Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez

53 reviews

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

---

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

eli99's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Not as good as her more recent collection of short horror stories. A few of these just didn't land as interesting or horrific. But some of them were dark and spooky in that enjoyable ways. The way she captures these short pictures of the character's lives is quite pleasant. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

morybaby's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, and Excrement

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) 

---

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.

---

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

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective

4.5

---

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

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. 

---

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

laurenboys's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

dakotahreads's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Self harm, and Excrement

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Racism, Police brutality, and Abortion

catherinesoucy's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol