Calibre 50

The stories in .50 Calibre detonate at just the right moment. Brief and incisive, they use violence, explicit or implied, to exert pressure, pose a threat and hold up a mirror. Alexey Mendoza's sentences hit their mark. Each story opens a crack, revealing characters who exist or could exist, scenes under curfew, orders obeyed, heavy silences and decisions that leave a mark.

Mendoza writes sparingly, leaving much unsaid. The book makes you fill in the gaps and face what so often passes for normal. Stark realism sits alongside flashes of strangeness and irony, with a narrative drive that never loses focus. Each story seeks to strike home, provoke thought and bring catharsis in just a few lines.

For readers of short stories and microfiction, for those who enjoy contemporary Latin American fiction, and for anyone drawn to literature that unsettles you, makes you question things and stays with you. Open .50 Calibre and discover how even the smallest story can pack an explosive charge.