Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Un lugar soleado para gente sombría by Mariana Enríquez

8 reviews

niiinerrr's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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


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joeraine's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0


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bookish_morgan's review against another edition

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I picked up this book for one story in particular - "The Refrigerator Cemetery." This story was intriguing and disturbing, but the ending was vague and anticlimactic. I skimmed through most of the other stories, but the cadence and content weren't as engrossing as I hoped for. I can see why other people may enjoy Enríquez's writing, and I might pick up one of her other books sometime, but this collection of short stories wasn't for me.

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not_another_ana's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

El tiempo, esa monstruosidad aplastante. El tiempo, lo único que no se podía parar y que ni siquiera se sentía.

Última colección de cuentos cortos de Mariana Enríquez que debo admitir que no me gustó tanto como las anteriores. Los relatos se me hicieron muy largos, dispersos, no me dieron miedo. Siento que faltó edición en general a todos los cuentos, vida, pasión, algo. Una decepción.

  • Mis muertos tristes: Fantasmas dejados por crímenes violentos acosan a los habitantes de una urbanización, 3/5
  • Los pájaros de la noche: Una joven teme convertirse en pájaro, 2/5
  • La desgracia en la cara: Una aflicción misteriosa e inexplicable afecta a mujeres de una misma familia, 2,5/5
  • Julie: La prima de la protagonista afirma que tiene sexo con fantasmas, 2/5
  • Metamorfosis: Después de una operación para remover un mioma la protagonista decide conservar el tumor, 2/5
  • Un lugar solead para gente sombría: Una reportera va a Los Ángeles a conocer un culto fundado alrededor de una muerte violenta y confronta fantasmas de su pasado, el más aburrido de todos, 1/5
  • Los himnos de las hienas: Cuando visitan un antiguo centro de tortura una pareja es confrontada por un pasado aterrador, 3/5
  • Diferentes colores hechos de lágrimas: Una tienda de ropa vintage recibe unas piezas que afectan violentamente a quien las use, 3/5
  • La mujer que sufre: Por un espejo en su apartamento la protagonista observa a una mujer que agoniza, 3/5
  • Cementerio de heladeras: De niña la protagonista cometió un crimen que la atormenta y que ahora debe encubrir, 3/5
  • Un artista local: De vacaciones en un pueblo en decadencia una pareja conocerá al artista que ha cambiado a los locales, 3/5
  • Ojos negros: Un encuentro con unos chicos extraños y perturbadores cambiará la vida de tres voluntarios de manera violenta, el mejor de toda la colección y el único realmente terrorífico, 4/5

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kattyenn's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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shellballenger's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.25

Type of read: Commuter Read

What made me pick it up: One of the TN R.E.A.D.s prompts for October is to read a book by a Hispanic or Latinx author. The title and cover art drew me in.

Overall rating: I struggled with this one. I didn't find the stories to be all that entertaining and I had to keep reminding myself to put this one on to listen (I read as an audiobook). I'm not sure if there's something missing in the translation (I read an English translation) or if I just wasn't getting into the content. Some stories were better than others in my opinion, but many of them just seemed like random diary entries of overly imaginative individuals. Maybe I expect more scare and thrill from my thriller/horrors, but this wasn't it for me. I probably wouldn't recommend it, but I'm glad I was exposed to some different authors from who I usually read.

Reader's Note: 'A Sunny Place for Shady People' includes multiple stories that include themes of sex, sexual assault, rape, death, dying, torture, dismemberment, supernatural activity, general assault, and witchcraft.

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savvylit's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

I am a big fan of short story collections, in general. However - and this seems to be the nature of the form - many short stories often leave me wanting more; there's a sense of incompleteness when they're over. As someone who has only dabbled in writing fiction of my own, I know that a satisfying ending is the worst (and hardest!) part. That's why I was ultimately blown away by A Sunny Place for Shady People - Enriquez has achieved a collection of twelve stories that are each perfectly complete.

Now, onto the content of the stories themselves. In A Sunny Place for Shady People, readers are treated to a variety of scares that range from the mildly unsettling to the downright terrifying. Each scare is based in the paranormal yet reflects a terror that is all too real-world: loss, mortality, colonization, murder, family secrets, greed, sexual assault, addiction, aging, guilt, and disgust. In Night Birds, a young (un)dead girl worships her older sister's world of make believe. In Face of Disgrace, a woman inherits a disturbing maternal legacy from a mother that she hated. In Hyena Hymns, a couple accidentally enters a torturous dimension while exploring a mansion in ruins. In the titular story, a woman returns to the site of her grief and spends time with a cult that communes with a famous dead woman. In A Local Artist, a couple escapes to the countryside to seek tranquility but what they find instead is a gradually escalating trap.

Thank you so much to @netgalley, @hogarthbooks, and @marianaenriquez1973 for the advanced reader copy of A Sunny Place for Shady People in exchange for my honest review! As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Sunny Place for Shady People is out now and can be found in a bookstore or library near you! What are you waiting for?

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muertango's review

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dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0


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