I really enjoy Mariana Enríquez's writing. I thought Things We Lost in the Fire was an excellent collection of unsettling stories. I enjoyed Dangers of Smoking in Bed less, the stories were more forgettable. I am yet to read Our Share of Night - I've had it on my bookshelf since its publication in English, and I really need to get to it. I was fortunate enough to attend a talk by Enríquez, dedicated to the novel, which the political urgency of her writing even more apparent. Needless to say, I was thrilled to be approved for this e-ARC, which I wholeheartedly thank NetGalley and Granta for.

This is Enríquez as I haven't quite seen her before. Things and Dangers were collections of literary fiction playing around with the uncanny and unsettling, sometimes venturing into engagement with horror. A Sunny Place for Shady People is a collection of horror stories written in a more literary style, but it is proper horror first and foremost. I personally really appreciated that. The politics of Enríquez, her disdain for fascism and her support for women's rights and LGBTQ+ people is at the forefront of this collection in a more explicit and clear way than in her previous short stories (apparently, the novel is quite straightforward on this, too).

So many of the stories are mesmerising and unforgettable. I really appreciated most of the stories focused on ghosts, especially the one about a woman from the slums who sees the ghost of the boy no one opened the door for and the story of the cancer patient. The story about the LA hotel murder played around with true crime as a genre and showcased Enriquez doing what she does best - demonstrating that there is more than one way to be a ghost and to haunt someone. Some of the stories were genuinely creepy - the story about women without faces and the shop assistants buying vintage dresses revisited some familiar tropes such as faceless men and poisoned dresses to both make a point and to get under the reader's skin. Some of the later stories are more conventional, but still very well executed, paying homage to things like folk horror in interesting ways. Enriquez excels at creating atmosphere and a sense of place, of roots and contexts. Her world is vivid and visceral, it demands your attention.

For me, one of the signs of a good short story or a novella is if it leaves me wanting to continue to exist in the world the text creates, leaves me wishing it was a novel, leaves me wanting the show to go on. I would have happily read the development of at least half the stories in this collection. I am not sure if that means that the short stories are well-crafted from a storytelling perspective, as they don't always have the obligatory twist or punchline, although many do. It was not an issue for me, as I appreciated the settings, the atmosphere and the concepts of the various horrors we are introduced to, but it might grate some connoisseurs of short stories as a format.

The structure of the collection works to the author's advantage. No short story collection offers a selection of equally strong stories, and this one is no exception. Some of the weaker entries include the unnecessarily fatphobic story of the haunted cousin from the USA and the underwhelming tale of a soldier slasher in a haunted house. They are strategically placed around the middle of the volume, which starts and ends strong, leaving a good impression.

Definitely a book I would want to purchase and re-read. My favourite Enriquez collection so far.

4.75⭐ for me. I gave 5 because that's how rounding works 😁.
What a collection!

As with any collection of shorts, not every tale will be for everyone, but I can truly say that I like them all. And was wowzered by most.

Body horror as social commentary; death and decay. Shocking and thought provoking symbolism; the metaphor of the monster. The looming specters of guilt in our lives come to life; terror vs horror. And a good dose of, 'WHAT'?!?

My quick reaction to each short:

My Sad Dead -
They can't actually hurt you, right?

A Sunny Place For Shady People -
What did, Dizz do to deserve this love? Or, is it an obsession? Or, what might have been?

Julie -
Dead sexy-time with possible fat-phobia?

Night Birds -
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE REAL! I'M DISTURBED!

Metamorphosis -
Being a woman is mightily unsettling if you really think about it. I won't be attending that spiral.

Hyena Hymns -
So spooky... no thank you. Find me hiding under the duvet.

Different Colors Made of Tears -
Noah is terrifying. Everyone, trust your gut! Triggered my anxiety!

The Suffering Woman -
Actual jump-scares! I told my husband that I'm too scared to put my hand out of the bedroom window to shut it and I can't look in a mirror until tomorrow. Turn on the night light.

The refrigerator Cemetery -
Ummm... I am not okay!

A Local Artist -
What was that?

Black Eyes -
Why are the little olden-timey children always so horrifying?

... Hope that helps 😆!

Enriquez's writing has all the stark beauty and paired back directness that so many of us love about Horror and Gothic literature. The writing style emphasises every point and melds itself with the feeling/mood of the depictions being given and the story being told.
I felt immersed in every tale. Anxious, afraid, horrified... guttural responses pulled from me.

Her female voice was so strong and empowering. The parallels drawn to the very core of womanhood and the fears of just being a woman in this world were so artfully woven intrinsically into this book.

I'd also like to add, as an English woman, I found myself pulling up google quite a few times with regard to Argentinian cultural references which I had no clue as to their meaning.
And isn't that just insanely cool?
Learning of culture through literature originating from that place seems (to me) to be the most authentic way. Through folk law, religious references, cultural practices and nuances.
Google checks on, 'mate'... mate brewed for her sister, 'drinking mate and listening to soccer games', message for them to set out pastries and mate', Gauchito Gil, Difunta Correa, just the tip of the iceberg. The text felt so authentically drenched in it that I was almost ‘side-learning’ with my trusty google in hand.

All this to say, I feel insanely lucky to have had the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for my honest review. So thank you to the publishers and netgalley.

I have read almost everything Mariana Enriquez has written and I love her style of writing. This short story collection does not disappoint! It has some stories that are haunting, other that are deliciously morbid. All of them will play on your mind after you’ve read them. Treat yourself and allow yourself to get lost in this beautiful, weird world that she creates!

“But coffins are also just fancy boxes made to lock away what we need to forget in order to move on.”

Mariana Enriquez's new story collection is based on the human experience when faced with more than just the natural world. Many of these stories take on different aspects of the unusual like ghosts, occult and macabre. Connections are explored where childhood and adulthood experiences are faced with an unnerving reality.

I have only read one other book by this author “Our Share of Night” so I was intrigued by this collection. Many of these stories were stand outs for how strange and dark they were. Some pushed boundaries and others definitely left a lasting impression.

There were a few that I wasn’t overly keen on however I find that with many short story collections. Overall I did enjoy reading these for how they teetered on the edge of horror and fantasy.

Mariana Enriquez’s short stories are haunting, impactful and completely engrossing. Depending on the story you may be disgusted and horrified or saddened and heartbroken. Enriquez has a truly unique voice and take on the macabre.

This is the third collection of stories she’s released and whilst my favourite is still her first collection The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, there are some incredible new stories in her newest translated work. I particularly love her focus on creatures like goblins and the horror of transformation.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in gothic stories, surrealism or fantastical horror. It’s good for people who are just starting to read macabre stories but it also has something new and unique for those familiar with the genre.

4.5* rounded up!

I have never read the works of Mariana Enriquez or a collection of short stories before but A Sunny Place for Shady People did not disappoint! I enjoyed almost every single story in the book and I was often still thinking about them even when I had finished the book. I loved the writing style and found it hard to put down, I just wanted to keep on reading! As a first for short stories I would highly recommend A Sunny Place for Shady People to anyone who was in the same boat as me and I will definitely be reading more of Mariana Enriquez's work in the future!

A Sunny Place For Shady People is another powerful collection from Mariana Enriquez. Her writing is powerful and quite unsettling. She delves into themes like racism, grief, mental health, and women's issues with an emotional horror twist. I'm definitely going to keep picking up her books. I highly recommend this one, but make sure to check the content warnings before reading. Thanks to Netgalley and Granta Publications for the arc.

Mariana Enriquez’s A Sunny Place for Shady People, like her other published works is a tour de force of new and exhilarating macabre female literature. This short story collection is focused on ghosts, haunting, and the supernatural - these not only do this, but make commentary on true crime, Argentina’s oppressive past, and make convincing and haunting urban gothic tales. Young women describe being intimate with spirits (and thoroughly enjoying it), spiritual seances to evoke unsolved mysteries of women, and a faceless curse afflicting a family on only the women’s side. This collection is more than explorations of the ghostly experiences, but what it means to be haunted or hunted. The overarching themes run through her stories without being repetitive or falling flat, and Enriquez doesn’t fail to bring life to the undead in this collection. I wish I could give this 6 stars.

I picked this short story collection, from a new author to me, based in South America.

The stories in the collection were truly chilling, with horror and macabre elements on every page. Each story was well-crafted and thought-provoking, addressing various societal issues in Argentina. Despite my initial uncertainty, I found the author's narrative style engaging and unsettling, compelling me to read through to the end. The ability to develop unsettling and unpredictable characters in these stories was amazing.

Thank you, Netgalley and Granta Publications, for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lit horror short stories by South American authors is one of my favourite genres and I've enjoyed all of Mariana Enriquez previous collections. This one certainly didn't disappoint, I think it's her best one yet!

The writing and translation are brilliant as usual but this collection seems to go above her others in how terrifying the stories were. I had to stop reading a few times and come back to it the next day. Such brilliant concepts and original ideas and the body horror is so well done.

This is the best short story collection from Mariana Enríquez in my opinion. Enríquez is a brilliant author. I’ve read her other two translated collections, but this one is my favorite. The horror in these stories is more terrifying and impactful. If you love paranormal, spiritual and body horror this is the collection for you.
My favorite stories are Night birds, Julie and The suffering woman.
The weakest story is the title one - A sunny place for shady people – it ended so into nothing, it was disappointing. The endings are not always satisfying, but the atmosphere and the phantasms are the heart of the stories.
Here are my separate rankings for each story, but as a whole I loved the collection - 4.5 stars:
My sad dead – 3 stars, A sunny place for shady people – 2 stars, Face of disgrace – 4 stars, Julie – 4.5 stars, Night birds - 5 stars, Metamorphosis – 3.5 stars, Hyena hymns - 2 stars, Different colors made of tears – 3.5 stars, The suffering woman - 5 stars, The refrigerator cemetery - 5 stars, A local artist - 4 stars, Black eyes – 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Granta Publications for providing me with the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Granta Books for the ARC.

This is the fourth of Enríquez’ books to be translated into English and the third that I’ve had the pleasure of reading.
Writing a good short story collection is quite the challenge in my own opinion, as someone who used to adore short story collections but eventually found that I could barely ever remember the stories after I had finished reading the collection, and only very very rarely did any of them ever stick with me. This is very much not the case with Enríquez’ writing. Despite her two previous collections having been some of the first I ever read, they have stuck with me more than all the ones that followed, and are the only ones I have ever felt the need to re-read.

This collection contains 12 short stories of around 20-35 pages each, which in my eyes is the perfect length for stories in a collection as such, and despite being short there was no sacrifice of quality. Of course, if you need for every last element of a story to be told and for no questions to be left unanswered I think you’re looking in the wrong place, but that is exactly what the charm of this is.

I thoroughly enjoyed every single story in this, though my favourites were likely the very first story, My Sad Dead, as well as the titular story A Sunny Place for Shady People.

I think Enríquez does a fantastic job at presenting a compassionate and emotional perspective on themes such as racism, family, mental illness, grief, trauma and women’s issues in this collection, and a lot of the stories really made me feel quite thoughtful.

The horror in these stories is often quiet and eerie, rather than loud and gorey. Truly perfect literary horror.

If you enjoyed Enríquez’ previous collections I can guarantee you will enjoy this one too, and if you haven’t read them yet or didn’t enjoy them I implore you to give this one a go nonetheless — truly fantastic and very emotionally heavy, in the best way.

Also many thanks to the translator, Megan McDowell, who has also translated this author’s other works, and who I think did a fantastic job of retaining the atmosphere of Enríquez’ writing.

She is undeniably one of the most gifted writers in our town, and once again, she proves it with this latest work. A brilliant yet profoundly dark book, it offers twelve unsettling stories that showcase her mastery of contemporary Latin American horror. The genre that established her as one of the finest Latin American writers sees her triumphant return, and she does not disappoint.

3.5 stars rounded up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Granta for the arc.
This is a collection of short stories from Argentinian writer Mariana Enriquez. I haven’t read any of Enriquez’ work before and from the innocuous title and the publisher’s description of “achingly human characters whose lives intertwine with ghosts, the occult and the macabre” I think I was expecting something a little more gothic and a little less ‘horror’ than what this collection actually is. That being said, this is largely a very good collection of stories. As with most collections, some of the stories hit better than others. I’m not a great fan of horror, particularly body horror, so those stories that veered into that territory were more of a miss for me than the more gothic, or folk-tale related, works - but that is just personal taste. On the whole this is a well-crafted, creepily engaging book.

A Sunny Place for Shady People: A Descent into Argentinean Darkness
Mariana Enriquez’s latest collection is a chilling exploration of the human psyche, where reality and the uncanny intertwine with disturbing intimacy. With a masterful blend of the mundane and the monstrous, Enriquez constructs a world where the familiar is a deceptive facade, concealing depths of horror and despair.

Her prose is a stark, unflinching lens through which she examines the complexities of love, loss, and identity. Whether delving into the haunting echoes of Argentina’s past or exploring the psychological torment of contemporary characters, Enriquez’s stories are visceral and unforgettable.

While some narratives lean heavily on the supernatural, others offer more grounded explorations of human fragility. Yet, even in these seemingly ordinary tales, a creeping sense of dread lingers, suggesting that the truly terrifying monsters often reside within.

Enriquez's ability to evoke both empathy and repulsion is a testament to her skill as a storyteller. Her work is a dark, disturbing, and ultimately mesmerizing journey into the shadows of the human soul.

☀️A Sunny Place for Shady People - Mariana Enriquez☀️

This books sees multiple stories set mainly against the backdrop of Buenos Aires and some heavy hitting themes like femicide, abuse and body dysmorphia. These Latin American horror stories genuinely scared me at times and I think it’s such a talent to be able to cause a heavy reaction like that using just words.
The titular story was so interesting as it blended real life “true crime” with the story of Elisa Lam and the Cecil Hotel. I still don’t know how but Enriquez managed to turn an already stomach turning scenario and make it more so.
She is a real and true talent and it’s prompted me to want to read more of her work. If you come across any of her works I’d definitely recommend picking it up, you won’t be disappointed.

A Sunny Place for Shady people will be available in English translation for purchase from 26th September 2024.

Thank you @grantabooks @netgalley and @marianaenriquez1973 for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

My thanks to the publisher for my digital ARC of A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enríquez, translated by Megan McDowell! It’s always hard when an author has written books you hold in such high regard. To me, Things We Lost in the Fire is a perfect short story collection, and Our Share of Night is a masterpiece. I set the same high expectations for this collection and unfortunately they weren’t quite met. Don’t get me wrong, there were some stellar stories - the last one, Black Eyes was absolutely chilling, I loved it. But a couple of them leant too heavily on the fatphobic idea that being fat is one of the worst things you can be. Others were just a little forgettable.
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But if you enjoyed the mash up of horror and political commentary that Enríquez did so well in TWLITF, you’ll find some gems here too. Homelessness, classism, gun violence, poverty, violence against women all permeate these stories, rubbing shoulders with the supernatural. She also explores illness a lot, so be prepared for some grisly body horror.

weird, wonderful and slightly insane are the words i would use to describe this book and that’s exactly what i wanted. I became a huge fan of this authors work after reading “the dangers of smoking in bed” and the second I saw this I knew that I had to dive straight in.

I can’t explain the power the author has but it’s magnetic, when you read these stories you can’t help but just get sucked into them. It’s like those horror films where you put your hands over your eyes but slightly open them so you can still watch it even though everything in your body is telling you to look away. I don’t even know how the author manages to think of these ideas let alone write them in such addictive unique ways with beautiful prose, but they do.

I can firmly say that this did not disappoint and again, we have another win for the weird girls who are into translated fiction.

I've been reading this for about three weeks, which is amazing as a book under 250 pages usually takes me 2-3 days. I felt, mostly, apathetic about every story here. I like Enríquez, but I found most of these stories fairly similar in tone. At one point a character says a character's recent experience sounds like cheap horror flick and I thought the same about a few of the stories. I've got nothing against horror, but I just found these a bit corny at times. I liked the other collection of hers I've read well enough, so maybe I've been in the wrong mood for three weeks? Fans of her will probably enjoy this as it's much the same: demon children, lots of murder, ghosts, phantoms, etc., but this time with some strange disarming references too, like Game of Thrones quotes and talk of Funko bobbleheads.

I appreciate receiving Mariana Enriquez's "A Sunny Place for Shady People" (a brilliant title!) as an advanced reader copy from Granta Publications in exchange for my review. This is a new chilling collection of short stories about ordinary people in the face of the supernatural.

Set in Argentina, the tales serve as allegories for societal decay, political trauma, and moral principles. Enriquez masterfully blends literary fiction with horror, creating a unique reading experience, packed with social commentary, using the supernatural to expose the underbelly of society and highlight issues of poverty, inequality, and ethics. By blending these elements, Enriquez creates a unique brand of horror that is both terrifying and thought-provoking, prompting readers to reflect on the deeper societal issues lurking beneath the surface.

"A Sunny Place for Shady People" is structured as a collection of stand-alone short stories, connected through recurring themes and motifs. The stories vary in length and style, ranging from concise and chilling vignettes to longer, more complex narratives, with some told in the first person and others narrated in the third person. Each title cleverly relates to its message and most start with mundane scenarios that slowly and suddenly mutate into macabre tales. Some narratives lack closure or clarity - or, perhaps, I failed to relate to them - or are sluggish.

The subject matter is dark, and its prose is lyrical and witty. Though flawed and sometimes morally ambiguous, her characters are deeply human and relatable. This collection showcases a more mature and nuanced understanding of Argentina's complexities compared to Enriquez's previous works. Here, the literary overpowers the horror. The stories are more overtly political, addressing themes of dictatorship and trauma with raw honesty. Fans of her earlier work will find familiar elements like the macabre and supernatural but, perhaps, left wishing for more. However, the deeper exploration of social and political themes may turn out to be highly rewarding.

While "A Sunny Place for Shady People" is a captivating and thought-provoking read, it may not be for everyone. Some readers might find the stories overly dark and disturbing, while others may find them too bland in comparison to her previous books. However, "A Sunny Place for Shady People" is a must-read for fans of literary horror, anyone who wants to dive into 'horror,' and anyone seeking a thought-provoking and unsettling collection of tales.