Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez & Translated by Megan McDowell

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ARC acquired from Hogarth in exchange for an honest review

Content/Trigger Warnings: Graphic violence/harm, torture, decapitation, sexual assault/rape, graphic violence, gang violence, death/murder/homicide, drug addiction, underage drinking, alcoholism, homophobia, depression, emotional/mental abuse, eating disorders, trauma/PTSD, self-harm, bullying, suicide, postpartum depression, animal cruelty, and so much more!

“What do you know about what really goes on around here, mamita? You live here, but you’re from a different world.”

Twelve macabre short stories set in Argentina. It’s very dark and disturbing.

I have thought long and hard on how I would write this review. On what I would say, what I would write, and how I would write this review. As always, the doors are always open with honesty, but these door for this review will be only cracked. For readers of any kind, I issue caution with picking this book up. Even fans of horror, true horror, take caution. There are no content warnings in this book or even stated in advance. So let me be the first to officially say out loud those content warnings. The synopsis paints the darkness, but the contents of some of these stories may blind side you out of nowhere.

The reality is tens of thousands of people were disappeared or killed from 1976 to 1983, when Argentina’s military junta committed “crimes against humanity within the framework of [a] genocide.” While not overtly mentioned, the horrific tales in Things We Lost in the Fire are intertwined with Argentina’s past. Past atrocities refuse to stay buried, always lurking in the back of the collective mind. Some ghosts still lurking in today’s world…

Normally I would do a breakdown of all the stories listed in this book, but unfortunately, I can’t bring myself to go into great detail with this book. There is a lot of graphic content and much of this content is a lot to take in, to absorb, to think upon and process. There are so many trigger and content warnings that I can’t stress enough how important self-care is during any time reading this book. Even if you think you’re doing enough self-care, do more. I made it about 75%, if not more, into this book before I ended up incredibly ill to the point of vomiting. I was so broken and weak after everything that I ended up DNFing this book before I was even finished reading the book as a whole.

Overall, I don’t recommend this book to anyone who struggles with mental health and I express extreme caution with reading this book. Even the most sound mind may end up sick and incredibly hurt from reading the contents in this book. If you’re a horror lover, this might be right up your alley, but I stress that it’s important to take care of your mental health while reading this book. I will probably never touch this book ever again and I can honestly say that this book is probably the book that will end up haunting me for a long time before I can fully forget the contents sealed within these pages. I don’t recommend this book at all. Read at you own risk.