Then there are the truly monstrous stories that are likely to make readers peek between their fingers. “The Intoxicated Years” is a sly accounting of five years of increasingly severe drug use among a clique of friends. There are two very different tales of haunted houses in “The Inn,” in which a tourist hotel built on a former police barracks contains forces unknown and “Adela’s House,” in which the title character steps through a door in an abandoned house-and is never seen again. The author’s rich descriptions of narcos, addicts, muggers, and transvestites quickly transport readers to an alien world. In the opening story, “The Dirty Kid,” a graphic designer becomes obsessed with a homeless pregnant woman and her son, a mania that worsens when the decapitated body of a child is dumped nearby. This debut collection by Buenos Aires–based writer Enríquez is staggering in its nuanced ability to throw readers off balance. A dozen eerie, often grotesque short stories set in contemporary Argentina.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |