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anouk_adriana's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
Graphic: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Addiction, Gore, Cannibalism, Trafficking, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death of parent, Medical content, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide
annemaries_shelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved this collection - Enriquez's writing is brilliant, smooth, and masterful in its control of pacing and tension.
Every story has this creeping sense of unease from both the realistic and speculative elements of the story. She's exploring several different themes around female bodies, violence against children, mental health, family dynamics and history, reckoning with the disappearances that were so much a part of the mid-century Argentinian political landscape, and more. For example, the longest story "Kids Who Come Back" - the basis is exploring the ongoing issue of disappearing children - from murder, human trafficking, runaways, etc. That's disturbing enough, and then when the speculative element is revealed, the tension ratchets up more. In this story, and several others, you can really see how Enriquez is exploring the ramifications and societal processing of events post-dictatorships.
However, maybe it was the hype or I've just read a lot of darker stories, but these pieces weren't excessively dark, disturbing, or true horror/supernatural. Each one just had enough to keep you off-balance and turning the page. Many of the stories also leave you wanting more (in a good way) because they're a little open-ended. I could happily read more of most stories but I was still left satisfied with what Enriquez gave me.
Interestingly the titular story is neither the first one nor the longest, which is uncommon I find for collections.
If you like short story collections with more of a weird, slightly disturbing bent, I absolutely recommend this collection.
I liked each story but the following were my favourites:
- Angelita Unearthed (a stellar first story)
- The Well
- Rambla Triste (this one was so sad and hard to read at times)
- Where Are You, Dear Heart?
- Kids Who Come Back
- The Dangers of Smoking in Bed
Moderate: Child death, Medical content, Addiction, Sexual content, Suicide, Death, Mental illness, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
Minor: Pedophilia
georgiaalexturnbull'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? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Suicide, Pedophilia, and Self harm
amelyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Excrement, Gore, Pedophilia, and Body horror
pages_with_panda'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? Yes
4.0
Angelita Unearthed: 5/5
Woman is haunted by the dead baby corpse of her great-aunt.
Really liked the story! Very simple but super creepy and unsettling. I thought the relationship between the two characters was kinda funny - almost siblings. Lowkey the last scene made me chuckle.
• Moderate: Death of a child, Body horror, Gore,
Our Lady of the Quarry: 4/5
Teenage kids sneak into a quarry for the summer.
Good story, nice build up. Love any kind of revenge story and this was no exception. Good for Natalie.
• Moderate: Sexual content,
• Minor: Death,
The Cart: 2/5
A mysterious stranger shows up the neighborhood before horrible things start happening.
I did like where this story was going for the most part,. Again, I like revenge stories...But the story fell apart at the end and I couldn't really make heads-or-tails of what happened.
• Moderate: Excrement, Violence, Classism,
• Minor: Racism, Suicide, Animal death, Cannibalism
The Well: 5/5
A young girl suffers from severe anxiety of death and monsters.
Another favorite. Very, very unsettling and dark. The mystery surrounding what happened to her during that first trip was so interesting. Very well done. Sad ending.
• Moderate: Suicide,
• Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts,
Rambla Triste: 2/5
A neighborhood is haunted by murdered children.
I couldn't really understand the premise for this one at all. Was a little interesting but didn't seem to have a point to the story.
• Moderate: Pedophilia, Child abuse,
• Minor: Excrement, Child death,
The Lookout: 3/5
A Lady in a tower overlooks the hotel where she lives and invites another women to visit.
Had a nice "The Shinning" vibe and also some mystery regarding the Lady Upstairs. An okay story.
• Graphic: Self-harm,
• Minor: Rape, Attempted suicide, Drug abuse
Where are you, Dear Heart? : 5/5
A girl becomes obsessed with irregular heartbeats and tries to find the most imperfectly perfect one.
Incredibly unsettling. Can't stop thinking about this premise and the absolute horror of it. "What the fuck did I just read!?" But in a good, horrific way.
• Graphic: Medical
• Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Ableism,
Meat: 5/5
Two super fanatical fans of a rock star exhume his body and eat his corpse.
Another very disturbing story. Very well laid out and I really liked it. Horrific.
• Graphic: Suicide, Cannibalism,
• Moderate: Self-harm, Vomit
• Minor: Blood
Neither Baptism or Birthday: 3/5
A man tries to record a girl's hallucinations.
Very creepy story. Interesting build up as well. Ending fell a little flat.
• Moderate: Sexual content, Pedophilias, Mental illness, Self-harm
The Kids That Came Back: 5/5
Hundreds of missing children rematerialize but are the same age as when they disappeared.
I really liked this one. Super unsettling and creepy. Had a nice buildup as well and an interesting POV from Machi. (Interesting enough, compared to the Spanish version, the English version of this story had added a few sections of backstory that I think were completely unnecessary, especially because they added some slurs. And really added nothing to the story.)
• Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide
• Minor: Kidnapping, Death, Transphobic slur, Drug abuse,
Dangers of Smoking in Bed: 1/5
Woman smokes in bed.
Uninteresting. Couldn't really get into it. Thought the title story would be great but it fell flat.
• Moderate: Fire,
• Minor: Death, Sexual content, Blood
Back When We Talked to the Dead: 3/4
A group of girls use an Ouiji board.
A basic premise but interesting anyways! Unsettling but not too bad.
• Minor: Ableism slur (Spanish version)
Overall review for the book: 4/5. Solid stories! This is a horror book so check content warnings. Not suitable for young readers.
Graphic: Medical content, Sexual content, Self harm, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Ableism, Vomit, Gore, Excrement, Violence, Classism, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, Child death, and Body horror
Minor: Racism, Animal death, Blood, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Cannibalism, and Rape
grace_alice'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Self harm, Mental illness, Gore, Rape, Suicide, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Child death, Death, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Child abuse, Trafficking, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and Drug use
betris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Suicide, Body horror, Trafficking, Torture, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness
Minor: Eating disorder
clara_mai's review
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Mental illness, Cannibalism, Violence, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Excrement
Moderate: Alcoholism and Transphobia
goatsrsexy's review against another edition
4.0
Some were extremely disturbing, this book is definitely not for the faint of heart. The most disturbing was No Birthdays Or Baptisms. I still liked it but wouldn't read it again.
My favourite story was definitely the titular one, it was super short but sad and melancholy in such an ordinary way it's the type of thing l'd like to write myself. Other favourites were The Cart, The Well, Meat, and Where Are You Dear Heart.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Racism, Transphobia, Racial slurs, and Body horror
lunacueva'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness and Cannibalism
Moderate: Blood and Pedophilia
Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcohol