Things We Lost in the Fire, Mariana Enriquez

Mariana Enriquez's world doesn't have to be ours, and yet, it becomes so. It only takes a few sentences to step into it, breathe it in, and never forget it, thanks to an unusual emotional vividness. With everyday life turned into a nightmare, the reader awakens disheartened, disturbed by stories and images they will never be able to shake off.

The self-proclaimed "burning women" protesting against an extreme form of domestic violence that has gone viral; a student who pulls out her nails and eyelashes, and another who tries to help her; the years of government-mandated blackouts during which three friends get high, remaining friends until death do them part; the famous serial killer known as Petiso Orejudo, who was only nine years old; hikikomori, black magic, jealousy, heartbreak, rural superstitions, abandoned or haunted buildings... In these twelve stories, the reader is forced to forget themselves to follow the adventures and investigations of bodies that disappear or reappear at the least expected moment. Whether a social worker, a police officer, or a tour guide, the protagonists strive to advocate for socially invisible beings, thus delving into the weight of guilt, compassion, cruelty, the difficulties of coexistence, and a terror as profound as it is believable.

Mariana Enriquez is one of the bravest and most surprising narrators of the 21st century, not only within the new Argentine literature by writers born during the dictatorship but also in literature from any country or language. Mariana Enriquez transforms literary genres into narrative resources, from noir fiction to dirty realism, encompassing horror, chronicles, and humor, and delves with pain and beauty into the roots, flames, and darkness of all existence.