The Angle of Horror

Book excerpt: From Cristina Fernández Cubas, Spain's award-winning master of the short story, comes a collection of unsettling, thought-provoking, and often hilarious stories, The Angle of Horror. A socially awkward twenty-something who transforms from Jekyll to Hyde by playing the tuba; a miserly curmudgeon whose ultimate act of generosity as well as his final breath are snuffed out by a seemingly innocent grandson; a young collegian who suffers a nightmare of shadows and slants, then discovers his waking world is also horribly askew; a lonely Spaniard living abroad who seeks familiarity in a Spanish specialty shop but only finds true belonging while obsessively stalking the proprietor. These are but a few of the "angles" that Fernández Cubas constructs in these four twisted tales: "Helicon," "Grandfather’s Legacy," "The Angle of Horror," and "The Flower of Spain." Presented in critical edition and translation for the first time, these acclaimed Spanish tales are featured alongside their English translation, with historical contextualization and critical commentary by scholars Jessica A. Folkart and Michelle Geoffrion-Vinci.