Things We Lost in the Fire: Stories

Mariana Enriquez

Feb 2017 · Sold by Hogarth

About this ebook

The “propulsive and mesmerizing” (The New York Times) story collection by the International Booker–shortlisted author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed and Our Share of Night—now with a new short story.

The short stories of Mariana Enriquez are: 
“The most exciting discovery I’ve made in fiction for some time.”—Kazuo Ishiguro
“Violent and cool, told in voices so lucid they feel spoken.”—The Boston Globe (Best Books of the Year)
 
Electric, disturbing, and exhilarating, the stories of Things We Lost in the Fire explore multiple dimensions of life and death in contemporary Argentina. Each haunting tale simmers with the nation's troubled history, but among the abandoned houses, black magic, superstitions, lost loves and regrets, there is also friendship, compassion, and humor. Translated by the National Book Award-winning Megan McDowell, these “slim but phenomenal” (Vanity Fair) stories ask the biggest questions of life and show why Mariana Enriquez has become one of the most celebrated new voices in global literature.

Ratings and reviews

This is a thought provoking book with well developed themes. It's definitely a great option for those looking to explore modern South American literature. Prospective readers may benefit by starting with the translator notes at the end of the book before jumping into the first short story. The notes don't really spoil any of the stories, but do provide vital context that can help you better engage with the work.

About the author

Mariana Enriquez is a writer and journalist based in Buenos Aires. She is the author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, which was a finalist for the International Booker Prize, the Kirkus Prize, the Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Speculative Fiction, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Fiction, and the novel Our Share of Night.

Megan McDowell has translated many of the most important Latin American writers working today. Her translations have won the National Book Award for Translated Literature, the English PEN award, the Premio Valle-Inclán, and two O. Henry Prizes, and have been nominated for the International Booker Prize (four times) and the Kirkus Prize. Her short story translations have been featured in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New York Times Magazine, Tin House, McSweeney’s, and Granta, among others. In 2020 she won an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is from Richmond, Kentucky, and lives in Santiago, Chile.