April 2026 | Reading Log
I’m late with my review of the three books I finished in April, but I made it! At the end, I’ll also tell you what I’m currently reading and the new books I’ve picked up.
Si hablas español, puedes encontrar este mismo contenido en Substack.
Arderá el viento | Guillermo Saccomanno
In this novel, which received the 2025 Alfaguara Novel Prize, an unusual family moves to a small coastal town in Argentina. Their stay becomes more than just a slight change in the town’s constant landscape, gradually acting as a catalyst that unleashes the community’s pent-up emotions.
This novel presents a central question: what is it that binds a community together? The characters in Arderá el viento show on every page that the glue can be both bonds of fraternity and convenience: if things go well for you, they go well for me. However, the introduction of strange elements with the force of a moving train can put that delicate balance at risk. Then, the question becomes: what happens when impulses, resentment, and greed weave stronger threads? There is much hidden beneath the everyday life and the dunes of Saccomanno’s town.
Indeed, the novel shows how small places seem to be the genuine sum of their parts. Nevertheless, we all hide some of our desires and intentions. Some of us keep them very close to the surface. All it takes is one convinced rebel or one brave fool for every piece of the jigsaw puzzle to stop worrying about staying within its boundaries.
Arderá el viento has a plot that rushes with emotion toward its ending. However, it focuses so heavily on the story that it leaves its characters behind, as most of them feel one-dimensional.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐
In a nutshell
Contemporary novel, published in 2025.
Guillermo Saccomanno is an Argentinian writer, essayist, and screenwriter.
Available from Alfaguara (Spanish).
'The Turn of the Screw' | Henry James
In this 1898 novella, a young governess struggles to protect her two pupils from terrifying presences haunting them in an isolated mansion in the English countryside. Or, at least, that’s what she believes. This work by Henry James is considered iconic among Victorian supernatural fiction, as well as an impeccable example of psychological horror.
As a direct product of the way of life of its era, social conventions dominate communal life in this story. What people are allowed to say—or even think—is shaped by what respectable society considers appropriate. Not even genuine and profound concern for others is looked upon favorably: anything that exceeds what is established must be repressed. But in the end, what remains unspoken carries inexorable consequences.
On the other hand, James’ story is a cautionary tale about the traps of interpretation. Are the children of Bly Manor really as charming as they seem? What do the figures their governess sees around them want? Are the threats looming over the innocent real, or merely perceived? There is no doubt this is a brilliant example of the magic of an unreliable narrator. With each passing day, our protagonist perceives another event transformed into danger, another fear materializing. Chapter after chapter, we understand more clearly the spirit behind the title 'The Turn of the Screw': the mind has the power to transform details into tension, like a screw being tightened, tightened, and tightened again.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐
In a nutshell
Gothic novella, published in 1898.
Henry James was an American British writer regarded as a transitional figure between realism and modernism in English literature. 'The Turn of the Screw' is considered his masterpiece, renowned for its ambiguity and multiple interpretations. It has been adapted for theater, film, and television. The show 'The Haunting of Bly Manor', developed by Mike Flanagan, is its most recent iteration.
Available from Alma (Spanish); Bantam Classics, Union Square & Co., and others (English).
'Night Shift' | Stephen King
There are numerous short story collections by Stephen King. 'Night Shift' holds a special place among them for several reasons. It was the first, published in 1978, only a few years after the author’s literary debut. It gathers stories previously published in magazines, along with some unpublished ones, for a total of 20.
It also offers a glimpse into the versatility of horror in Stephen King’s hands, since there is something here for every kind of horror reader. From an army of toy soldiers settling scores with a hitman, to an encounter with the boogeyman himself. Likewise, it stands out for including famous stories within King’s canon, such as 'Children of the Corn'. It also features stories connected to others, like 'Night Surf', which became the seed of the novel 'The Stand', or 'Jerusalem’s Lot' and 'One for the Road', which serve respectively as a prequel and a sequel to 'Salem’s Lot'.
Each of these stories stands out for a specific reason. Some are particularly peculiar and original, like 'The Mangler', in which an accident turns an industrial laundry machine into a killing machine, or 'The Lawnmower Man', which shows us that lawn care can become a deadly service when the owner of the business is none other than the god Pan. Others are especially twisted. In 'Sometimes They Come Back', a man confronts the revived bullies of his childhood through, let’s say, unconventional methods. 'The Man Who Loved Flowers' invites us to distrust strangers, even if they carry the dreamy expression of a man in love.
'Night Shift' works perfectly as an introduction to Stephen King’s creativity and his exploration of the many corners of what frightens us. It is the first of his short story anthologies that I’ve read—my tenth reading experience with King—and it leaves me eager to explore the rest.
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In a nutshell
Horror short story collection, published in 1978.
American author Stephen King is probably the most famous and prolific contemporary horror writer. He has written nearly 70 novels, 13 short story collections, and five nonfiction works.
Available from Vintage (English) and DeBolsillo (Spanish).
Books I’m Reading
Right now, I’m reading two recent purchases. On one hand, 'Bunny', by Mona Awad: a dark comedy with horror elements about an intriguing group of college girls who capture the attention of the socially awkward protagonist. I must admit, without a shred of shame, that I bought it because of what I call 'pink marketing'. Just look at how pretty that cover is:
On the other hand, I’m reading 'Elizabeth', by Ken Greenhall. This is one of those hallmark books from the golden age of horror paperbacks between the 1970s and 1980s, now returning to bookstores to tell an urban gothic story through the eyes of a cold and calculating protagonist who, to top it all off, is a 14-year-old girl.
New Books
Besides 'Bunny' and 'Elizabeth', I recently bought three more books. As part of my interest in the anatomy of horror fiction, I picked up the revised 2010 edition of 'Danse Macabre': Stephen King’s analysis of horror across different media and how the genre reflects the social fears of its time. In the same realm, I bought another reissued seventies horror novel: 'Burnt Offerings', by Robert Marasco, which recounts the experiences of a family who, hoping to escape New York City during the summer, rents an isolated house on Long Island.
Additionally, I’ve added another title to my budding DK collection: 'An Anthology of Extraordinary Birds'. As far as I’m concerned, anything about the only living descendants of dinosaurs is worth reading.
Si hablas español, puedes encontrar este mismo contenido en Substack.
