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_treatyoshelves_'s review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Cancer and Rape
Moderate: Abortion
libraryoflanelle's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Rape
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
bisexualbookshelf's review against another edition
This is my second foray into Enriquez's work. I withheld my reservations about my first experience with her (The Dangers of Smoking in Bed) because I was new to Bookstagram, who loves her, as well as new to translated literature, which I understand has some nuances when it comes to diction. I was excited to explore Enriquez's latest collection and see whether or not I had the same issues. Turns out, I did.
First of all, a lot of these stories just didn't work for me. "My Sad Dead" was a really strong start, but after that, I got halfway through the book and didn't enjoy any of the other stories.
The titular story, "A Sunny Place for Shady People," follows a journalist to Skid Row to report on a group that holds rituals honoring Elisa Lam. For those who don't know, Elisa Lam was a real person who mysteriously died in Los Angeles in 2013 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Elisa_Lam). Elisa was bipolar and had likely been off her medication at the time of her death. As such, her death was ruled an accidental drowning, with many suspecting she was experiencing a psychotic episode due to her bizarre behavior in surveillance footage that is the last known sighting of her. However, not all the evidence points in this direction, and many people still suspect Elisa was the victim of foul-play. Either way, Elisa was a 21-year old neurodivergent Chinese American woman who died a tragic death, and Enriquez's use of her story in this book feels particularly exploitative.
The story that put the nail in the coffin for me was "Julie." In this story, the narrator's cousin Julie moves back to Buenos Aires after a childhood in the US. Julie started seeing "invisible friends" as the result of seances her parents hosted as social gatherings. Almost immediately, the narrator describes Julie as fat. Several scenes describe how Julie eats with her hands, shoveling fistfuls of food into her mouth at a time. The story describes Julie as "ob3se" multiple times, including in this quote:
My aunt faked a fainting spell, I think so we would stop picturing her ob3se daughter's rolls of fat being fondled...
Beyond the fatphobia, Julie is assumed to be schizophrenic due to her "invisible friends," leading to some ableism and sanism about psychotic people.
Despite these concerns, I tried to read the story that follows "Julie" and found it just as disappointing as the others. With this in mind, I chose to DNF A Sunny Place for Shady People at 47%. I am not familiar with all the nuances of translated literature, so I am unsure if this is a problem with Enriquez's writing or McDowell's translation, but I am unlikely to seek out Enriquez's work in the future.
Graphic: Ableism and Fatphobia
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Please note that my content warnings only apply to the first half of the book as I did not read any further than that.macncheese_pdf's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder
booktribe's review against another edition
3.75
Thank you Hogarth and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Fatphobia, Rape, and Suicide
carriepond's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
The twelve short stories in this collection have range-- you'll find ghosts and other supernatural elements, body horror, cults, and horror elements that are more grounded in reality but are no less unsettling. As in Our Share of the Night, Enríquez explores a variety of themes, including personal and political violence, classism, misogyny, selfishness, and greed. Although some of the stories worked better for me than others, all of them created a sense of dread and tension that built until the story's conclusion. The opening story, "My Sad Dead," in which a retired physician communicates with ghosts in her neighborhood, was one of my favorites in its explorations of classicism, isolation, and complicity through indifference. "Face of Disgrace" very literally explores the erasure of victims and in "Metamorphosis," a woman on the cusp of menopause explores body modification in an unnerving bid to regain agency over her changing body. Other stories I liked a lot included "Different Colors Made of Tears," "The Refrigerator Cemetery," and "Black Eyes."
Reading this collection made me excited to check out more of Enríquez's backlist. I recommend this collection to those looking for smart, unsettling literary horror.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Rape and Murder
readingwithgoose's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
redbreezes_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Abandonment