A review by keepreadingbooks
Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez

challenging dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.75

This one got me out of a tiny slump. Short stories are always a good choice for me if I want to get back into a good reading habit again, and short stories with a tense atmosphere are certainly a plus. I think I’d describe this one as dark magical realism, bordering on horror. Horror isn’t really my thing, but I can dig dark magical realism, so for the most part this one hit the right spot. 
 
You must be prepared to feel uneasy and a little uncomfortable at times, and that counts both for the supernatural/magical realism aspects and for the realistic ones, as Things We Lost in the Fire is also very much social criticism. Argentinian history and culture is for the most part unknown to me, and I love learning about a country through stories; in my opinion, you don’t at all need long explanations of traditions and customs – in fact, I often get a better feel of a country’s or area’s atmosphere if I’m plunged right into it. 
 
In many ways, this one actually reminded me of What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky (though Things We Lost is certainly a lot darker) – both collections have magical realism aspects, both introduced me to cultures I didn’t know much of beforehand, and the writing styles are slightly similar – very direct and matter-of-fact, which I *love* – though in my opinion Arimah, author of What It Means, is still in a league of her own. 
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