Things We Lost in the Fire: Stories (Spanish: Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego) is a short story collection by Mariana Enriquez, published in 2016 by the Editorial Anagrama.[1] Originally published in Spanish, it was translated into English by Megan McDowell in 2017.[2] The work has 12 stories framed in the horror genre, in which Enríquez explores social issues such as depression, poverty,[3] eating disorders,[4] inequality and gender violence.[5][6] The name of the work is taken from the album Things We Lost in the Fire, released in 2001 by the American band Low, of which Enríquez is a fan.[7]
 First edition | |
| Author | Mariana Enriquez |
|---|---|
| Original title | Las cosas que perdimos en el fuego |
| Translator | Megan McDowell |
| Language | Spanish |
| Genre | Short Stories |
| Publisher | Anagrama |
Publication date | 2016 |
| Publication place | Argentina |
Published in English | 2017 |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 208 |
| ISBN | 978-0451495112 |
"The Intoxicated Years" was published in Granta.[8] "Spiderweb" appeared in The New Yorker.[9]
Contents
edit| Story |
|---|
| "The Dirty Kid" |
| "The Inn" |
| "The Intoxicated Years" |
| "Adela's House" |
| "An Invocation of the Big-Eared Runt" |
| "Spiderweb" |
| "End of Term" |
| "No Flesh Over Our Bones" |
| "The Neighbor's Courtyard" |
| "Under the Black Water" |
| "Green Red Orange" |
| "Things We Lost in the Fire" |
Literary significance and reception
editReviews of the collection highlighted Enriquez's dark and haunting style. A review in The Guardian called the collection "gruesome, violent, upsetting – and bright with brilliance."[10] Jennifer Szalai, writing in The New York Times, wrote "[Enriquez] is after a truth more profound, and more disturbing, than whatever the strict dictates of realism will allow."[11]
In a review in Vanity Fair, Sloane Crosley was impressed by Enriquez's skill at using supernatural stories to explore Argentina's political turmoil: "In her hands, the country’s inequality, beauty, and corruption tangle together to become a manifestation of our own darkest thoughts and fears."[12]
References
edit- ^ ""No quiero que me saquen las pesadillas" | Babelia | EL PAÍS". 7 October 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "Quién es Mariana Enriquez, la mayor exponente de la literatura de terror en la Argentina". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ ""Todos mis textos están pensados como una pregunta sobre el poder"". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Mariana Enriquez gana el premio Ciutat de Barcelona con su último libro de cuentos". 10 August 2018. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Mariana Enríquez, el terror en lo cotidiano". 29 April 2017. Archived from the original on 29 April 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Mariana Enriquez: "Me interesa sacar el terror de los lugares comunes" - Télam - Agencia Nacional de Noticias". 17 May 2016. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "The Intoxicated Years". Granta Magazine. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ Enriquez, Mariana (12 December 2016). "Spiderweb". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ Self, John (2 November 2018). "Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez review – gruesome short stories". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ Szalai, Jennifer (3 March 2017). "Argentine Fiction". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
- ^ "Brooding Books for the Dark Days of Winter". Vanity Fair. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2019.