Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego by Mariana Enríquez

25 reviews

noel_b's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A creepy collection of stories that are unsettling, sometimes disgusting, and always, always vivid. Every story goes to a different part of Argentina and explores a different version of life at its margins.

Most of the stories have a gothic feel to them and the prose (at least in Spanish) managed to describe my home country in a way that felt both familiar and alien. Comforting and disturbing. The author knows exactly how to latch on to the shadows we tend to look over, and make them deeper, darker, impossible to ignore. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, and Cannibalism

chiaralzr's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Murder

patricia_epub's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, and Grief

pseudoliterature's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Story collections tend to be a bit tedious if you read them wrong, the magic trick here is to read not more than 2 stories in one sitting. I've seen people finish these type of books in a day (if you like to binge read short stories you do you, I applaud your ability, I just have adhd), and i think short stories work better when you have a clear mind, you have to take a small pause between stories or they might blend in your mind. Read two stories, go for a cup of tea, watch a YouTube video, and then continue for another two chapters. 
Besides that, I had a great time, the atmosphere of this book is so familiar to me, i grew up in a very similar place that some people in this book and I have to tell you, the amount of anxiety i had thanks to those stories was more than I expected.
I wouldn't categorise this book as horror or a thriller, it's more of a tense suspense leaning read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Blood

surefinewhatever_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

 I find short story collections to be really challenging, but this one held my attention like no other book has for probably 2 months. The stories were compelling and spooky and I felt invested! My only criticism is that which I always have for short story collections, and it’s the meandering ending many of these stories have. I just found myself constantly wanting more, and that’s not a bad thing, I just left feeling unsatisfied. Would absolutely read more work by Enriquez, and would love to see a full length horror novel from her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Self harm

Minor: Child abuse and Pedophilia