Things We Lost in the Fire was my second read for Hispanic Heritage Month this year.
Original Title:
Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego
Edition:
Digital library loan
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.
Awards:
- Premi Ciutat de Barcelona for Literatura en lengua castellana (2017)
My Thoughts:
I don’t often vibe with the whole ‘this author is reminiscent of that author’ schtick, but sometimes it just fits. Enríquez’s style definitely brings to my mind Shirley Jackson’s writing. It has that same sort of slow-burning intensity with a decidedly feminist bent. These horrors are not the kind that jump out and scare you – they’re more the kind that build up a strong sense of slow and creeping dread the longer you sit with them.
The Stories:
The Dirty Kid
A woman has a very strange series of encounters with a young homeless boy and his mother.
The Inn
Florencia helps her friend try to exact revenge on the hotelier who fired her father.
The Intoxicated Years
A group of teenage girls distract themselves from their troubled lives with drugs and other rebellious behavior.
Adela’s House
A young girl’s older brother and his girlfriend become obsessed with an abandoned house.
The Invocation of the Big-Eared Runt
A ghost tour host becomes obsessed with the subject of one of his tales.
Spiderweb
An unhappily married woman decides she must finally introduce her husband to her family.
End of Term
Something is making Marcela behave in exceedingly violent and self-destructive ways.
No Flesh Over Our Bones
A woman becomes increasingly obsessed with a skull she found discarded on the street. This one should maybe come with a trigger warning for ED. It’s not explicit, but it is certainly implied.
The Neighbor’s Courtyard
Paula and Miguel get a deal on a rental home that seems too good to be true – and you know what they say about deals like that…
Under the Black Water
This story deals with police corruption and brutality. Cops regularly throw street kids in the river to scare them when they aren’t willing or able to make deals with them. This time, only one makes it out, but he’s changed.
Green Red Orange
A depressed man shuts himself away and disappears into the dark web leaving his loved ones to try to cope with the loss of someone who is, at least physically, still there.
Things We Lost in the Fire
Oh. My. Glob. This fucking story is so perfect. It’s terrifying and also sort of beautiful. It explores a reality in which women will go to unbelievable lengths to regain some agency from the men that have hurt them or who want to hurt them.
Overall Rating:
I highly recommend checking out this collection if you like your stories filled to the brim with uncomfortable, creeping horror that will live at the forefront of your brains for days after you finish reading.
About the Author:
Mariana Enríquez is an Argentine journalist and writer.
She holds a degree in Social Communication from Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Mariana has worked as a journalist and columnist in graphic media. She has also worked in radio.
Additionally, she has served as a jurist in literary competitions and has given writing workshops at the Fundación Tomás Eloy Martínez.
About the Translator:
Megan McDowell doesn’t have a robust internet presence, apparently. She has translated many Spanish language works, however.
Things We Lost in the Fire Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego By: Mariana Enríquez Translated by: Megan McDowell Hogarth Press ISBN: 045149511X Published: February 21, 2017 Originally Published: February 10, 2016 Hardcover, E-book, Audiobook 208 Pages
