Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez

8 reviews

aprilyvonne's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Things We Lost in the Fire” by Mariana Enríquez was another unsettling, captivating, and uniquely feminist collection of macabre short stories. I first read “The Dangers of Smoking in Bed” about two years ago and I’m still struck by the strange stories that come to mind every now and then. 

This book was truly another example of a unique reading experience. It’s always hard to put into words something so grotesque, and yet, also mesmerizing. I’m still processing the stories, but the few that stood out are Adela’s House, Under the Black Water, End of Term, and Things We Lost in the Fire. Many of the stories and characters will likely haunt for a long time. I loved how the author could incorporate such themes of poverty, police brutality, women facing off the patriarchy, alongside the darker side of humanity. 

If you enjoy the dark, creepy, and daring, then this will be for you. Otherwise, be fair warned that it’s not for the faint of heart. 

***

“Burnings are the work of men. They have always burned us. Now we are burning ourselves. But we’re not going to die; we’re going to flaunt our scars.”

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Gore, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Violence, Classism, Eating disorder, Addiction, Body horror, Gaslighting, Transphobia, and Sexism

cass_lit's review

2.25

Nope. This was not for me. I have two major issues:
1) The format. These were short stories that didn’t seem interconnected, but most (I think at least one wasn’t) were told in first person. This means as soon as you figure out who your narrator is, because there’s no omniscient one to tell you, you’re moving onto another narrator. I don’t dislike short stories or essays as a rule, but this one really didn’t work for me. 
2) The content. What the fuck. I get that it’s macabre intentionally and meant to reflect the horror of reality, but when these topics are brought up in short stories like this without the space to discuss them… it just feels exploitative. 

Some examples, though I’m sure I’m forgetting a few (*trigger and spoiler warnings ahead*): child abuse, child rape, child murder, child neglect, alcohol and drug abuse, rape, murder, abuse, animal cruelty (including eating of a live cat), use of the r-word and racist/xenophobic/classist language. And again — I get that these are unfortunately real horrors sometimes (or are meant to represent other real issues), but *I* don’t like when there’s no discussion on them apart from their shock value. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Excrement, Sexual violence, Child death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Rape, Animal death, Suicide attempt, and Self harm

Moderate: Police brutality, Body horror, Body shaming, and Classism

Minor: Lesbophobia and Gaslighting

emmaopaline's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Blood, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Child death, and Body shaming

Moderate: Abandonment and Animal cruelty

angela_iseli's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Child death, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Blood, Death, Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Sexism, Mental illness, Police brutality, and Murder

danycatreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Una colección de cuentos muy difícil de leer en el mejor sentido posible. Muchos cuentos de terror clásico como casas abandonadas, o apariciones y desapariciones repentinas, pero lo que une a todo el libro son las voces de mujeres, creando personajes difíciles y complejos. No todos los cuentos me encantaron, pero comprendo a lo que la autora quería llegar, y para mí eso es suficiente. Están hechos con tanta delicadeza que no puedo darle otro rating que no sea casi cinco estrellas.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Medical trauma, Classism, Medical content, Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Self harm, Mental illness, Hate crime, Death, Gore, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Grief, and Fatphobia

intshadow's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

-el chico sucio: ★ ★ ★ 
-la hostería: ★ 
-los años intoxicados: ★ ★ ★ 
-la casa de Adela: ★ ★ ★ 
-pablito clavo un clavito; una evocación del petiso orejudo: 
★ ★ 
-tela de araña: ★ 
-fin de curso: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (este si me dio miedo)
-nada de carne sobre nosotras: ★ ★ ★
-el patio del vecino: ★ ★ ★ 
-bajo el agua negra: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
-verde rojo anaranjado: ★ 
-las cosas que perdimos en el fuego: 
★ ★ ★

siento que el hype si me pego esta vez, siempre que alguien hablaba de este libro veía solo reseñas positivas, calificación de 5 estrellas, etc, entonces mis expectativas estaban por los cielos (lo cual nunca es bueno) y honestamente si me sentí un poco decepcionada. 

Algo que me gusta mucho en las historias de terror es que te dejen lo peor a tu imaginación, sin embargo, aquí estaba usado en CADA HISTORIA, lo cual lo volvió un poco molesto tbh, además, siento que a la mayoría de las historias les falto un poco más de información para que esto de los finales abiertos funcionara.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

allyah's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• 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? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

moraofthestory's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Self harm, Rape, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Death, Murder, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Trafficking, Transphobia, Stalking, and Eating disorder

Minor: Excrement