Book Review - Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez

Title: Things We Lost in the Fire
Author: Mariana Enriquez
Genre: Horror/ Short stories
Published: 2016
 
Description: In these wildly imaginative, devilishly darlin 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.
 
Review: “Things We Lost in the Fire” is an intriguing collections of short stories that takes the reader into the darker side of contemporary Argentina. Mariana Enriquez weaves together political trauma, extreme poverty, and social unrest with supernatural horror and macabre elements. Although the atmosphere is consistently oppressive and compelling, the collection’s quality is rather uneven. Some tales are masterful, while others, unfortunately, didn’t really work for me.
 
“The Dirty Kid” examines the harsh reality of homeless street children in Buenos Aires. A rock-solid, gripping, and deeply unsettling opening story that immediate gets under your skin.
 
“The Inn” follows two teenagers who break into a hotel with a dark political past. An entertaining story with a great atmosphere, but it remains somewhat superficial.
 
In “The Intoxicated Years” we follow three friends growing up during the economic crisis of the 1990s. the focus is too heavily on adolescent rebellion and drugs, causing the horror climax to lack momentum.
 
Three children explore an abandoned, haunted house where a girl vanishes without a trace in “Adela’s House”. This is an absolute masterpiece, my favorite story of the collection. Terrifying, perfectly crafted and unforgettable.
 
My least favorite was “An Invocation of the Big-Eared Runt”. Here a tour guide becomes obsessed with a historical Argentine child murdered. The story feels drawn-out and lacks the suspense or depth to justify the cruelty. I didn’t like this story at all.
 
“Spiderweb” is about a young woman who travels with her insufferable husband to the countryside, where he suddenly disappears. It started promising, because the tension is palpable and you could feel that something ominous was going to happen. But the story drags too much and it felt underwhelming in the end.
 
In “End of Term” a schoolgirl exhibits extreme self-harming behavior under the influence of an invisible entity. A rather clichéd teen horror story that fails to live up to its potential.
 
The most bizarre story was “No Flesh Over Our Bones”, but also one of my favorites. A tale about a woman who becomes obsessed with a human skeleton she finds on the street. Beautifully macabre, psychological sharp, and delightfully unsettling.
 
“My Neighbor’s Courtyard” was my second favorite story. A social worker suspects her neighbor is keeping a deformed child chained up. This story offers psychological horror of the highest order; dark, layered, and deeply tragic. With a fantastic climax.
 
In “Under the Black Water” a lawyer investigates police brutality near a polluted, apocalyptic river. The Lovecraftian atmosphere is interesting, but the story ends to abruptly.
 
“Green Red Orange” is one of those stories you immediately forget about. A young man completely isolates himself in his room and communicates only through the dark web. The concept of modern isolation is relatable, but the execution remains dull.
 
“Things We Lost in the Fire” is about women setting themselves on fire en masse to protest domestic violence. A powerful, shocking concept that serves as a solid finale.
 
This short story collections has some great, stand-out stories that will haunt me for a while, but also some stories I didn’t really care for. I highly recommend this book for fans of socially critical horror, because this book has some really strong stories. But unfortunately, not all stories are good and will be easily forgotten.
 
Rating: 3/ 5