A Sunny Place for Shady People - Mariana Enriquez

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez marks the return of one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary literature. Following her International Booker Prize-shortlisted collection The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, Enriquez offers another masterful blend of the uncanny, the emotional, and the political.

In this collection, deeply human characters find themselves face to face with ghosts, curses, and the darkness of history itself. Set against the backdrop of modern Argentina, these stories explore themes of love, womanhood, queerness, violence, and the lingering scars of dictatorship.

Enriquez’s prose moves effortlessly between the intimate and the horrifying, showing how trauma, desire, and the supernatural coexist in the shadows of everyday life. With her trademark mix of gothic intensity and social insight, A Sunny Place for Shady People invites readers into a world where the line between the living and the dead is beautifully, dangerously thin.

Main Themes of the Book

The Supernatural and the Real: Ghosts and hauntings as metaphors for trauma and memory.

Womanhood and Identity: Female experiences shaped by history and power.

LGBTQ Counterculture: Desire, resistance, and freedom in a world of repression.

Argentina’s Past: The echoes of dictatorship and loss in everyday life.

Love and Fear: How intimacy and horror intertwine in the human heart.

Why You Should Read This Book by Mariana Enriquez

• Written by Mariana Enriquez, one of Latin America’s most celebrated literary voices.
• A Booker Prize-shortlisted author known for her haunting, powerful storytelling.
• Perfect for readers of Carmen Maria Machado, Samanta Schweblin, and Shirley Jackson.
• Combines gothic horror with political and emotional realism.
• Explores the intersection of fear, beauty, and survival in striking prose.

A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez is a darkly mesmerizing exploration of the ghosts — both literal and emotional — that haunt modern life. Merging the political with the personal and the mystical with the mundane, Enriquez continues to redefine contemporary horror and short fiction. A stunning, unsettling, and unforgettable collection from one of today’s most daring writers.