Following the "propulsive and mesmerizing" ( New York Times Book Review ) Things We Lost in the Fire comes a new collection of singularly unsettling stories, by an Argentine author who has earned comparisons to Shirley Jackson and Jorge Luis Borges.
Mariana Enriquez has been critically lauded for her unconventional and sociopolitical stories of the macabre: populated by unruly teenagers, crooked witches, homeless ghosts, and hungry women, they walk the uneasy line between urban realism and horror. The stories in her next collection are as terrifying as they are socially conscious, and press into being the unspoken -- fetish, illness, the female body, the darkness of human history -- with unsettling urgency. A woman is sexually obsessed with the human heart; a lost, rotting baby crawls out of a backyard and into a bedroom; a pair of teenage girls can't let go of their idol; an entire neighborhood is cursed …
Following the "propulsive and mesmerizing" ( New York Times Book Review ) Things We Lost in the Fire comes a new collection of singularly unsettling stories, by an Argentine author who has earned comparisons to Shirley Jackson and Jorge Luis Borges.
Mariana Enriquez has been critically lauded for her unconventional and sociopolitical stories of the macabre: populated by unruly teenagers, crooked witches, homeless ghosts, and hungry women, they walk the uneasy line between urban realism and horror. The stories in her next collection are as terrifying as they are socially conscious, and press into being the unspoken -- fetish, illness, the female body, the darkness of human history -- with unsettling urgency. A woman is sexually obsessed with the human heart; a lost, rotting baby crawls out of a backyard and into a bedroom; a pair of teenage girls can't let go of their idol; an entire neighborhood is cursed to death by a question of morality they fail to answer correctly.
Written against the backdrop of contemporary Argentina, and with resounding tenderness towards those in pain, in fear, and in limbo, this new collection from one of Argentina's most exciting writers finds Enriquez at her most sophisticated, and most chilling.
Review of 'The Dangers of Smoking in Bed' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
Fantastique in small bits just doesn’t stick in the same way… it needs time to root around in the cellar, grimed with soot, thick dust, and cobwebs before turning sharp black.
Fantastique in small bits just doesn’t stick in the same way… it needs time to root around in the cellar, grimed with soot, thick dust, and cobwebs before turning sharp black.
Review of 'The Dangers of Smoking in Bed' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This is a 3.5 rounded up. Short stories aren’t really my thing, though I keep reading them. I have read some collections that really work for me, they’re just rare.
As bizarre as it is, I think “Where Are You, Dear Heart?” is probably my favorite. It was such a well executed experience.
I think another favorite is The Well. I could see where it was going but it almost increased the horror for me.
The writing is great, but sometimes the stories felt like they took a while to get going or there wasn’t enough there, which is what I often feel about short stories.
