Prior to this book, I’d never read anything from Mariana Enríquez. Don’t hate me! Now that I’ve read this fabulous collection of short stories, I can’t wait to discover more from this Argentine author. In fact, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is a perfect introduction. Within these pages, I discovered some of the most unsettling and disturbing fiction that I’ve ever read. As my readers know, I adore horror in all its myriad of grisly forms, and what Enríquez has accomplished here is some of the finest pieces of psychological horror you will find in contemporary literature.
The twelve stories that exist in these 187 pages are at once terrifying while also being so beautifully captivating. Enríquez is a modern-day wizard, conjuring up an army of dead and missing children, teenage obsession that becomes murderous, and a curse that undoes an entire neighborhood in glorious karmic retribution. I firmly believe that the first story in any author’s collection sets the tone and expectations for what is to follow, and here “Angelita Unearthed” does just that with this tale of a woman being haunted by the ghost of her grandmother’s deceased sibling. This opener is so bizarre, more so by the protagonist’s relaxed attitude to the insane events occurring.
Enríquez is so wickedly twisted, and I say this as a compliment. One of my favorite stories was “Where Are You Dear Heart?” about a woman obsessed with damaged hearts that becomes darker and darker until it meets a crescendo about taking your desires too far. It’s just so ghastly! Obsession is a recurrent theme in several of these stories, such as “Meat” about a group of super fans who take their devotion to their dead idol to insane extremes.
Another stand-out for me was “The Well” about a young woman suffering from paralyzing anxiety who tracks down a witch who might be the answer to curing her affliction. This one contains a classic twist ending as a family secret is unearthed. The longest story in the collection is ‘Kids Who Come Back’, in which a disgruntled government worker is haunted by the memory of a disappeared girl, who is found after several years having not aged a single day. When other missing and assumed dead children begin to reappear, the story builds to something that is equally horrifying and heartbreaking. While these stories all stand alone, they also connect together, forming a deeper theme on loss. Death, isolation, and abandonment all occur here, bringing a poignancy beneath the chills and frights.
Enríquez’s prose (as well as Megan McDowell’s perfect translation) is magical, deceptive by being casual, delivered just right to keep you reading even when you begin to feel this creeping dread. This author keeps you feeling unsettled and knows just how much her readers enjoy being scared. For a collection enveloped in paranoia and unease, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is compulsive reading and remarkably well-crafted. It’s an impressive feat that will keep you reading well past your bedtime.
“At that age, there’s music playing in your head all the time, as if a radio were transmitting from the nape of your neck, inside your skull. Then one day the music starts to grow softer, or it just stops. When that happens, you’re no longer a teenager. But we weren’t there yet, not even close, back when we talked to the dead.”
I Would Rather Be Reading 
oh good grief, I’ve put it on my TBR list! I’ve never read her, but the writing sounds beautiful and a collection of short stories seems the right way in to horror (plus, it’s a great title!)
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