Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Un lugar soleado para gente sombría by Mariana Enríquez

28 reviews

m_buchanan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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? N/A

5.0

This is my first Mariana Enriquez book. And boy was it a ride! So much of these stories were about the social condition of Argentina, and how women view themselves or others view them in this world, all wrapped in warped, horrific, edge of your seat stories. Honestly, these stories are hard to fully describe, but they pull at you. They make you think of the human condition, especially women, and who we are in this world. 

If you are a fan of Kelly Link, or even Kate Atkinson’s short stories, you will enjoy this book. If you can’t suspend your need for perfect arcs and tropes played out as expected, and sit with the uncertainty of a story’s end, this book is not for you. But if you can, you will see the many rich layers Enriquez has crafted here, in such few pages. 

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andat's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

This was a mixed bag for me. I’m usually not a fan of short story compilations, but I wanted to give this one a try. The first few stories were out of this world. I loved them! And then towards the middle it wasn’t as compelling, just grisly. Lots of reproductive / body horror, themes around misogyny and cancer as plot devices. Solid mid rating for me overall. 

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elizabeth_lepore'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? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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autumn_alwaysreadingseason's review against another edition

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3.5

Enríquez's short stories are full of horror. Ghosts, myths, creatures, abandoned places, illness and more are featured. Some questions I asked or themes I got while reading: how do our actions affect others? can we live with the consequences if they haunt us? loneliness, pain, intergenerational trauma, belonging, familial expectations, bodily autonomy, violence, revenge, compassion, issues that eat at communities.

My favorite stories were ones that had intense, strong imagery. 

In "Face of Disgrace" a woman lost her mother in a mysterious way and she begins to exhibit similar symptoms. Her brother, who had taken care of the mother, supports her. They try to figure out why this strangeness is occurring. 

In "Metamorphosis" a woman has a fibroid removed from her uterus and wants to keep it. She decides to make it part of her in a different way. 

In "Different Colors Made of Tears" a man messages a shop and asks them if they want his late wife's beautiful, vintage dresses. They accept and three female employees try them on. But these aren't ordinary dresses and the things they feel/see in the mirror when they put them on are traumatic. 

In "The Refrigerator Cemetery" two childhood friends reckon with a decision they made in the past at an old abandoned refrigerator factory. 

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unboxedjack's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • 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

Mariana Enriquez is a master at the unsettling. The collection of stories in A Sunny Place for Shady People all give that trill of horror any good book of the genre will offer, but with poignant takes on sexism, queer relationships, generational/historical trauma, colonialism, and classism. These stories, set in Argentina, offer a wide scope of perspectives and characters, each deeply developed and captivating. At times Enriquez's prose gets in the way of story, but that's easily excusable for the atmosphere it presents. Thanks to NetGalley and Granta Publications for an ARC of this collection.



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kirstym25's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

3.0


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baielleebooks's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Mariana Enriquez is glorious. Glorious in her ability to create horrifying, bone-chilling worlds contained in collections of sharp short stories. As a reader, I always felt dropped straight into the action, magnetized to many of the narratives and left each story both impressed and haunted. There were a couple of stories that even made me leave my light on one night. And the book is designed beautifully with literary quotes, dedications and a couple of arresting horror illustrations.
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My favourite stories were My Sad Dead, Face of Disgrace, Night Birds, Different Colors Made of Tears and Black Eyes.

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rainbowbookworm's review

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dark mysterious fast-paced

5.0

Un lugar soleado para gente sombría fue mi primera experiencia leyendo a Mariana Enríquez en castellano, y definitivamente no será la última. Escuché el audiolibro, narrado por Mara Brenner, quien hizo un trabajo excelente al capturar la atmósfera inquietante de cada historia—aunque el inglés en las citas sonaba un poco fuera de lugar.

Enríquez sabe cómo hacer que el horror se sienta profundamente real y cercano, con cuentos que van de lo espeluznante a lo francamente asqueroso. Como ocurre en la mayoría de las colecciones de cuentos, algunas historias se destacan más que otras, pero todas logran transmitir esa sensación de peligro latente en lo cotidiano. Una lástima que el audiolibro no incluya los títulos de cada cuento, porque me hubiera gustado mencionar mis favoritos en esta reseña.

Para mí, Mariana Enríquez es una de las mejores voces del horror latinoamericano, y me alegra ver que su obra esté recibiendo el reconocimiento que merece en el mercado anglosajón. Después de esta experiencia, estoy decidida a seguir leyendo sus libros en el idioma original, pues siento que ciertos matices y detalles podrían perderse en la traducción.

En definitiva, Un lugar soleado para gente sombría es una lectura perturbadora e imperdible para los amantes del terror que buscan explorar historias con una perspectiva única y profundamente inquietante.

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drymice's review against another edition

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4.5


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zhazhadiamond's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0


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