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.

<b>Book Fort Rating:</b> 4 Stars
<b>Is it building the Book Fort?</b> It makes me a bit too uneasy for building, but it's welcome to watch from its own little room.

Where do I even start this review, seriously? I'm sitting here in the afterglow of this weird (wonderful) book, a little afraid to turn off the lights, and wondering when the subtle nausea might wear off.

Let's start with the highlights:

- Mariana Enríquez is a <i>master</i> of gothic horror elements. Reading <i>A Sunny Place for Shady People</i> starts off weird, and truly becomes more horrific and gut-turning with each page. The sign of a good gothic collection to me is that building sense of dread and suspense as time goes on, and this book has it in spades. The mysteriousness, the innate fear, the supernatural/paranormal elements, and the sheer emotional distress this book will have you in are *chef's kiss.*

- Each story touches deeply on topics that we as a global (yes, global) society just do not talk about enough. "My Sad Dead" looks at the impacts of untreated grief, "Face of Disgrace" touches on generational trauma, "The Suffering Woman" confronts us with what it means to be mortal, to be sick, to be dying, and how we react to others slowly decaying before our eyes. Horror without a message is not horror - it's just shock porn. This is true horror.

- Following the last point, each story is written in a way that truly challenges the reader. There is no getting around the message and the critiques Enríquez is throwing at you: you will either face your own place and viewpoint on the subject at hand (like in "My Sad Dead" - <spoiler>would you have let him in?</spoiler> or "The Refrigerator Cemetery" - <spoiler>would you have left him there? Are you a murderer too? Will karma come for you someday as well?</spoiler>), or you will drown. There is no shoving anything under the rug, here: the rug will only start screaming back at you in a truly eldritch screech.

So what didn't I love?

- There were points at which, I think possibly due to translation, the tone of many narrators felt very flat or too similar. There were some defining characteristics to each one, but they overall blended together very harshly. This may have been a statement on humanity's sameness, but I tend to think it's just translation losing a little something along the way.

- This book was very dense to read, honestly. It is wordy in a way I'm not sure it truly needs to be to get the point and horror across. Again, this could be due to translation.

- Lastly, as much as I thought it was an interesting commentary on the way people obsess over/pathologize mysterious deaths and unsolved cases (the toxic obsession with True Crime), I did not appreciate the direct use of Elisa Lam in the titular "A Sunny Place for Shady People." Perhaps this is not as frowned upon outside of the United States (especially as the case happened here), but I do think it would have been better to use a fake story clearly inspired by Elisa, rather than Elisa herself.

That all being said, you will love this book if you like horror/gothic stories, being unable to read in the dark, commentary on ableism/disability, fatphobia, generational trauma, racism, grief, etc., and eldritch horrors hiding beneath your bed. Sleep tight!

<i>Thank you to Mariana Enríquez, Random House (Hogarth), and NetGalley for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this collection of short stories. I love Mariana Enriquez and Our Share of Night is one of my favorite books ever. With this collection, the author explores politics, gender, disability, and the after effects of violence through these short stories.. Most of the protagonists are somewhat cold, and the author repeatedly uses declarative sentences, so the stories all feel like they are distancing themselves from the reader. I do not know if that was intentional, or if the translation is having an impact. The stories largely explore change, often corporeal in nature. They almost all end abruptly. Was that purposeful? They felt fragments instead of short stories, and I wish some could have expanded. To be fair, short stories aren't really my thing. It is a short collection and worth exploring but not in the same.category as her last work.

this was the best case scenario of this book for me: genuinely frightening but also measured, with thought-provoking themes alongside nightmarish scenarios. the writing style was not really my preference, but honestly this collection being both scary and more than the sum of its parts is such a treat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This book releases from Random House on September 17th, 2024 in the US. Unfortunately, I chose to stop reading the book at 47% due to extremely fatphobic and ableist language.

This is my second foray into Enriquez's work. I withheld my reservations about my first experience with her (The Dangers of Smoking in Bed) because I was new to Bookstagram, who loves her, as well as new to translated literature, which I understand has some nuances when it comes to diction. I was excited to explore Enriquez's latest collection and see whether or not I had the same issues. Turns out, I did.

First of all, a lot of these stories just didn't work for me. "My Sad Dead" was a really strong start, but after that, I got halfway through the book and didn't enjoy any of the other stories.

The titular story, "A Sunny Place for Shady People," follows a journalist to Skid Row to report on a group that holds rituals honoring Elisa Lam. For those who don't know, Elisa Lam was a real person who mysteriously died in Los Angeles in 2013 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_o...). Elisa was bipolar and had likely been off her medication at the time of her death. As such, her death was ruled an accidental drowning, with many suspecting she was experiencing a psychotic episode due to her bizarre behavior in surveillance footage that is the last known sighting of her. However, not all the evidence points in this direction, and many people still suspect Elisa was the victim of foul-play. Either way, Elisa was a 21-year old neurodivergent Chinese American woman who died a tragic death, and Enriquez's use of her story in this book feels particularly exploitative.

The story that put the nail in the coffin for me was "Julie." In this story, the narrator's cousin Julie moves back to Buenos Aires after a childhood in the US. Julie started seeing "invisible friends" as the result of seances her parents hosted as social gatherings. Almost immediately, the narrator describes Julie as fat. Several scenes describe how Julie eats with her hands, shoveling fistfuls of food into her mouth at a time. The story describes Julie as "ob3se" multiple times, including in this quote: "My aunt faked a fainting spell, I think so we would stop picturing her ob3se daughter's rolls of fat being fondled..."

For those who aren't aware, the word "ob3se" is considered a fatphobic slur by many because of its medicalized, stigmatizing history and how it pathologizes fat bodies. It is derived from medical language that often equates higher body weight with disease, labeling fat bodies as inherently unhealthy, without considering individual health differences. It is also frequently used in ways that reinforce negative stereotypes about fat people, such as being lazy, unhealthy, or lacking self-control. The Body Mass Index (BMI), which classifies people as "ob3se" or "overweight," is widely critiqued for being an inaccurate and incomplete measure of health. As such, many body liberation advocates prefer terms like "fat," which some have reclaimed as a neutral descriptor without moral or medical judgment.

Beyond the fatphobia, Julie is assumed to be schizophrenic due to her "invisible friends," leading to some ableism and sanism about psychotic people.

Despite these concerns, I tried to read the story that follows "Julie" and found it just as disappointing as the others. With this in mind, I chose to DNF A Sunny Place for Shady People at 47%. I am not familiar with all the nuances of translated literature, so I am unsure if this is a problem with Enriquez's writing or McDowell's translation, but I am unlikely to seek out Enriquez's work in the future.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Ableism (severe), Fatphobia (severe), Child Abuse (moderate), Sexual Assault (moderate), Alcoholism (minor), Animal Cruelty (minor), Animal Death (minor), Cancer (minor), Domestic Abuse (minor), Gore (minor), Gun Violence (minor), Sexual Content (minor), Suicide (minor), Forced Institutionalization (minor), Vomit (minor), Death of Parent (minor), Murder (minor), Abandonment (minor).
** Please note that my content warnings only apply to the first half of the book as I did not read any further than that.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

My first Mariana Enriquez read and damn, did it live up to the hype!

I was super lucky to get approved for an ARC of this short story collection and really just absolutely loved every bit of it. The vibes are immaculate and everything I love in a book. Eeriness, disturbing and unsettling vibes throughout, all rooted and grounded very much in reality and the real world struggles of humanity - poverty, addiction, class struggles, sexism, etc.

The only reason this is not a 5 star read is because I definitely loved some of the stories more than others, however they’re really all fantastic! Some of my favorites in the collection include: Face of Disgrace, Hyena Hymns, The Suffering Woman and A Local Artist (this last one specifically felt like it could be an A24 movie to me, idk 😂 so weird and creepy).

This was a good book. I enjoyed it. I would recommend reading this story. Thank you net galley for this arc.

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Why I Chose It: I’ve made it a goal to read more short story collections.

These stories were great to get into a spooky season mood. The writing and imagery were exquisite and unique. Every story oozed with a bit of “something’s not quite right here.”

My favorite stories were:
💀Face of Disgrace
💀Different Colors Made of Tears
💀Black Eyes

If you’re looking for something to get you in a spooky mood, check this one out. Fans of body horror, ghosts, and short story collections will enjoy it.

Mariana Enriquez has become a favorite author of mine, and I was so delighted to read A Sunny Place for Shady People. Enriquez's ability to come up with unique stories that feel distinct is outstanding. She creates worlds that envelop the reader, each of which are incredibly memorable.

I am happy to report that Mariana Enríquez has done it again with her third short story collection A Sunny Place for Shady People. I am by no means an expert on horror, but I am a fan of how Enríquez showcases the way horror permeates daily life, sometimes across generations. Set in Argentina, this collection of 12 stories follows, mostly women, through brutal scenes that leave a creepy feeling behind once the reader is done with them.

A good portion of these stories involve the supernatural, but the titular story actually speaks of the true story of Elisa Lam and the Cecil Hotel. In addition to haunted hotels, the reader finds themselves among children with black eyes, women who reincarnate as birds, a cemetery full of refrigerators, and many more cursed characters. Like her collection The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, these stories are just as much about ghosts as they are about classism, fascism, and femicide, to name a few.

My one critique of Enríquez’s writing style is that a lot of her stories leave on an unfinished note. I felt that some stories in the beginning half of the collection left off on Act I and could’ve continued into a second act. That could just be my preference for resolution at the end of a short story, especially because Enríquez has done that in both of the collections that I’ve read.

Thank you to Penguin Random House, Hogarth, and NetGalley for the ARC.

This review will be posted on September 11 on Goodreads. The link will be added below.