MixedThings We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez. I think I'm just more picky about the anthologies that I keep or the short story collections. If I didn't love a short story collection, I don't really need to own it.
Review 1 of 2
Things We Lost in the Fire (2016)
Others: Mostly positive A haunting collection of short stories all set in Argentina.
- ISBN:
- 9780451495129
- Length:
- 213 pages
Genres: horror, literary fiction
Lists: …
Similar books
1 of 6
Lost in the funhouse
John Barth
1968 · 200 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveA collection of 14 short stories.
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
Similar descriptions89%TheBookchemist loved bothPersonalize your recommendations11%The Dangers of Smoking in Bed
Mariana Enríquez
2009 · 199 pages · 4 reviews
Others: PositiveFollowing the "propulsive and mesmerizing" (New York Times Book Review) Things We Lost in the Fire comes a new collection of singularly unsettling stories, by an Argentine author who has earned comparisons to Shirley Jackson and Jorge Luis Borges. Mariana Enriquez has been critically lauded for her unconventional and sociopolitical stories of the macabre: populated by unruly teenagers, crooked witches, homeless ghosts, and hungry women, they walk the uneasy line between urban realism and horror. The stories in her next collection are as terrifying as they are socially conscious, and press into being the unspoken -- fetish, illness, the female body, the darkness of human history -- with unsettling urgency. A woman is sexually obsessed with the human heart; a lost, rotting baby crawls out of a backyard and into a bedroom; a pair of teenage girls can't let go of their idol; an entire neighborhood is cursed to death by a question of morality they fail to answer correctly.Written against the backdrop of contemporary Argentina, and with resounding tenderness towards those in pain, in fear, and in limbo, this new collection from one of Argentina's most exciting writers finds Enriquez at her most sophisticated, and most chilling.
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
Also literary fiction40%On the same reading list34%Similar descriptionsPersonalize your recommendations26%Monsters in the Archives
Caroline Bicks
2026 · 2 reviews
Others: MixedA fascinating, first of its kind exploration of Stephen King and his most iconic early books, based on groundbreaking research and interviews with King—all conducted by the first scholar to be given extended access to his private archivesAfter Caroline Bicks was named the University of Maine's inaugural Stephen E. King Chair in Literature, she became the first scholar to be granted extended access by King to his private archives, a treasure trove of manuscripts that document the legendary writer's creative process—most of them never before studied or published. The year she spent exploring King’s early drafts and hand-written revisions was guided by one question millions of King's enthralled and terrified readers (including her) have asked What makes Stephen King’s writing stick in our heads and haunt us long after we’ve closed the book?Bicks focuses on five of his most iconic early works—The Shining, Carrie, Pet Sematary, 'Salem's Lot, and Night Shift—to reveal how he crafted his language, storylines, and characters to cast his enduring literary spells. While tracking King’s margin notes and editorial changes, she discovered scenes and alternative endings that never made it to print, but that King is allowing her to publish now. The book also includes interviews Bicks had with King along the way that reveal new insights into his writing process and personal history.Part literary master class, part biography, part memoir and investigation into our deepest anxieties, Monsters in the Archives—authorized by Stephen King himself—is unlike anything ever published about the master of horror. It chronicles what Bicks found when she set out to unearth how King crafted some of his scariest, most iconic moments. But it’s also a story about a grown-up English professor facing her childhood fears and getting to know the man whose monsters helped unleash them.
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
On the same reading list51%Also horror37%A creator reacted alikePersonalize your recommendations12%Eartheater
Dolores Reyes
2020 · 224 pages · 1 review
Others: Positive"Set in an unnamed slum in contemporary Argentina, Eartheater is the story of a young woman who finds herself drawn to eating the earth - a compulsion that gives her visions of broken and lost lives. With her first taste of dirt, she learns the horrifying truth of her mother's death. Disturbed by what she witnesses, the woman keeps her visions to herself. But when Earth-eater begins an unlikely relationship with a withdrawn police officer, word of her ability begins to spread, and soon desperate members of her community beg for her help, anxious to uncover the truth about their own loved ones. Surreal and haunting, spare yet complex, Earth-eater is a dark, emotionally resonant tale told from a feminist perspective that brilliantly explores the stories of those left behind - the women enduring the pain of uncertainty, whose lives have been shaped by violence and loss."--Publisher.
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
Also horror and literary fiction45%Similar descriptions28%On the same reading listPersonalize your recommendations27%Detransition, Baby
Torrey Peters
2021 · 352 pages · 3 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveA whipsmart debut about three women—transgender and cisgender—whose lives collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires around gender, motherhood, and sex. Reese almost had it all: a loving relationship with Amy, an apartment in New York City, a job she didn't hate. She had scraped together what previous generations of trans women could only dream of: a life of mundane, bourgeois comforts. The only thing missing was a child. But then her girlfriend, Amy, detransitioned and became Ames, and everything fell apart. Now Reese is caught in a self-destructive pattern: avoiding her loneliness by sleeping with married men. Ames isn't happy either. He thought detransitioning to live as a man would make life easier, but that decision cost him his relationship with Reese—and losing her meant losing his only family. Even though their romance is over, he longs to find a way back to her. When Ames's boss and lover, Katrina, reveals that she's pregnant with his baby—and that she's not sure whether she wants to keep it—Ames wonders if this is the chance he's been waiting for. Could the three of them form some kind of unconventional family—and raise the baby together? This provocative debut is about what happens at the emotional, messy, vulnerable corners of womanhood that platitudes and good intentions can't reach. Torrey Peters brilliantly and fearlessly navigates the most dangerous taboos around gender, sex, and relationships, gifting us a thrillingly original, witty, and deeply moving novel.
Why?
What made the match, strongest first
On 2 of the same lists48%Also literary fiction39%Jack Edwards loved bothPersonalize your recommendations13%The last hurrah of the Golden Horde
Norman Spinrad
1970 · 215 pages · 1 review
Others: NegativeShort story collection
Mixed
Loved itI read these two short story collections by the same author almost back to back and I can't entirely remember which stories were in which. I just thought they were both phenomenal collections. They're very beautifully written. Mariana Enriquez is one of those authors that uses beautiful prose to contrast with horrific themes and I find that a very effective way of writing.
Review 1 of 3
Loved itI really liked her previous book the dangers of smoking in bed and honestly I liked that book more than this one both are good but if I were to recommend just one it would be the one before
Loved itby far the best straight-up horror book I read this year an awesome collection of short stories or stories set in South America