Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez

58 reviews

patriciamadariaga's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

While not every story in it is equally good, it is a fantastic book as a whole. 

The horror in love and in the lack thereof, in our bodies and those of other people, in growing up or failing to do so, and in the everyday ghosts of poverty, violence, and sexism, are beautifully woven against the inescapable background of recent Argentinian history.

The precision in her language and the fact that she knows exactly when to end a tale makes Enriquez one of my favorite authors in this genre.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Self harm, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

maruchan's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Blood

snowiceblackfruit77's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

moadlc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

As a latine, these stories reminded me a lot of the Classic spanish stories we were forced to read in high school. Everything was a tragic tale of woe and an endless cast of sad characters. Each story was creative, modern and interesting, yet had no ending or resolution. Overall, it left me frustrated and sad, which if that was the intention of the author, then great. Yet, I think that it being so pessimistic is a disservice to the wonderful magical realism and intriguing storylines in each story. Though, I understand the stereotypes and real world concerns that the author wants to play with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Abortion, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

gossamer_lens's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Overall a creepy and interesting short story collection. The below are my ratings for each short story. My rating for the book is the average of these:

3.75 - The Dirty Kid
4.25 - The Inn
2.75 - The Intoxicated Years
4.5 - Adela's Hours
5 - An Invocation of the Big-Eared Runt
3.5 - Spiderweb
4.75 - End of Term
4 - No Flesh Over Our Bones
4.25 - The Neighbot's Courtyard
3.5 - Under the Black Water
2.75 - Green Red Orange 
4.75 - Things We Lost in the Fire

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

emilyseebold's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Torture, Xenophobia, Vomit, Trafficking, and War

Minor: Eating disorder and Homophobia

maw's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

erishti's review against another edition

This book was hard to read... there were so many themes of drug abuse and sex... and I think it made me realize that as a cis guy reading stories about lesbians is difficult because I am obviously not a woman and can't really understand what it's like... but what do I know haha.

The main reason I stopped reading is because I had to return it to my library ngl

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Murder

maxgdy's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abortion

kerishma's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail