Virgilio Piera said that Kafka was a costumbrista writer in Havana; we might suggest, with Enriquez in mind, that the gothic is a costumbrista genre in Argentina. Turning to Latin American literature, we observe that the gothic has borne relatively little fruit, often considered a subgenre within the fantastic, science fiction, or magical realism (see Brescia, Negroni, Braham, Dez Cobo, Casanova-Vizcano, and Ordiz). Ive been wanting to read more weird fiction in translation, so was excited to pick up Mariana Enriquezs Things We Lost in the Fire. Hey, wait a seconddoes this sound familiar to anyone else? Its just that even the weirdest fiction needs a way to elide the seams between real-world horror and supernatural horrorand many authors have similar observations about the former. A very good Sunday morning talk, suggests Mariana, and sounds like she means it. In others, "Adela's House" and "An Invocation of the Big-Earred Runt," past crimes reach out from the past to claim new victims. Things We Lost in the Fire (story collection) - Wikipedia You have no idea what goes on there. The boy opens the door; she goes in. While most shudder away, Enriquezs women are drawn to it, as if to see what they can do with it. Why is that a representation youre comfortable with? Maybe the girl is lying? No matter how weighty her themes, Enriquez readily references genre fiction and popular culture in her work; films such as Kiyoshi Kurosawas dread-soaked internet ghost story Pulse and the new flesh of Cronenbergs Videodrome. These rudderless, narcotically charged delinquents cast dark shadows in the nations flickering light: I walked slowly over to him and tried to imitate the look of hatred in the eyes of the girl in Parque Pereyra. Ive traveled just a bit in the United States, but I have a few friends there. Copyright 2023 Kenyon Review. I distorted things of course, but mostly it was two boys, they lived around the slum near the river and they were caught by the police and tortured in the street they simulated shooting them., And then they were told to swim the river. Yamil Corvalns body has already washed up, a kilometer from the bridge. On the southern edge of the city, past the Moreno Bridge, the city frays into abandoned buildings and rusted signs. Oh come, Emanuel? $24.00. They simply had to go. "[5], In a review in Vanity Fair, Sloane Crosley was impressed by Enriquez's skill at using supernatural stories to explore Argentina's political turmoil: "In her hands, the countrys inequality, beauty, and corruption tangle together to become a manifestation of our own darkest thoughts and fears."[6]. I used this incident, making minor modifications, as the point of departure for the rest of my story. You Are Here: ross dress for less throw blankets apprentissage des lettres de l'alphabet under the black water mariana enriquez. and our But the next day, when she tries to call people in the slum, none of her contacts answer. We are delighted to offer a range of residential and online programs to support writers at every stage of their writing journey. Anne wasnt able to submit a commentary this week. By Mariana Enriquez December 11, 2016 It's harder to breathe in the humid north, up there so close to Brazil and Paraguay, the rushing river guarded by mosquito sentinels and a sky that can. I sincerely believe that they dont have a true idea of what it is like to live in a highly politicized society. Under the Black Water isnt quite a Shadow Over Innsmouth retelling, but it riffs on the same tune. You can be afraid of a monster and fear can also turn you into a monster. This type of phenomenaI can find no better word to describe itis ever less frequent in world literature. We are not currently open for submissions. The full schedule can be found hereand the marginalia can be found here. In his house, says the boy, the dead man waits dreaming. The priest is furious, and furious with Pinat for being stupid enough to come. The slum spreads along the black river, to the limits of vision. They learned how to swim. The time stamp suggests that he at least knew that two young men were thrown into the Ricachuelo River. Vitcavage: When youre writing, do you primarily write for an Argentinian audience, or do you consider that your works will end up in English at some point, read by Americans as well as the rest of theworld? Just a few months ago, she helped win a case against a tannery that dumped toxic waste in the river for decades, causing a massive cluster of childhood cancers and birth defects: extra arms, cat-like noses, blind high-set eyes. In one story, "Under the Black Water," a severely polluted river that has become a dumping ground for victims of police violence becomes a source of a zombie cult. Up next is u/Joinedformyhubs with the penultimate story in the collection, Green Red Orange, on Wednesday, December 21. Enriquez: Of the authors I know who have works translated in English, there are Di Benedetto, Silvina Ocampo, Manuel Puig, Ricardo Piglia, and Julio Cortzar, who is very famous. Novel, short story collection, a long investigative non-fiction book? I interviewed Enriquez via email; I wrote to her in English and she responded in Spanish, with Jill Swanson then translating. Im still intrigued by the idea of pollution as a messed-up attempt at bindingcontaining, of course, the seeds of its own destruction. Meet Mariana Enriquez, Argentine journalist and author, whose short stories are of decapitated street kids (heads skinned to the bone), ritual sacrifice and ghoulish children sporting sharpened teeth. The contamination is due to the factories and slaughterhouses on the shores of the Riachuelo that dump their waste into the river, polluting it. Through them, Enriquez explores tourism in Argentina, the rich visiting the slums, plus so many more dynamic perspectives on her homecountry. Mariana Enriquez on Teen-Age Desire | The New Yorker The electricity made my hair stand on end; I felt like it had turned into wires, Theres something about the friendships of girls when theyre teenagers that to me is totally scary, is totally witchery, is totally mysterious, Enriquez says. We publish your favorite authorseven the ones you haven't read yet. And he wants to meet Pinat. After a few pages of that, walking corpses and abomination-imprisoning oil slicks just seem like a logical extension. An abandoned house brims with shelves holding fingernails and teeth. Im still intrigued by the idea of pollution as a messed-up attempt at bindingcontaining, of course, the seeds of its own destruction. And her gun, of course. People swimming under the black water, they woke the thing up. But the police throwing people in there, that was stupid. Silvia hated public. Ruthanna Emrysis the author of the Innsmouth Legacy series, includingWinter TideandDeep Roots. Fear is one of the most powerful and motivating emotions. Just a while ago an English work of Antonio Di Benedetto was recovered. "The Intoxicated Years" - MarzAat But Pinat does, and doesnt try to investigate the slum from her desk like some of her colleagues. The Villas not empty any more; the drums are passing in front of the church. Then she runs, trying to ignore the agitation of the water that should be able to breathe, or move. T hough the terms are often used interchangeably, or as a compoundGothic Horrorin their primeval essences Gothic fiction and Horror fiction can be said to have as much to do with each other as classic and modern Country music.Modern Country, like Modern Horror, is a literal, unpretentious genre: we're from the American South, we sing how we talk, and primarily about the subjectsbeer . I dont have a problem about being called a horror writer, she answers directly when I ask.