Book Review: "A Sunny Place for Shady People" by Mariana Enriquez

I've read quite a few Mariana Enriquez books. I think her best one has to be The Dangers of Smoking in Bed - it is probably one of the better anthologies of its year as well. When it comes to her writing, it is more than often following this sense of being deeply emotional, but also quite conceptually frightening. In her anthology Things We Lost in the Fire, it is the outcasts who are followed into the psychological depths. This made me quite excited to read her other efforts, one of them being the renowned Sunny Places for Shady People. The stories within this anthology have proved to be some of her best. Will it knock The Dangers of Smoking in Bed off the top spot for me? Let's have a look...

One of the best stories is the anthology's opener entitled: The Sad Dead - a fantastic tale of ghosts. In a neighbourhood rife with violent crime, drug trafficking, and unsolved murders, Emma, an ageing doctor, has long accepted the grim reality of her surroundings. Yet she is burdened by something her neighbours cannot comprehend; she lives with the ghost of her own mother, who lingers in their shared home as an ever-present companion. Unlike the others in her community, who turn a blind eye to the suffering around them, Emma has a peculiar gift: she can see and communicate with the dead.

As the murders in the area increase, so too does the number of restless spirits who flock to her, desperate for attention, for justice, or simply for someone to acknowledge their pain. Among them are three teenage girls, their bodies dumped like refuse, and a man who died screaming for help while his neighbours locked their doors in fear. These ghosts, more sorrowful than vengeful, weigh on Emma, forcing her to confront not just the failings of those around her but her own inability to change the course of events. Her story becomes one of bearing witness: of refusing to forget when the world moves on too easily.

This one I have to say is a great opening story for such an anthology which deals with all of these themes and more. It is as though she is giving us a taste of everything: the power dynamic-based horror that pervades in desperate societies, the body horror of violence, the palpable fear of communities under stress and the historical horror of a single protagonist that searches themselves for answers.

In another great story entitled Face of Disgrace, we are introduced to hints of body horror, but the best is still yet to come. Alex has always been haunted by the unspoken tragedies that run through the women of her family. Her grandmother, then her mother, suffered inexplicable transformations: their faces, once distinct, gradually faded away, their features becoming smooth and featureless as if erased. It was as though their identities had been consumed by something unseen, something unspeakable. Now, Alex is beginning to experience the same horrifying change.

At first, it seems like a trick of the light: her reflection appears blurred, her features less defined. But soon, people begin to hesitate when they look at her, their gazes sliding away as if struggling to remember what she looks like. The more she digs into her family history, the more she realises that this phenomenon is tied to long-buried acts of violence. The silence that followed these events, the refusal to acknowledge them, has given them a terrible power. Determined not to vanish like the women before her, Alex embarks on a desperate search for answers. But can she reclaim what has already been taken, or is her fate sealed? This is one of the best stories I have actually read by Mariana Enriquez let alone in this anthology alone. It has so many underlying extended metaphors - but let's not give too much away.

Another great story is aptly named after another legendary story: Metamorphosis - and you guessed correctly, this is the awesome power of body horror coming out. When a middle-aged woman undergoes surgery to remove a massive fibroid tumour, she expects nothing more than a routine medical procedure. But when she sees the excised mass, she is overcome by a strange, obsessive fascination. It is, she realises, a part of her: something that grew inside her, shaped by her body’s own processes. She refuses to discard it.

Her obsession deepens, leading her to seek out a controversial body modification artist who agrees to implant fragments of the tumour along her spine. Over time, the modifications take on an almost supernatural quality, reshaping her body into something new, something unrecognisable. She moves through the world transformed, revelling in the power of her own grotesque beauty. But as the boundary between her and the tumour dissolves, she must confront a final question: was she always meant to become this, or has she lost something essential in the process? If you think my summary of the story sounds good, just wait until you actually read this masterpiece. It edges between presenting something emotional and realistic, and being a full-blown 21st century body horror. It is riddled with metaphors and deeper meanings.

All in all, between these stories and others such as Night Birds and Hyena Hymns, I think that this honestly has to be slightly above The Dangers of Smoking in Bed for me. It really does look like Mariana Enriquez has outdone herself yet again.