Cockfight by María Fernanda Ampuero
"Cockfight" by the Equatorian writer, Maria Fernanda Ampuero, is not for the faint of heart. For an author to write good horror, they have to dare to be transgressive and name those things society is too afraid to look in the eye.
Ampuero opens her short story collection with the story of a woman who is kidnapped by a taxi to be auctioned like cattle. In order to escape she defecates in front of a crowd to remind them she is not merchandise, but a human being. This fact, as well as breaking the taboo of reminding us that everybody poops, convinces the kidnapper to release her.
From then on, the stories vibrate and jump between laughing at her own Latin American culture, as well as denouncing the wealth gap between the rich and the poor, and the ways in which the rich abuse the poor in her country.
To those looking to diversify their horror, this is the book for you.
About the Book
Named one of the ten best fiction books of 2018 by the New York Times en Español, Cockfight is the debut work by Ecuadorian writer and journalist María Fernanda Ampuero.
Author's Style
Ampuero’s writing is raw, intense, and often disturbing. Her stories are filled with vivid imagery and brutal honesty, capturing the stark realities of life in Latin America. She masterfully combines elements of horror with social commentary, creating narratives that are both haunting and thought-provoking. Ampuero’s ability to blend cultural critique with shocking, memorable scenes makes her work stand out in the genre.1
Currently, she is a student in the Stonecoast MFA program at the University of Southern Maine and the Assistant Editor for Popular Fiction in the Stonecoast Review Magazine.