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phantomgecko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Definitely a strong "I hate men" vibe for almost every story.
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicide, and War
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Rape, and Vomit
burnyayhayley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
The author has a very in-depth grip on characterization and is consistently excellent at giving us the correct amount of information so that all the characters feel real and important and tangible, but when you are finished you still feel slightly robbed of closure, which in the context of horror short fiction, is perfect.
However, I knocked off a star because I am not feeling so impressed by the writing or the content that I am overwhelmed—I just feel a normal amount of impressed, if that makes sense. It's excellent short fiction, but it did not always hit me where I hoped it would.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fatphobia, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Trafficking
georgiee_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Transphobia, Vomit, and Homophobia
perditorian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Addiction, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Self harm
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, and Police brutality
Minor: Excrement and Suicide
internationalreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Abortion, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
chiaralzr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Rape, Suicide, and Torture
readingtheother's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, and Death
Minor: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Eating disorder
autumn_alwaysreadingseason's review against another edition
3.0
Favorite stories: Adela's House, End of Term, Green Red Orange, and Things We Lost in the Fire.
Graphic: Violence and Body horror
Moderate: Eating disorder and Suicide
banksynb's review against another edition
3.5
- Adela’s House
- An Invocation of the Big-Eared Runt
- Things We Lost in the Fire
Admittedly, I am not one to read short stories so when I do dive into a collection, I’m often left wondering if I have the ability to recognize the literary devices at work and whether I am fully appreciating what the author is trying to achieve.
There is no doubt that the version of Argentina that Enriquez has painted is vividly, and unsettlingly, brought to life in these pages. There is definitely a tension I felt turning each page, and that atmosphere, that feeling that you are walking a fine line between the familiar and the uncanny or outright macabre. It did feel appropriate to the tone of the stories to feel compelled to keep reading.
I was particularly drawn in by the prevailing theme of how women experience the world, how they navigate their relationships with each other, with their partners, their communities, and with the powers that be, and the abuse or violence enacted against them (and how they respond to that mistreatment).
However, many of the stories felt truncated to me. Just as I felt invested, the story would end. Or, the story would feel sparse, like I was missing the details that would really round it out and make it click for me. On one hand, for a collection of horror stories, it did read almost how ghost stories would be told around the fire (like a Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark but for adults). However, I was often left wanting more. Maybe this is just the short story format I am not used to reading. Maybe it would be remedied by reading the stories in their original Spanish (definitely do read the note from the translator though - it definitely added an extra layer for me). In the end, I’d still recommend this collection and would be interested in reading more from Enriquez as well as influences referenced in the note from the translator.
Moderate: Rape, Alcoholism, Animal death, Suicide, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Gore