Piñata: A Novel

by Leopoldo Gout

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

This novel was originally written as a movie script. However, in the hands of Gout, a filmmaker as well as writer, your imagination will get the best of you here.

A Best Horror Book of the Year (Esquire)!

A Head Full of Ghosts meets Mexican Gothic in Piñata, a terrifying possession tale by author and artist Leopoldo Gout.

It was supposed to be the perfect summer.

Carmen Sanchez is back in Mexico, supervising the renovation of an ancient abbey. Her daughters Izel and Luna, too young to be left alone in New York, join her in what Carmen hopes is a chance for them to connect with their roots.

Then, an accident at the worksite unearths a stash of rare, centuries-old artifacts. The disaster costs Carmen her job, cutting the family trip short.

But something malevolent and unexplainable follows them home to New York, stalking the Sanchez family and heralding a coming catastrophe. And it may already be too late to escape what’s been awakened…

They were worshiped by our ancestors.

Now they are forgotten.

Soon, they’ll make us remember.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250781192
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/20/2024
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	137,158
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

A visual artist, filmmaker, and writer who hails from Mexico City, LEOPOLDO GOUT studied sculpture at Central St. Martins School of Art in London. His work belongs to multiple collections and has been in exhibitions all over the world. After finishing his studies, Gout’s creativity extended into writing, television, and film. He is the author of the books Ghost Radio and the award-winning Genius YA trilogy, and the fable for all ages, Monarca.

Editorial Reviews

12/19/2022

A family unit slowly comes apart under the influence of an ancient power in this inventive if not entirely immersive horror novel from Gout (the Genius series). Mexican American architect and single mother Carmen Sánchez hopes a business trip to Mexico to oversee the transformation of an old cathedral into a posh hotel will be an opportunity for her daughters, Izel and Luna, to learn about their roots. Then an accident at the construction site reveals a hidden cache of pre-Hispanic artifacts behind one of the church walls and costs Carmen her position. Before the family flies back to New York, Luna sneaks onto the work site and steals a piñata, a clay pot used to hold offerings, from the cache of artifacts—with devastating consequences. Once home, Carmen begins to have unsettling dreams and visions of hideous corpses and the deaths of those around her pile up. Now Carmen must set aside her skepticism about the supernatural to save her family—and the world—from disaster. Gout puts a unique twist on a classic possession story by incorporating Indigenous Mexican lore into the gory plot, but the overly expository prose, which descends into tedious info-dumping between frights, and often stilted dialogue keep this from fulfilling its potential. It’s flawed, slow-burning horror. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

"Piñata is a slow-burning story of corruption and cosmic revenge that makes a nice alternative to same old same old scuffles with crosses and holy water."

—Esquire

“With Piñata, Leopoldo Gout reminds us how Pre-Columbian Mexican magic is still present, and the only thing we have to do is to listen and tune into that frequency. Piñata is a magnificent novel and dances in a very original and Mexican way alongside the greats such as Stephen King or Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist.”

—Carlos Bardem, author of Badaq and Mongo Blanco

“Gout puts a unique twist on a classic possession story by incorporating Indigenous Mexican lore into the gory plot.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Piñata is a fast-paced horror story that draws on history to give it a depth and sense of scale that similar stories often lack. And by incorporating real-world violence into the plot, Gout elevates the novel into something much more than it needs to be to succeed as a possession story.”

—The Los Angeles Review of Books

“Gout succeeds in presenting a thought-provoking, violent, and immersive revenge-horror story and excels in restoring the rich history of an erased people.”

—Library Journal

“This creepy, fast-paced read brings a fresh voice to horror…. Fans of Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones, and V Castro will devour this bloody tale of vengeful spirits and the dark legacy of colonialism.”

—Booklist

From the Publisher

02/01/2023

A New York architect originally from Mexico, Carmen Sanchez jumps at the chance to oversee the renovation of an old Mexican church into a hotel and bring her daughters along for the summer. However, from the start of their trip, an angry force seems drawn to Luna, the younger daughter. When the renovations open up a hidden room, revealing an ancient piñata made of pottery and filled with viscera that was part of the complex religious practices of the conquered Nahua civilization, a wronged spirit is able to seep out into the modern world with very real consequences. The novel's omniscient narration allows the characters and historical details to realistically build, laying a strong foundation for the dread that permeates every page. Gout (Ghost Radio) succeeds in presenting a thought-provoking, violent, and immersive revenge-horror story and excels in restoring the rich history of an erased people. VERDICT A great choice for readers who enjoy novels where the true horrors of colonization and human-rights atrocities are corrected in gruesomely riveting fashion while retaining the utmost respect to the victims, as seen in the works of V. Castro, Stephen Graham Jones, and Tananarive Due.—Becky Spratford

Library Journal