Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez

67 reviews

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

ajlct's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-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? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

carolinacortez's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

"Lo miro como una bruja, como una asesina, como si tuviera poderes." 

Nunca había leído a Mariana Enriquez, y me lleve una increíble sorpresa, como saben yo soy cero de cosas de terror (por qué soy súper miedosa) pero está antología de cuentos hiso que me diera cuenta que a veces vale la pena asustarse para saber el final de las historias. 

El parque de la casa se llenaba de sombras, que corrían, que saludaban burlonas 

Me encantó que el terror de Mariana no sólo radica en un 'scare jump' o en fantasmas, ella lleva el terror a la cotidianidad, el terror del día a día, dónde la protagonista siempre es femenina, nos lleva a conocer la mente de las personas, sus miedos, lo que estamos dispuestos a hacer por la libertad, el internet, la voz que tenemos en nuestras mentes, etc.

"¿No los escuchas?¿No escuchas los tambores de ese culto de muertos? 

Uno de los mejores libros que he leído este año.

PD. Mi relato favorito fue el último (el que le da su título al libro) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Blood, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Minor: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

2.5

This was more engaging than the last of Mariana Enriquez's books that I read, but the removal of womens' agency explored, especially in the last piece, even as done through an attempt to radically assert that agency, was more unsettling than I expect. I also was not a fan of the trope of using disabilities or injuries to define people as monstrous.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

isarza's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

3.5 estrellas porque no me gustaron todos los cuentos pero en general creo que disfruté leer a esta autora. 
Mis cuentos favoritos fueron "la casa de Adela", "nada de carne sobre nosotras", "bajo el agua negra". "Bajo el agua negra" me recordó a Lovecraft y me gustó esta referencia. 
Quisiera leer "los peligros de fumar en la cama" que dicen que es aún mejor. 

Odié el final de "el patio del vecino" Trigger warning por tener escenas de maltrato animal. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, and Blood

Minor: Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Rape, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

katievh's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, and Classism

Minor: Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Transphobia, Murder, and Pregnancy

lynxpardinus's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and War

paginasmarcadas's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

Si bien me gustó, algunas de las historias me dejaron esperando más. Sobre todo las del principio se sienten como largas descripciones de una sola escena antes que un cuento completo. Va se flojo a mejor, los últimos me parecieron mucho más interesantes y los temas son variados, siempre con una impronta muy clara de su escritura que con solo una oración te revuelve las tripas.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Eating disorder and Excrement

cass_lit's review against another edition

2.25

Nope. This was not for me. I have two major issues:
1) The format. These were short stories that didn’t seem interconnected, but most (I think at least one wasn’t) were told in first person. This means as soon as you figure out who your narrator is, because there’s no omniscient one to tell you, you’re moving onto another narrator. I don’t dislike short stories or essays as a rule, but this one really didn’t work for me. 
2) The content. What the fuck. I get that it’s macabre intentionally and meant to reflect the horror of reality, but when these topics are brought up in short stories like this without the space to discuss them… it just feels exploitative. 

Some examples, though I’m sure I’m forgetting a few (*trigger and spoiler warnings ahead*): child abuse, child rape, child murder, child neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, rape, murder, abuse, animal cruelty (including eating of a live cat), use of the r-word and racist/xenophobic/classist language. And again — I get that these are unfortunately real horrors sometimes (or are meant to represent other real issues), but *I* don’t like when there’s no discussion on them apart from their shock value. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Excrement, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Police brutality, and Classism

Minor: Lesbophobia and Gaslighting

anpen's review against another edition

4.0

mis favoritas:
- Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego
- Verde rojo anaranjado
- Nada de carne sobre nosotras

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Abandonment