“Spiderweb” by Mariana Enriquez

This is a spooky story. At the beginning, the author describes a strange sight seen from an airplane. The protagonist sees a house on fire, but it suddenly disappears.

The protagonist dislikes her husband, Martín. She even wishes he were dead.

Her hatred of him is evident on almost every page. I thought she might come to like him by the end of the story, but my expectations were completely disappointed.

[Spoiler] A few pages before the end, several eerie incidents take place. Then, at the very end, Martín disappears into thin air.

The relationship among the protagonist, Martín, and Natalia, the protagonist's cousin, is vividly portrayed.

I wouldn't want Martín as a friend. He is stubborn, complains a lot, and blames others instead of taking responsibility for his own actions. Natalia's character is also vividly portrayed. She is bright and cheerful and has a weakness for handsome men. She takes a positive attitude toward life. She is quite the opposite of Martín.

The title, “Spiderweb,” symbolizes a trap. The reader, too, is caught in the web of the story's eerie atmosphere and unexpected ending. The story's strange, unsettling impression lingers in the reader's mind long after it ends.

 Mariana Enriquez is a writer based in Buenos Aires. She won several prizes, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Fiction. This story was translated by Megan McDowell and published in 2016.