What I’m Reading Now: Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez

I’m a discriminatory reader who will try a story or two and give up if I don’t like them. However, Enriquez got my attention by starting strong. “The Dirty Kid,” the first story in her collection, focuses on a young woman living in a crime-ridden city in Argentina. She’s privileged and lives in a nice home, but she’s a daily witness to the poverty and crime around her. The woman helps a dirty boy who lives on the streets with his drug addict mother. Later, when she doesn’t see the boy and hears news about a young boy recently decapitated, she sets out walking to find the boy and his mother. I haven’t listened to the other stories yet, though I’ve previewed a few of them. Make no mistake: this is a violent collection, so it’s not for those who can’t handle violence or the macabre. Still, I’m looking forward to trying the other stories. The book is a translated audiobook. Ms. Enriquez is from Argentina.