Scan barcode
A review by autumn_alwaysreadingseason
A Sunny Place for Shady People: Stories by Mariana Enríquez
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Child death and Sexual assault