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.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the eARC.

A Sunny Place for Shady People was my newest attempt at a short story collection. I found these to be super intriguing and easy to get through. Short stories are still something I am working on adding more regularly to my reading, but this one was one I'll recommend widely.

Thank you for this arc.

Love the writing and storytelling. Definitely going to reread this SOON!!

I was really looking forward to reading this new short story collection from Mariana Enriquez since I really enjoyed her other collections but I had to soft DNF this one.

The short story, “Julie,” had some blatant fatphobia that really turned me off and I just couldn’t shake that feeling which is unfortunate because the other stories up until that point were great. I may return to finish the collection at some point but as of right now, I have no desire to continue.

Three stars for the stories I did like.

This collection of short stories was be the entertaining to read and had my hooked from the first one. Each story had well developed characters and managed to pack tons of lore and horror into every single one.

There were a few times I felt like not enough information was given to the reader and I wasn’t sure if this was a stylistic choice (open ended endings or the allure of mystery), but it was definitely a little confusing as to what was happening.

Overall, this was a great collection that blended Argentine lore/horror with modern day issues and it was executed wonderfully.

I loved every one of them. They’re dark, eerie and thoughtful. It’s very much in hand with Hispanic culture of walking hand in hand with death and the supernatural.

I am a big fan of Enriquez’’s two previous translated short story collections and her novel, Our Share of Night. While this collection was good, it didn’t seem to hit me like the other collections. Perhaps these were based on myths or concepts that I am not familiar with because I felt I was missing something while reading many of the stories. Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book!

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez’s title perfectly captures the collection’s tone: sunny on the surface, but filled with shady, unsettling undercurrents. I personally was elated to receive the ARC of this collection, having read her other short story collection, “The Dangers of Smoking in Bed”. Each story in the collection focuses on characters who are flawed, troubled, and often morally complex. Enriquez’s writing manages to create distinct and fleshed-out characters while also drawing attention to larger societal issues like poverty, inequality, and violence. In a masterful use of the magical realism genre, Enriquez blurs the line between reality and stylistic choices to leave readers questioning what was real.
A standout from the collection was the titular story, A Sunny Place for Shady People. The protagonist, a woman trying to escape her past, arrives at an idyllic seaside town hoping for a fresh start. However, the town is rife with secretive locals, unnerving atmosphere, and an almost palpable sense of menace. What makes this story, along with the entire collection, particularly memorable is Enriquez’s use of the gradual reveal. As the protagonist gets closer to the town's secret, the story shifts from unsettling to downright terrifying, blending psychological horror with hints of the supernatural. This story, like many in the collection, explores themes of escape, both literal and metaphorical, and the idea that no matter how far you run, you can’t escape the darker aspects of yourself or society. A Sunny Place for Shady People sets the tone for the rest of the book, pulling readers into a world where the sunny surface hides something much more disturbing just below.
Overall, A Sunny Place for Shady People is a powerful and unsettling collection. It’s a fresh take on the horror genre, combining traditional aspects of hispanic fiction with bold new takes and palpable horror. Enriquez's blend of the everyday and the eerie will stick with you long after you’ve finished the last page.

The first half of the collection is amazing. Enriquez is a master of atmosphere and horror. There are some short stories that felt like filler stories and didn't stand out quite as much as say the title short. Still a great read especially as we get into Autumn,

3.5 stars rounded up to a 4.
I was so back and forth on whether I wanted to rate this a 3 or 4 star read. Some of these stories were really good. They were perfectly creepy and atmospheric, and I quite enjoyed them. There were a few that felt incomplete. Like there was more to the story that I was missing. I mean they all kind of ended without a resolution per se, but for some of the stories that worked really well and added to the creepy factor, but some of them I didn't think it worked quite as well. But the ones that I enjoyed I really liked. So I rounded up.