“Heartfelt bizarre and unexpected. . . . At once a novel about family and love a creepy tale
that questions what it means to be human and a celebration of queer stories Monstrilio is as
shocking as it is profound and as humorous as it is thoughtful.” ―Gabino Iglesias The Boston
Globe A “wholly unique” and “uncompromising” literary horror debut about a boy who transforms
into a monster a monster who tries to be a man and the people who love him in every form he
takes (Eric LaRocca author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other
Misfortunes ) Grieving mother Magos cuts out a piece of her deceased eleven-year-old son
Santiago’s lung. Acting on fierce maternal instinct and the dubious logic of an old folktale
she nurtures the lung until it gains sentience growing into the carnivorous little Monstrilio
she keeps hidden within the walls of her family’s decaying Mexico City estate. Eventually
Monstrilio begins to resemble the Santiago he once was but his innate impulses―though curbed
by his biological and chosen family’s communal care―threaten to destroy this fragile second
chance at life. A thought-provoking meditation on grief acceptance and the monstrous sides
of love and loyalty Gerardo Sámano Córdova blends bold imagination and evocative prose with
deep emotional rigor. Told in four acts that span the globe from Brooklyn to Berlin Monstrilio
offers with uncanny clarity a cathartic and precise portrait of being human.
