Things We Lost in the Fire
Stories
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4.5 • 31 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
The “propulsive and mesmerizing” (The New York Times) story collection by the International Booker–shortlisted author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed and Our Share of Night—now with a new short story.
The short stories of Mariana Enriquez are:
“The most exciting discovery I’ve made in fiction for some time.”—Kazuo Ishiguro
“Violent and cool, told in voices so lucid they feel spoken.”—The Boston Globe (Best Books of the Year)
Electric, disturbing, and exhilarating, the stories of Things We Lost in the Fire explore multiple dimensions of life and death in contemporary Argentina. Each haunting tale simmers with the nation's troubled history, but among the abandoned houses, black magic, superstitions, lost loves and regrets, there is also friendship, compassion, and humor. Translated by the National Book Award-winning Megan McDowell, these “slim but phenomenal” (Vanity Fair) stories ask the biggest questions of life and show why Mariana Enriquez has become one of the most celebrated new voices in global literature.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Argentine author Mariana Enriquez draws upon the collective anxiety of her home country for a group of macabre-leaning stories. Set in and around Buenos Aires, the 12 tales, each told from the perspective of women, flirt around the edges of horror conventions. The country’s violence, especially against women and children, is a repeated theme, never more so than in the closing story about women setting themselves on fire to protest domestic abuse. Enriquez never lingers, letting her suggestive language push the narrative beyond what’s said on the page. Things We Lost in the Fire dances a provocative tango with the inherent scariness of life, both real and imagined.
Customer Reviews
An Argentinian gothic classic
These stories come to life with the authors vibrant storytelling. You are transported into slums, haunted houses, deserted roads, and the psychological terror of her characters. Some stories have a stronger presence but all stay lingering far after you turn the page.