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Niki's Reviews > Things We Lost in the Fire
Things We Lost in the Fire
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by
Niki's review
bookshelves: horror, mystery-suspense, magical-realism, cultural, story-collection, favorites
May 15, 2024
bookshelves: horror, mystery-suspense, magical-realism, cultural, story-collection, favorites
After The Dangers of Smoking In Bed and now this, I'm convinced that Mariana Enriquez is writing specifically for me. I wish I spoke Spanish so I could read more of her backlist right here, right now. This blend of horror, stories that read exactly like urban legends, feminism, queerness, and social issues, is EXACTLY my jam.
The stories didn't all hit, but the ones that did, hit HARD; those were "The Dirty Kid", "Adela's House", "Spiderweb", "End of Term", "The Neighbor's Courtyard", and my absolute favourite, "Under the Black Water"- I loved every single second of it. It was one of those "If I could write, I would've written something like this" moments.
The other stories were also very good, but there are always those few stories in every collection that shine the brightest. You can't help but like some a little bit more.
P.S. I don't like Shirley Jackson, so I couldn't care less about comparing Mariana Enriquez to her. I still think that she's perfect for the people who tried Carmen Maria Machado and liked her themes but couldn't quite connect to her writing, though. (It's me, I'm people)
P.S. 2: Major props to the translator for clearly having done an incredible job with the stories. Megan McDowell, I'm BEGGING you to work on more of Mariana Enriquez's books. Please.
The stories didn't all hit, but the ones that did, hit HARD; those were "The Dirty Kid", "Adela's House", "Spiderweb", "End of Term", "The Neighbor's Courtyard", and my absolute favourite, "Under the Black Water"- I loved every single second of it. It was one of those "If I could write, I would've written something like this" moments.
The other stories were also very good, but there are always those few stories in every collection that shine the brightest. You can't help but like some a little bit more.
P.S. I don't like Shirley Jackson, so I couldn't care less about comparing Mariana Enriquez to her. I still think that she's perfect for the people who tried Carmen Maria Machado and liked her themes but couldn't quite connect to her writing, though. (It's me, I'm people)
P.S. 2: Major props to the translator for clearly having done an incredible job with the stories. Megan McDowell, I'm BEGGING you to work on more of Mariana Enriquez's books. Please.
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Reading Progress
May 7, 2024
–
Started Reading
May 7, 2024
– Shelved
May 15, 2024
– Shelved as:
horror
May 15, 2024
– Shelved as:
mystery-suspense
May 15, 2024
– Shelved as:
magical-realism
May 15, 2024
– Shelved as:
cultural
May 15, 2024
– Shelved as:
story-collection
May 15, 2024
– Shelved as:
favorites
May 15, 2024
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-5 of 5 (5 new)
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Jim wrote: "huh. think i'll try this since "people" like it :)ha!"
Have you read anything by the author before? (This has nothing to do with whether or not you should read the book; you should. I'm just curious)
I have not. I have anther short story collection on my to-read, but I saw a lot of bad reviews of her "Our Share of Night", which seemed like it could be intriguing, so I passed on it. 588 pages. Have you read that novel? If so, what did you think of it? If not, why not?
Jim wrote: "I have not. I have anther short story collection on my to-read, but I saw a lot of bad reviews of her "Our Share of Night", which seemed like it could be intriguing, so I passed on it. 588 pages. H..."I haven't, because it just doesn't sound interesting to me lol. Maybe I'd love it if I actually read it considering my track record with the author, but nothing about that synopsis appeals to me, let alone for 600 pages.
i'm a completist-type, so I often weigh myself down with an author's entire publishing history :)i admit the book sounds rather dull.
ha!