The Dangers of Smoking In Bed by Argentinian author Mariana Enriquez is a collection of twelve short stories unlike any other I've read before. First published in Spanish in 2009, this collection was translated by Megan McDowell. These stories are horrifying, dark, and morbid and I loved it. They startled me, made me feel queasy and the suspense nearly killed me. Each time I started a new story I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen and how the story was going to take a turn to the unexpected, which happened EVERY TIME.
These horror stories are written with enough detail to suck you in, know the characters and punch you in the gut with their shocking audacity. Several times I asked myself, "Did I just read that; is that really what it says?" There are themes of jealousy, revenge, curses, fear, death, and mental illness. There's also drug use, sex, and a whole lot of weirdness.
I have Enriquez' short story collection: Things We Lost In The Fire and now I can't wait to read it. I believe I have found a new favourite author.
If you like horror and you don't shy a way from the grotesque then I highly recommend this short story collection.
Bookworm Rating: đđđđđ
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this e-ARC.
I gotta get to this one. It's on my shelf. Fabulous review. I'm really looking forward to this read.