has found comfort in such things and now craves he damp, earthy smells and the cool grit of fresh dirt. And once he finishes what he has come to do, to the dirt he will return.

I cannot recommend this novel enough and I will be looking forward to reading much more from this author!

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me, Ithink it’s going to be enjoyed by many others but just not me, so unfortunately not my up of tea

It took me a long time to read this book but it was totally worth ti! This earthy, lyrical and raw story is about a boy called Lucas going home after being sold into slavery as a child. His descent into madness broke my heart, and Freire's vivid writing provided an even more immersive experience. Great book.

An excellent translation from Spanish. I have read plenty speculative fiction from Latin America to recognize a well done piece when I read one. Could be more engaging.

"This World Does Not Belong to Us" by Natalia García Freire is a thought-provoking and poignant exploration of humanity's relationship with the natural world. Freire's lyrical prose invites readers into a world where the boundaries between humans and nature blur, urging us to reevaluate our place in the ecological web. Through vivid descriptions and evocative storytelling, the book illuminates the interconnectedness of all living beings and the consequences of our actions on the environment. Freire's passionate advocacy for environmental conservation resonates deeply, inspiring readers to reflect on their own role in protecting the planet. This book is a powerful call to action and a testament to the beauty and fragility of our shared world.

Original title Nuestra piel muerta translated from Spanish to English by Victor Meadowcroft. Highly unsettling, horror with lots of foreshadowing. It's much darker than I thought and insects make me squirm. The two men that arrive are grotesque, the poor boy and his unsuspecting family helpless. Years later, the boy now grown returns to his childhood home, adresses his dead father. DNF at 35%.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review

A masterpiece. I was hooked from page one. This has such beautiful prose and imagery. I have a new respect for insects. I will recommend this to everyone.

Not my cup of tea I’m afraid....I didn’t like the language or the analogy of the book...it felt very dreary and rather non-descript...perhaps a book for another time for me, just not this time...sorry.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free kindle copy to review. Apologies for taking so long to get to it.

This book of short fictional vignettes is the author's first work of fiction. It is his first work translated to English. The author is Polish and Jewish. He gives us glimpses of what it is to be the child of a survivor of the Holocaust. Some of the vignettes are of individuals who find out they are Jewish in ethnicity when a parent or grandparent dies or, in one instance, a grandparent sends them to a Jewish summer camp. Many vignettes reflect fear and experience of anti-semitism. Some tell the story of how one Jewish member of a family survived. All are short, with 4 or 5 pages the longest. Collectively they convey a sense of sadness. Some stories are written to the author, reflecting his non-fiction books and his photography work.

I thought this was well-done. It is an important book as we are seeing a rise in antisemitism.

This World Does Not Belong to Us, Natalia Garcia Freire, tr. Victor Meadowcroft

🕷 patriarchal power
🕷 degeneration & decay
🕷 insects

Dark, bizarre, surreal, this novel left me speechless. That’s probably why I waited months to review it.

Did I like it? Absolutely, every word.

What is it about? I am not sure. But let me share my impressions.

A young man obsessed with insects and decay returns to his father’s house, from which he was evicted. His father once welcomed two brutish men with open arms, because he craved their strength, but mayhem ensued. You’d expect revenge, but instead he descends into madness.

There’s a foolish patriarch, a locked-up wife/mother, a mistreated child, powerless servants, treacherous guests. There is misogyny, religious fanaticism, collective complicity. There is human depravity, which is foolish and inconsequential when pitched against nature that relentlessly reclaims everything. Then there are insects, lots and lots.

I think this is about abuse endured, trauma internalised, victimhood morphed into servitude and self abandonment.

The ending shocked and puzzled me. Pretty sure I missed all the sociopolitical references, and I couldn’t figure out the motivation of any character in this nightmarish fable, but despite the confusion, it was somehow a profoundly engaging experience.

Thank you @WorldEdBooks for this ARC.

This dark and disturbing short novel from Ecuadorian writer Natalia Garcia Freire makes for an uncomfortable read. One day two menacing strangers turn up at the childhood home of Lucas, who lives with his parents and maidservants. The two men move in and begin to take over, with Lucas’s father somehow falling under their spell. It’s never clear exactly where they have come from or what they want, which makes it all even more chilling. Lucas’ life starts to unravel, as does his mind, and when he is ultimately banished from the house, the tension mounts. The writing is powerful, with vivid imagery, and is psychologically acute. The horror slowly accumulates as we move towards the novel’s climax. Troubling and unforgettable, it’s an impressive debut novel.

Wow, this was daaaark.

If you are into disturbing horror that explores an extremely dysfunctional family relationship this is for you.

'My father. My horror'

The story is narrated in second person. As in the son talks to you, the father, who is now dead and buried in their home garden.
The main character is one like I have never read before. He is obsessed with insects, mold, and decay, Napoleon (?) and there is lots of commentary on God and religion as it is practiced.

'God's tranquility was a damned empty room'.

'The night silence shook me and spread like a rotten smell, clinging to my body and leaving it mute.'

So many metaphors, heavy with magical realism elements, and a lot of bodily fluids and purposefully disgusting imagery. It talks about mental illness, abuse, death and neglect in ways that I have truly not read before.

The descriptions of the two men who take over the house are truly unsettling. You have been warned!

I cannot say I enjoyed it but it is a book that will stick with me for a while which is why I decided that a 3,5 rating is appropriate.

'Even now that you're well and truly dead father, you are still sometimes capable of unsettling my insides.'

Overall, gut wrenching and weird. Very weird! Definitely not for everyone but I understand the appeal and the author's undeniable talent. This works was translated from the Spanish. Original title is Nuestra piel muerta. Difficult work to translate so hands off to the translator Victor Meadowcroft.

PS: I thought this was odd and funny: 'women as horrid as parsley'.

PS2: Great illustrations of various insects along with the very clever and fitting chapter titles!

Thank you Netgalley for the e-copy!

In this tale of loss and desire for revenge, both prose and story are viscerally poetic. It's an artistic debut and translation, though not for the faint of heart. A novella well suited to those with a taste for the Gothic, without the pleasure or romance.

Star rating is lower simply as a reflection of my own taste, and not of the author's accomplishment.

Ok, I’m going to be honest, this went 100% over my head and that is definitely a me problem and not a book problem. The book itself was unsettling and uncomfortable in the best possible way which is good because this was definitely out of my comfort zone.

At the heart of the story was a strife-filled relationship between Lucas and his father as he returns back to his childhood home. The hate was palpable and I kept reading in hopes that the slimy feeling would pass, but to no avail. It’s haunting, it’s dark, but so absolutely beautifully written and it truly showcases the absolute worst about people. Short but so difficult to put down.

A raw, dark, atmospheric and creepy South-American tale set in the early 20th century. A big house in the countryside, a rich family that starts to unravel when two disgusting men on horseback show up and smooth talk the father into letting them stay.

The entire book is written as an accusation, years later, of the father by the son, Lucas (who also has a morbid obsession with insects). The reasons for the downfall are gradually unveiled.

It is very well written and translated, the type of impactful little novel you'd expect to be published by Charco press. Also reminiscent of Mariana Enriquez and Fernanda Melchor.

Many thanks to World Editions for the ARC via Netgalley.

"Because I understand now that all fathers have a god inside them and look down upon their sons like clay figurines, always incomplete, wanting to create them over and over in their own image and likeness. And these fathers condemn their sons: they send plagues and floods, they issue curses, before eventually forgiving them for their own vanity. And all men on earth are nothing but cracked and timorous clay sons who wander through life, now missing an arm, now a leg, now deformed. Yet nobody sees us."

Thank you, NetGalley and World Editions for the chance to read and review This World Does Not Belong to Us.

"One would think that, having held us inside it for so long, the least this house could do would be to conspire to entrap the intruders, like a spider: spinning its web and keeping them in there until they dried out. But houses also grow old and forget."

I'm generally a fan of homes that are haunted by the people who inhabit them, and Freire has a wonderful style of writing. That being said, I found this boring and struggled to get through the 160 pages. I prefer something that has more of a plot.

" "God sees all, Lucas," is what you always used to say. But I no longer believe this. God is far too prim and proper for that. The Devil, on the other hand, must be a real voyeur. And so am I."

If there was such a thing as 'love at first page', then this would be it. Meadowcroft masterfully captured the voice of the narrator with his translation, and I couldn't help but fall in love with this book.
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As someone who enjoys psychological realism, a novel with a first-person narrator that positions itself within their inner psyche is simply the most delightful treat. What's more García Freire went further, and bewitched me with beautiful imagery and wondrous metaphors that put nature and insects, at the center of it all.
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This World Does Not Belong to Us was at times akin to a gothic tale, quite morbid. At times it was similar to an entomology study, an ode to the world of insects. At other times, it felt like a portrait of a fractured family with the relationship between the narrator Lucas and his father taking center stage. The narrative zigzagged between genres, constantly hovering over the pages and casting an unsettling shadow of words that left me mystified and enthralled.
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This book reminded me of books by Amparo Dávila and Guadalupe Nettel. The fragmented narrative also made me think of two recent reads Byobu by Ida Vitale and Brickmakers by Selva Almada. In short, this was close to perfection.
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"The memory of my mother rings out among the dead plants. Or perhaps it’s the cicadas, singing for my return."
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"There’s nothing left of us, father, except for these tiny animals attracted by the warmth surrounding death. More alive than the living who walk and talk."
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"I walked along the dark corridor with a candle between my trembling hands. My shadows flickered like those of a damaged film reel, and with every step the sound of my feet became fainter against the long, silky notes of the piano that now rang out, louder and louder, through the house."
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I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lucas speaks to his dead father. In doing so he unveils a strange and haunting story of decay and transformation - of individuals, family, the land. Natalia Garcia Freire has created a world that wraps you in it's atmosphere, which is it's magic. Her writing and Victor Meadowcroft's translation is simple and precise. It is to be savored.

A lyrical, magical, and cinematic tale of life, death, and everything that comes in between. This World Does Not Belong to Us is told through the point of view of Lucas, tracing back and forth to his return to a place he once called home and the life he once had there before everything fell apart. Freire's prose—and of course, Meadowcroft's translation—is something to behold. I'm incredibly glad this has been translated because otherwise, I wouldn't have had the privilege to read such a wonderfully raw book. I'd recommend this to everyone who is a fan of translated works, especially lyrical ones, that center only on the deepest parts of the narrator's mind.

Thank you to NetGalley and World Editions for allowing me to read this translated edition early in exchange for an honest review!

(This review is also posted on Goodreads and will be posted on my blog sometime this month!)

A weird and strangely wonderful book! Maybe more of a novella in length it is full of musings on life and death and what happens after death with the character of Lucas, an abused and troubled boy at its centre. I read it in a couple of hours, but the images and writing will stay with me for a long time.
The translator also deserves great credit as I forgot the book wasn't originally in English, and enjoyed the lyrical prose.
Thank you to netgalley and world editions for an advance copy of this book