Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez

29 reviews

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

darcygreyheart's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

annabelle42688's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Please check the trigger warnings ⚠️ 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

gossamer_lens's review

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 against another edition

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

revjess's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition

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

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

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