Short stories are not always my favorite type of book to read but I enjoyed most of these and would recommend the book to those who like a quick horror read

Great book! It had all the fears of growing up. Make a choice. Turn the page or close the book. Enter the darkness if you wish!

My very first Mariana Enriquez book! To be quite honest, this wasn't easy for me to get into - this is not a genre I am familiar with or even gravitate towards but I've heard so much about this author I can't help but be intrigued. There were moments where I was unsure and maybe a little confused but the whole vibe of this book kept me reading. I heard about another book she came out with before this one and I think I'll check that out next - in audiobook at least.
Thanks for giving me the chance to read this!

This was quite eerie to read; it is a collection of horror stories. I really enjoyed this, while some were stronger, in terms of plot and characterization, than others, I liked them all.

4.5 stars!!!

I was worried about this collection after not loving the full length novel I've read from this author previously, but I was pleasantly surprised! The length of the short stories worked really well for me and I wanted more of every single story. Not because there wasn't enough, but because I simply wanted MORE! Every story had such a well crafted story that was so well explained and explored in the little amount of time we shared with the main characters, and I was left unsettled during multiple stories! While this doesn't give me the 5 star feeling, it was definitely super close! I don't know what could have pushed it over the edge since I can't quite put my finger on why it wasn't a 5. This short story collection revitalized my hope that this will one day be a 5 star author for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me to read this ARC!

Content Warning: murder, death, violence, rape/sexual assault, suicide.


Set mostly in the author's home country of Argentina, this collection of tales -- all of them involving horrors from beyond the veil -- seeks to explore the lives of ordinary people, mostly women, as they deal with terrors both paranormal and human. A retired doctor who fights off ghosts for her neighborhood of right-wingers frightened of the nearby villa miseria; a vintage clothing shop that discovers the dresses they've purchased hold a malevolence they can hardly fathom; a couple rents an Airbnb in a cozy small town that harbors more than meets the eye; a cemetery of abandoned refrigerators harbors a long-hidden secret. These stories and many more feature in Enriquez's journey into the mysteries of her birthplace.

I am a huge fan of Enríquez, so I was beyond delighted to get the ARC for this anthology of paranormal-themed stories. She has a unique voice that seamlessly captures both the sheer ordinariness of daily life and the abject terror of experiencing something that should not exist. Her previous novel, Our Share of Night, explores many of the themes featured here, and yet all of the stories are refreshingly original, and it seems that she always has something new and fascinating to say.

Not all of the stories are completely successful, but as a whole, this collection serves as a breathtakingly adept and subtle analysis of class, misogyny, and the ghosts of Argentina's past -- both its bloody colonization and its more recent dictatorship. There are a few here that feel particularly powerful, and many of those living outside of Argentina will relate to the commentary spread throughout about fascism and its brutal grip.

Most of these have elements of an almost Lovecraftian or, perhaps more fittingly, Lynchian horror -- tales of body grotesquerie, a particular focus on women and their interaction with a misogynistic society hellbent on consuming their bodies. Some of my favorites in this collection are apt metaphors for the particular kind of violence men enact upon women: the family mystery of disappearing faces, all connected to a brutal rapist; the clothing shop that purchases dresses from a man who despises his wife and, in turn, womanhood itself. I also enjoy how much LGBTQ culture and queerness itself Enríquez always manages to incorporate into her writing, in a naturalistic way that some writers struggle with. I suspect it is because this is the norm in Enríquez's own circle, but still, it's a terribly refreshing thing to see in an author whose novels and stories don't necessarily revolve around being queer.

Just like in Our Share of Night, A Sunny Place for Shady People feels esoteric, occult, perfectly and wonderfully off the beaten path. Enríquez is one of those authors that I read compulsively, and when I pick up one of her books -- no matter its theme or subject matter -- I find myself swallowed up by the world she manages to create. There's just something compelling about her writing that makes putting it down difficult to do once you've picked it up. Her characters, too, feel so natural, as if you are not reading someone's creation but instead simply overhearing a conversation, meeting a new person.

I cannot recommend giving this one a shot enough. Beautifully written and fantastical in its creation of a world where reality is just ever-so-slightly warped!

I discovered Mariana Enriquez from Our Share of Night. I was pumped to see she was releasing a new title so thanks to NetGalley and Hogarth for an early copy in exchange for my honest review. I loved the uniqueness, the detail and the characters Mariana has built in such a beautiful place. Her writing is something I want to always have on hand and read just a little bit more everyday! Highly recommend her work!

Love Mariana Enriquez, and this is a really solid collection of short horror stories. Good balance of mostly good stories with a few I didn't get as into, but overall a great collection!

Again and again I read short story collections…and again and again I am disappointed!
I struggled with refocusing after each story, but I enjoyed a majority of them,

The story that talks about Elisa Lam was pretty good…maybe the one that held my attention the most. I want to read more from this author!

Liminal and eerie and creepy! This was a treat. I wish some of the stories lasted longer because I was enjoying them so much.

I prefer her novels to short stories but this was still a great collection. So creepy! Especially the last few stories.

This is a collection of literary short horror stories in translation. Magical realism is very prevalent in South America literature and you can feel that in these tales. It takes different parts of Argentina and explores some dark, magical element.

Some are bizarre and are very separate from the wider world. Others are very grounded and only find the horror and magic in very specific places and pieces. Some got me in my feelings or thinking about Argentinian history. Others had me going “Well, that was fucking weird.”

The last story is seared into my brain because it uses the phenomenon of black eyed kids. I’ve heard about these so I was excited. The ending uses the idea of what you don’t see being scarier. It ends the collection with a BANG!

Other stand outs were Different Colors Made of Tears, The Refrigerator Cemetery, and the title story A Sunny Place for Shady People. I was dipping in and out of these stories for a few months. I’d recommend finishing them in a shorter period of time. I feel like you’ll get a more of a sense for Enriquez’s Argentina this way.

I’d definitely recommend this spooky collection. Excellent work by both the author and translator. 4.5/5

Like all of her books, it’s a slow burn, and it may be the weakest of her books available in English. But it’s still some of the best horror I expect to read this year, grounded in current events and shot through with contemporary anxieties.

A new collection by Argentine literary horror master Mariana Enriquez is such a treat. A Sunny Place for Shady People is a collection of 12 short stories full of beauty, heartbreak, terror, and rage.
I read this collection over a period of 8 months. Enriquez’s work is the opposite of bingeable: it’s so dark and beautiful that I like to take my time and reread favourites as I go. Her work is empathetic and political in many places, and living in a time where I’m seeing support for fascism rise in my own country of Canada, a lot of Enriquez’s writing feels like a warning.
My personal favourite stories were:
My Sad Dead
Face of Disgrace
Different Colours Made of Tears
Local Artist
Black Eyes
Megan McDowell’s translation is smooth and beautiful as always.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Hogarth for my review copy of this book.

There was a lot of depth and intelligence to these stories. The profane and arresting nature of the narrative creates a good deal of nightmare fuel. I think the one that will stick with me the longest is about the refrigerator graveyard. I think that there is something for everyone and I definitely want to read more from this author. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

This was my first dive into the writing of Mariana Enriquez. The collection consisted of a variety of subjects, ranging from generational trauma, ghosts, a strange town, cursed clothing, even one based around true events.

I liked all the stories in this, for the most part. I definitely had my favorites. In no particular order, my favorite stories were: My Sad Dead, Face of Disgrace, Julie, Metamorphosis, Different Colors Made of Tears, and The Local Artist. I love how bizarre some of these stories were. I hope that one day the best stories get adapted into shorts.

While I enjoyed the collection as a whole there were some stories that didn’t do much for me. Like the titular story, Sunny Place for Shady People. The story touches on true events that happened. I think maybe some details could have been changed instead of using the actual person’s name and cause of death for the story. The above mentioned story was my lowest rated. Besides that story, there weren’t really any duds.

I really enjoyed the way the author approached horror. Sometimes it’s not the ghosts that are horrifying, sometimes it’s what living people do to each other. I’ll definitely be reading more from this author in the future.

I’d recommend this to those who already like Enriquez’s brand of horror, or even those trying her writing for the first time. This would be a good collection for those looking for a different kind of horror.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group, and the author for providing me with an ARC for review.

Honestly, this was so disappointing. The majority of these stories felt so unfinished and undeveloped that it feels like the author just threw half-finished stories from the WIP pile to make a buck. I’m shocked and almost insulted.

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I could tell pretty quickly into reading this that the style and pacing wasn't for me.

A Sunny Place for Shady People is such an interesting concept. The collection of short stories draws you in with its mix of lighthearted settings and darker themes, and I found myself hooked on a few of them. Not every story landed for me, but the ones that did really stood out. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes unique and morally ambiguous characters, or who enjoy short stories.

I enjoyed many of the ghost stories, but some of them fell flat for me, personally. Compared to "The Dangers of Smoking in Bed," these stories didn't have the same "oomph" to them. I still enjoyed this book and would recommend to fans of Mariana Enriquez.