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A review by jess_xen
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
I wish I had read this closer to spooky season, because it is such a mood dampener. I do not recommend for spring reading.
Mariana's Enriquez's The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is a collection of horrific stories drenched in magical realism. This is my first book by Enriquez after hearing such praise for The Things We Lost in the Fire. I wish I had started with the latter.
Some of the short stories were very abrasive and not in a "this is good horror" kind of way, more in the vein of "how to make this as disgusting as possible". I couldn't find a point for the disgust other than to be disgusting. Perhaps that was because I am unfamiliar with South American folk tales and lack a background in the region's particular style of storytelling.
I thought I would like it more than I did.
**Content Warning: Death/sexual violence/transphobia**
Mariana's Enriquez's The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is a collection of horrific stories drenched in magical realism. This is my first book by Enriquez after hearing such praise for The Things We Lost in the Fire. I wish I had started with the latter.
Some of the short stories were very abrasive and not in a "this is good horror" kind of way, more in the vein of "how to make this as disgusting as possible". I couldn't find a point for the disgust other than to be disgusting. Perhaps that was because I am unfamiliar with South American folk tales and lack a background in the region's particular style of storytelling.
I thought I would like it more than I did.
**Content Warning: Death/sexual violence/transphobia**
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Transphobia, and Child death