Adult

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez – Book Review

Contemporary, Horror, , Gothic

Rating

Goodreads:

4.07

Novel Fables:

5/5

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Book Review

Things We Lost in the Fire

Mariana Enríquez

5/5

Contemporary, Horror, , Gothic

(The above links for Amazon and Kobo are affiliate links & I earn a small commission if you purchase a book through them)

Things We Lost in the Fire

Mariana Enríquez

5/5

Buy a copy:

The above link(s) for Amazon and/or Kobo are affiliate links & I earn a small commission if you purchase a book through them at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.

"

“Burnings are the work of men. They have always burned us. Now we are burning ourselves. But we're not going to die; we're going to flaunt our scars.”

Synopsis

In these wildly imaginative, devilishly daring tales of the macabre, internationally bestselling author Mariana Enriquez brings contemporary Argentina to vibrant life as a place where shocking inequality, violence, and corruption are the law of the land, while military dictatorship and legions of desaparecidos loom large in the collective memory. In these stories, reminiscent of Shirley Jackson and Julio Cortázar, three young friends distract themselves with drugs and pain in the midst a government-enforced blackout; a girl with nothing to lose steps into an abandoned house and never comes back out; to protest a viral form of domestic violence, a group of women set themselves on fire. But alongside the black magic and disturbing disappearances, these stories are fueled by compassion for the frightened and the lost, ultimately bringing these characters—mothers and daughters, husbands and wives—into a surprisingly familiar reality. Written in hypnotic prose that gives grace to the grotesque, Things We Lost in the Fire is a powerful exploration of what happens when our darkest desires are left to roam unchecked, and signals the arrival of an astonishing and necessary voice in contemporary fiction.

Review

Usually, when you read a collection of short stories, there might be a couple or a few that grip you. Things We Lost in the Fire has ten short stories, and every single one sinks its claws in, and once you escape the last page, you’re left with a lasting scar that will forever haunt you.

This was darkly gripping and, at times, difficult to consume, but I could not put it down. The horrors of life, the unknown, the inability to escape, resilience, the fickle psyche. It was familiar and worlds apart from life as I know it now.

I have no words to explain how terribly dark these stories are. I can’t recommend this book enough.

Best,

Ashley

From novelfables.com

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