4⭐️. My favorite horror writer has done it AGAIN! I am always mesmerized by Enríquez's writing. It pulls you in, twists your mind and won't let you go. Enríquez is such a talented storyteller and builds a strong, vivid world for these characters. These stories of pain, suffering, gore & thrill will certainly stick with me for awhile.

TY to Netgalley, Hogarth & Random House Publishing Group for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unnerving is the best way I can describe this collection of short stories. They're incredible - so rooted in realism and yet grotesque and macabre. My favorite stories were "Julie" and "Different Colors Made of Tears."

It's amazing these short stories allowed for the reader to become immediately engrossed in the world and provide resolution (some open-ended, some resolved) in such a short amount of time. I am always in awe of short story writers - I'm far too wordy for it.

Thank you to Netgalley, Mariana Enríquez, and Random House / Hogarth for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

"A Sunny Place for Shady People" is a collection of short horror stories by Mariana Enriquez.

This was my first book by Enriquez and was left slightly disappointed. Since this was marketed as a horror book, I expected more of a build up and suspense with some of the stories but was disappointed when they felt to fall flat. Overall, I only enjoyed two or three stories and the remainder were underwhelming.

Amazing read!! The storyline is movie worthy!! I would recommend this book to everyone!!! Excited to read it with my bookclub!!!

Happy release day!!! I loved this collection of short horror and paranormal stories. South American fiction translations are some of my favorite, and this translation was atmospheric and engaging. You can really feel that you are in the story. Would definitely be interesting in reading more works by this author!

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

I am a big fan of short story collections, in general. However - and this seems to be the nature of the form - many short stories often leave me wanting more; there's a sense of incompleteness when they're over. As someone who has only dabbled in writing fiction of my own, I know that a satisfying ending is the worst (and hardest!) part. That's why I was ultimately blown away by A Sunny Place for Shady People - Enriquez has achieved a collection of twelve stories that are each perfectly complete.

Now, onto the content of the stories themselves. In A Sunny Place for Shady People, readers are treated to a variety of scares that range from the mildly unsettling to the downright terrifying. Each scare is based in the supernatural yet reflects a terror that is all too real-world: loss, mortality, colonization, murder, family secrets, greed, sexual assault, addiction, aging, guilt, and disgust. In Night Birds, a young (un)dead girl worships her older sister's world of make believe. In Face of Disgrace, a woman inherits a disturbing maternal legacy from a mother that she hated. In Hyena Hymns, a couple accidentally enters a torturous dimension while exploring a mansion in ruins. In the titular story, a woman returns to the site of her grief and spends time with a cult that communes with a famous dead woman. In A Local Artist, a couple escapes to the countryside to seek tranquility instead they find a gradually escalating trap.

A Sunny Place for Shady People is out now and can be found in a bookstore or library near you! What are you waiting for?

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez is a haunting collection of short stories that delve into the depths of human suffering, loss, and the blurring of boundaries between the living and the dead. Through vivid imagery and haunting narratives, Enriquez creates a world where the mundane and the supernatural intertwine, offering a powerful exploration of grief, resilience, and the enduring nature of the human spirit. The stories are often unsettling and unnerving, like the remnants of a bad dream upon waking.

Most stories are set in Argentina, often in impoverished neighborhoods that contribute to the unsettling atmosphere. The characters, primarily women, grapple with a range of challenges, including poverty, violence, and loss. Enriquez explores the ways in which these experiences can be compounded by the supernatural, such as in "My Sad Dead," where a doctor stays in her dangerous neighborhood to care for the ghosts there, or in "Different Colors Made of Tears", in which cursed vintage clothing enacts violence on women.

One of the most striking aspects of the collection is Enriquez's ability to blend the mundane with the extraordinary, something I tend to associate with South American Magical Realism. In "The Suffering Woman," the narrator's reality begins to merge with that of a dying woman, blurring the lines between the living and the dead. Similarly, in "Julie," the narrator's encounter with their obese cousin and her ghostly lovers challenges traditional notions of reality and acceptance.

A Sunny Place for Shady People is a haunting and thought-provoking exploration of suffering, loss, and the supernatural. The collection is both poignant and unsettling, offering a powerful commentary on the human condition. I found the stories to be both moving and unnerving, and I look forward to revisiting these stories and reading more of Enriquez's translated works.

This review will be posted to Goodreads and Instagram (@goodquietkitty) on September 17, 2024.

Hauntingly and gorgeously written.
It's authors like Mariana that make me realize I love horror. I each story in here is so vivid and dripping with allegories.
Truly captivating book!

Mariana Enriquez is truly a master of storytelling. Each of these short stories drew me in so deeply that I could have read a whole novel based around each one. There was not a single story that I did not love. I can see myself returning to this collection again and again. The stories were atmospheric and nuanced. I don't think there is another short story collection out there that could rival this masterpiece.

This is okay - every interesting idea (and there are plenty!) is cut off at the knees; the number of times I felt like a story was finding its footing only to see it end prematurely was not only staggering but flat-out infuriating. I’m glad Enriquez has a relatively well-regarded novel, because the writing and the imagination here intrigue me enough to compel me to check it out, but the short story, as a form, seems to escape her… I need an arc! I need something to sink my teeth into! As is, this is a book entirely composed of setups - fascinating setups, sure, but setups nonetheless. It’s rare that I say something is both disappointing and intriguing but this fits the bill, for better and for worse.

Mariana Enriquez is such a brilliant writer. I really enjoyed this collection. It is truly impressive how much she is able to pack into all twelve of these stories. The atmosphere and characters shine through in each tale. This is really perfect for fall. I took my time with this book reading one story a week so I could really digest each story. I can't wait to see what Mariana does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Hogarth for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really interesting mix of short stories. Some were spooky, some were disturbing, and a couple were just plain weird. I loved it! Short story collections typically have a few that I don’t care for, but I enjoyed all of these in different ways. My favorites were Julie and The Refrigerator Cemetery. Mariana Enríquez is an excellent story teller and the atmospheric creepiness is so impressive that I can’t wait to read what she does next.

This was an exceptional collection of short stories in the horror genre written by an Argentine author. Translated from Spanish this was so creepy, Erie, and just sinister down to its core.

This is probably one of the few short story collections where I liked more short stories than I didn't. You're always gonna have a mixed bag when it comes to short story collections but this one was definitely more on a positive side. Every story gave a gritty underbelly type of feel were you weren't quite sure if something was watching you or not.

Being somewhat of a documentary aficionado on the Cecil Hotel, I was so intrigued to see a story containing the hotel in the novel. It really was a surprise because I did not know it was in there, and it really heightened my reading experience. The stories had an incredible range from an ick factor to crawling skin to sinister eyes from your closet. Everything just felt so organic and every story elicited an emotional response.

Well, every story did have a few things that I liked about it. There were some stories where I just didn't like as much as I did. And therefore my enjoyment was not as high. But that is all personal preference and of course should not deter her from reading this book because whatever I didn't like you may love. That is the nature of short story collections, there's something for everybody.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely adore Mariana Enriquez and how she's able to perfectly capture gothic horror while also incorporating her culture and the history of Argentina within these stories. Though I have never been, Mariana always paints the most vivid pictures in my mind, her words working like brushstrokes amidst an ever-present eeriness. I cannot wait to get my own copy of this gorgeous book, adding to her other short story collections in my library!

I adore Mariana Enriquez, and her latest collection doesn't disappoint. The same dark, humorous, surreal tales that catapulted her into literary limelight. I will re-read this collection for years to come. Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley.

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez is a lyrical and unique collection of stories that was truly amazing.
I can easily say this is the best short story collection I’ve ever read.
A Sunny Place for Shady People was a stunning short story collection. They made your skin crawl, and made you check under the bed. This was fascinating and strange.
This is my first Mariana Enriquez but will definitely not be my last.

Mariana Enriquez is one of the best writers when it comes to weird fiction, and I stand by that. Once again translated by Megan McDowell, this is a set of short stories that feature goblins, ghouls, the undead, and the unsettling. Ghosts follow a physician, a girl has a disease that makes her look like a rotting corpse. These are sharp and critical stories about Argentina, its people and its complicated history. I was disturbed and yet still enjoyed everyone single one of these stories.

This was one of those stories that, while reading, I wasn't too crazy about it. Now, a week later, I can vividly recall each and every one of them. They were all brilliant in their own right and really sticks with you, leaving this a highly memorable read. What pulled me in initially was the writing style, descriptive and enthralling, creating a creepy, haunting atmosphere. There were a few that I felt needed more, where the story kind of just ended, leaving me hanging. But maybe that was the author's intention, making the reader crave more. Each and every one of these were well constructed, strong stories, not leaving a single one any less than the previous. Overall, I give this collection four stars as a whole.

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House Publishing House, for this ARC.

I've always had a soft spot for translated literature because I love how culture impacts storytelling. I am also fascinated by translation since reading the forward of my first translated book, HUMAN ACTS by Han Kang. Written by the translator of the novel, my eyes were opened to the complexities of tone and impact when selecting seemingly synonymous words. I went into this with high hopes, and ended up with a rating of three stars.

I loved the symbolism etched in several of these stories, especially through body horror - a favorite subgenre of mine. "Face of Disgrace" is a perfect example of this. Generational trauma, a certain inevitability of "womb wounds," is so vividly imagined here and offered to the reader with such a tangible representation. In fact, women are a centerpiece throughout these stories - love, loss, regret, beauty, pain, and power. My favorite was the title story, A Sunny Place for Shady People. I, personally, have spent HOURS and HOURS down the rabbit hole of Elisa Lam. It was almost surreal for true-crime story intertwined with fiction the way it was, and I think it reveals a lot about how, sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. I love that sentiment, and the way Mariana Enriquez took that story and twisted it even further!

This book didn't come without its struggles, though. It is dense, both in language and in concept at times. I'm not easily offended, generally speaking, but Julie almost took me out. It almost felt like poking fun and someone clearly sick? and if I had to read the phrase "chubby fingers" one more time I would have DNF'ed. We get it. She's obese, and gross, and who would want to picture her fat rolls being touched? Needless to say, I struggled.

Overall, it feels more like a filler book than one that I will remember positively or negatively. I love Hogarth, and have read so many incredible titles published by them. This just wasn't one of them for me.

A Sunny Place for Shady People Stories by Mariana Enriquez was received directly from the publisher and I chose to review it. I had never read this author before and I was excited to get a collection of short stories, horror related at this time of year. With that being said, I was kind of disappointed with these stores as they are just not to my liking, being drawn out and too wordy. This could be due to translation, but I think not, slow horror is just not my thing. If you like some gothic horror, more about the monsters in and about people than a real monster, certainly give this book a read.