The Quiet Place Book Club: The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez

Join us for the June meeting of The Quiet Place Book Club, where we will discuss The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (Granta Books, 2021) by Mariana Enriquez (trans. Megan McDowell). 

In The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, award-winning Argentine novelist and journalist Mariana Enriquez weaves the grotesque in the most quotidian moments in our lives. Dense with motifs of revenge, supernatural and fetishes, Enriquez's collection of twelve short stories caught us off guard - drawing us towards her carefully crafted setting of Bueno Aires that speaks of "murderous intentions" and "morbid desires. 

It was a confusing time for me, and I reached a conclusion that soothed my conscience: I didn't like real sick people, and as such, I was not depraved. Those thoughts didn't save me from my obsession. For an entire year I spent my allowance on expensive medical books, while my friends all spent theirs on drugs. Nothing brought me as much happiness as those books. All those euphemisms for death. All those beautiful medical terms that didn't mean anything, all that hard jargon - that was pornography. 

You can purchase a copy of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed from Fox Lane Books. Please register in advance for this meeting. Everyone is welcome!

Contact: amk565@york.ac.uk / kw1408@york.ac.uk