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signedbyangel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, and Death of parent
unboxedjack's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
javafenn's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
aileron's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, and Gore
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Kidnapping
another_dahlia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Xenophobia
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.charlatana's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
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