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

4.0

Things we Lost in the Fire is an eerie, unsettling, and surreal collection of short stories by Mariana Enriquez. I did not know what to expect when I started reading, and I was pleasantly surprised by Mariana’s style of writing. Mariana tackles poverty, violence, and crime within Argentina…the darker side of Argentina. Many stories bring aspects of the surreal, ghost stories, strange houses, etc. Adela’s House focuses on three kids and an abandoned house. Once inside the house they find horrors and the aftermath of the visit is just written fantastically. The writing is beautifully frightening. Another story I enjoyed was The Neighbor’s Courtyard; I love reading about spaces. i.e. homes, apartments, rooms and the effects they have on individual characters. Mostly I love when one narrator handles a story like this, and The Neighbor’s Courtyard does this perfectly. Paula allows us to see things from her point of view, her terrace. Spiderweb is another story I enjoyed; I find stories about married couples interesting and love when we mostly have the perspective of one spouse. I never really know they can be trusted when it comes to how we perceive the spouse. We do have other characters who see parts of the marriage and give their opinions, but they are very surface observations so who is to be trusted? Things we Lost in the Fire has stories I will definitely re-read. I recommend this to anyone who loves the surreal!