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

dark

3.0

I think I'm getting the vibes of books written by authors from South America now. This book is quintessentially Argentina while the other book I read: Jawbone by Monica Ojeda is from Ecuador. These two books have the same color and atmosphere which I both loved. There is a particular type of grace in the way they tell dark tales.

However, short stories collection is always a hit or miss. For this one, there's more miss, unfortunately. I enjoyed the various allegories about mental health from ghosts to abandoned houses to skulls. I thought those were well-crafted. The stories about alcohol and drugs though are unsettling, yes, but lacking impact to be remembered.

The other stories have open endings which are WAY TOO OPEN to be satisfactory.