January Horror Book Club: I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream + Mouthful of Birds

Come join us as we discuss:

• I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Short story by Harlan Ellison
• Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
The story is set against the backdrop of World War III, where a sentient supercomputer named AM, born from the merging of the world's major defense computers, eradicates humanity except for five individuals. These survivors – Benny, Gorrister, Nimdok, Ted, and Ellen – are kept alive by AM to endure endless torture as a form of revenge against its creators. The story unfolds through the eyes of Ted, the narrator, detailing their perpetual misery and quest for canned food in AM's vast, underground complex, only to face further despair.

Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin
This is an acclaimed, surreal short story collection by Argentinian author Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell, featuring uncanny tales of fractured realities, unsettling characters (like a daughter who eats birds), and blurring lines between the normal and bizarre, often compared to Borges and Murakami for its psychological depth and dark magical realism.