Beautiful, poetic, if somewhat opaque prose that dances on the edges of the supernatural but never quite sticks the landing.

“A person knows when she’s going crazy; it doesn’t happen overnight, not even after a trauma. Everything, everything in the body is a process. Including death.”

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez is a horror short story collection with a conscience; it’s as creepy and disturbing as it is truthful.

One of my favourite books of 2023 was Our Share of Night, an expansive and stunning novel by Enriquez, so I was excited to see what she can do within the short story format. Long story short (LOL), she doesn’t need 500+ pages to impact readers.

Through 12 short stories, Enriquez explores the horrors of what it is to be human living in the world (specifically South America). In my opinion, the scariest things are those that feel the most real, or connect to reality. Enriquez shows us that reality can be just as terrifying as monsters, folklore, and the supernatural. Everything seems equally terrifying, especially with the way Enriquez integrates the many things that scare us and make us uncomfortable: crime, addiction, illness, mental health, gentrification, classism, body dysmorphia, and trauma. There’s many different types of monsters at play here.

Each story is unique and with a distinct voice and a tinge of humour. Time and place are just as important as characters, helping to truly envelop the reader in these short, impactful tales. As with any short story collection, there are standouts; my favourites in the collection were My Sad Dead, Face of Disgrace, Night Birds, and A Local Artist. I struggled at first with the endings of the stories, which aren’t necessarily wrapped up in a pretty bow, but I began to appreciate the intentionality of this choice given the subject matter.

There is no writer out there who is doing things like Mariana Enriquez, and I’m so happy to have discovered her and can’t wait for what’s to come.

Instantly obsessed with anything Mariana Enriquez writes. Her short story collections are otherworldly.

This was an absolutely devastating collection and I loved every second of it. From horrific to surreal, the exploration of womanhood in these stories was incredible. This is actually my first book that I’ve read by Enriquez despite owning Our Share Of Night and The Dangers of Smoking in Bed. After finishing this collection on audio, I can’t wait to jump into these soon.

My favorite stories from this collection were Metamorphosis, The Refrigerator Cemetery, and Julie. Listening to Julie while backpacking through the gloomy, Scottish countryside was actually terrifying.

The cast of narrators for these stories could not have been selected better. Each and every one of them delivered their stories perfectly and left me with chills. The amount of times I whispered “what the f**kkkkkk” while listening to this are countless. Major props to Lee Osorio, Annette Amelia Oliveira, Sol Madrigal, and Maria Liatis!!

I love translated horror and this was one of my most anticipated collections this year. I recommend this for fans of translated fiction, horror, and short stories with a punch!

**Thank you to PRH Audio for the amazing listening experience and to NetGalley and Hogarth Books for the eARC of this haunting collection!**

I read the author’s (very long and meandering) novel last year. Wondering if her short stories would be any better, I decided to try this anthology. Unfortunately, I don’t think this author is for me. I usually like a character-driven story but I think that this author kind of fails at both characters and plot. I can’t tell if the translation is at fault, but all of her writing feels stilted and disjointed. The stories were forgettable immediately upon finishing them except for Metamorphosis, which is still haunting me a bit; that one was the only bright spot in the whole book.

Somehow entertaining and gruesome, A Sunny Place for Shady People was absolutely hypnotic. This features 12 stories that are deeply fascinating and written in Mariana Enriquez' unique voice. Absolutely recommended!!

This is a strange one for sure, and I mean that in the best possible way! I have previously read Mariana Enriquez' novel Our Share of Night and I found it fascinating and haunting, so I was excited to read this collection of short stories. These are all so vivid in the feelings they create: dread, unease, anxiety, etc. I love that everything is rooted so deeply in the culture of Argentina, to the point that the settings almost seem like characters in and of themselves. I tended to read this book at night, as it almost demanded a kind of quiet, mystical energy to truly get absorbed in the stories, and this made the experience all the richer, and scarier. My favorite stories were definitely The Refrigerator Cemetery and A Local Artist but there were none that I disliked. I think this is a strong collection that's perfect for fans of weird books, horror, and translated fiction. I will definitely continue reading anything that Mariana Enriquez' puts out.

Mariana Enriquez writes the most memorable stories I've read outside of maybe John Cheever and Raymond Carver both of whom in their own way are also writing "horror" -- a term that barely works for me, when it comes to Enriquez's stories. What these stories feel like, instead of "horror," is ... TRUE. They capture the true anxieties lurking at the edges of our peripheral imaginations. This is the third collection I've read (the others being THE DANGERS OF SMOKING IN BED and THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE) and it amazes me that Enriquez can capture a level of anxiety, to wrench me into a state of unease and leave me hanging there, in so many and varied ways. A master.

Mariana Enriquez does not disappoint, this collection is a study in sheer atmosphere. Loved the experience of reading this. Some of those stories will stick with me for a long time.

Enriquez is a master of literary horror. I don’t consider myself a big horror fan but her style always hits the spot. She masterfully combines real-world horrors with supernatural occurrences, often providing a commentary on politics in Argentina.

In many of the stories, the “horror” element doesn’t even appear until the end, leaving the reader in suspense. Sometimes, you are left with only a hint of what is happening and asked to use your imagination to fill in the rest. This formula might not work for some but I love it. It deepens the spooky factor for me, not getting all the answers.

As with all story collections, some of these stories worked better for me than others. But I truly loved a few, including: My Sad Dead, A Sunny Place for Shady People, Night Birds, Julie, and Black Eyes (definitely don’t read that last one at night). I am also still thinking about refrigerator cemeteries (iykyk). Even the stories that I wasn’t as big of a fan of, I still enjoyed.

Overall, it was a solid collection perfect to ring in the start of spooky season! It definitely confirmed the place of Enriquez as one of my favorites.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting collection of short stories of strange happenings. I really liked the variety of stories, from an old woman who sees ghosts to clothes that show the pain of the previous owner.

Spooky, unnerving, entertaining and entrancing. Ad a fan of hers her new collection did not disappoint. Queen of spooky short stories.

Mariana Enriquez's A Sunny Place for Shady People is a masterful collection of stories that probes the intersection of the mundane and the surreal. Against the backdrop of contemporary Argentina, these twelve narratives delve into the profound impact of supernatural forces on everyday lives, primarily those of women. This anthology presents a thought-provoking and thrilling experience, ideally suited for an autumn evening or any occasion requiring a touch of the unsettling.

Thank you @netgalley and @hogarth for the gifted e-arc!!! One of my most anticipated books of the year!! I first read it in Spanish and then had to reread it again in English.

I really liked this short story collection! They were creepy, gross, haunting and some were even funny. Loved the dark humor that was sprinkled throughout the book.

My favorite stories were:
1. Night Birds
2. Julie
3. The Refrigerator Cemetery
4. A Local Artist
5. My Sad Dead

If you’re familiar with Enriquez writing, you will like this collection. Highly recommend. She’s one of my favorite horror writers.

Also if you are can listen to the audiobook in Spanish, it is amazing. The narrator Mara Brenner is fantastic, she brings so much life to these characters.

A Sunny Place For Shady People by Mariana Enriquez

* Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for providing the ebook in exchange of a honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I rarelly read short story collection because I like to get fully into a story for a longer period of time but this book was do well done that each story felt whole even if they are never more than 20 pages. They were creeepy and weird and perfect for the spooky season!

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More in the vein of <i>The Dangers of Smoking in Bed</i> than <i>Our Share of Night</i> (not just in structure, but in the general tone). This is not really a horror collection, I would say, but more literary short stories with a horror or macabre inflection on them. Something where you read it and say afterward, "Hm, that was creepy" rather than actually feeling creeped out, per se, while reading it, if you know what I mean. Another bad sign: I finished this collection barely two weeks ago and can barely remember the plot or details of any individual story from it, though I also remember not having a bad time while reading them.

Argentina writer, Mariana Enriquez's latest short story collection translated to English, A Sunny Place for Shady People offers 12 more tales of horror, both body and psychological, dread or a world just slightly off kilter.

Each story begins with a relatively normal narrator going about their life, when something occurs that shifts their perception, showing that what they thought was true and safe is not all there is of the world. Most are narrated by a women, sometimes presented as an account after the fact, or just as it occurs. Not all of the stories involve ghosts and the paranormal, but many do.

One story centers on a doctor who can talk to an engage with ghosts, trying to calm them and stop their haunting, or just be quieter in their afterlife. Other stories are more centered in the realm of possibility, two childhood friends traumatized by playing in the dregs of a refrigerator factory and what they left inside one of them. Children with just black hollows for eyes seek to enter a van for a NGO that provides aid to the un-housed. A possibly imaginary young woman talks about her artistic sister and the other generations in a declining mansion and how we might all become animals in time. Some stories play out in expected ways, the out of towners shocked by something in the small rural towns, but most of the tales are handled to move outside the known tropes. Or at least to subvert them in unexpected ways. And they don't always end with the shocking twist, sometimes they linger beyond, showing how one is changed by the unsettling events.

Recommended to readers of horror, supernatural tales, short stories or works in translation.

Enriquez is an incredible writer, that much is certain. Even in translation, images she conjures up are visceral and gut-churning... when they're scary. The majority of the stories didn't quite hit for me. As the book progresses, some of the short stories get more creepy, skin-crawly, and disturbing like what I came to expect from Our Share of Night. I like that the people in these books are regular folks who interact with the occult or spirits. I like that there isn't always a conclusion. That being said, I felt there was a plethora of good ideas that simply needed more fleshing out. It is hard to give this an "Average" rating, but alas, it didn't wow me.

I liked The Dangers of Smoking in Bed more, but still really enjoyed these short stories. Each one had me saying "what the fuck" at least a couple times, sometimes out of disgust, sometimes from being creeped out, sometimes both.

Haunting, harrowing stories perfect for reading on gloomy fall days.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.