Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez

66 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

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

doriandelioncourt's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury

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

zmeiat's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, 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

lilyane's review against another edition

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

akira_outofthegravity's review

informative mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Unlike Dangers of Smoking in Bed, this collection is a lot more political- which is not a bad thing!! But I feel like I am missing context for the stories due to not understanding the political landscape they’re set in.

That being said, all of the stories have merit. There were none that I disliked- which is rare. I’ll add my top 3 later. Also unlike DOSIB the titular story is one of the best. Beautifully written, gloriously gory, a good time all round!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Classism

Minor: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

aprilyvonne's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Things We Lost in the Fire” by Mariana Enríquez was another unsettling, captivating, and uniquely feminist collection of macabre short stories. I first read “The Dangers of Smoking in Bed” about two years ago and I’m still struck by the strange stories that come to mind every now and then. 

This book was truly another example of a unique reading experience. It’s always hard to put into words something so grotesque, and yet, also mesmerizing. I’m still processing the stories, but the few that stood out are Adela’s House, Under the Black Water, End of Term, and Things We Lost in the Fire. Many of the stories and characters will likely haunt for a long time. I loved how the author could incorporate such themes of poverty, police brutality, women facing off the patriarchy, alongside the darker side of humanity. 

If you enjoy the dark, creepy, and daring, then this will be for you. Otherwise, be fair warned that it’s not for the faint of heart. 

***

“Burnings are the work of men. They have always burned us. Now we are burning ourselves. But we’re not going to die; we’re going to flaunt our scars.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism