Member Reviews

This took me a while to read, but it was truly very very good and truly scary! The horror of this novel was played out on so many different levels, beyond just the obvious supernatural horror at the centre of it. Explorations of love, family, knowledge, obligation, and goodness were threaded throughout the novel and even though it is quite long, I feel like I could have continued reading about these characters for much much longer, and at the end I was left wishing for a little more resolution. Our Share of Night is truly an achievement of literary horror and it's beautifully translated as well!

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For me the hardest job is to review this book, give it justice but also explain why it did not work for me.

This is quite a book. It stands at 600 pages, and over 27hours in audio. I chose to listen to this one, and I think that's where I went wrong.

The story is written in such a way, and narrated in a way where it feels like a lullaby. It is very slow, descriptive, at parts emotional and touchy. And I drift away listening to these characters get lost in themselves, and get pulled back in when the blood starts to spill. It goes from 0 to 10 so fast, its like a whiplash.

The story is generational. About a family, the abuse and trauma experienced, and how the parent tries to protect his son from the same. At whatever the cost. It is a dark story - gory, bloody, raw. It also has a lot of political commentary about the times and the location. The inclusion of a cult of the very rich, doing everything at any cost to stay powerful - it all builds a brutal background to all the pain these characters have to endure.

And just like my review, it is all over the place. It does have a linear tale, but not linear timeline. Changing up the time, as well as characters on audio was hard to follow and distinguish who is the current POV and what time it is. It did connect in the end, but I felt very disconnected, especially after listening for it for so long. It could have been better reading a physical copy.

The author did a phenomenal job in weaving this very dark story. I say dark, because there's so many TWs I couldn't try and list them all (please do look for the on the author's website). The writing is phenomenal. I just wish it was shorter to create a better and faster punch to the gut, that the ending was. There's just so much to unfold and process, especially all the pain and trauma the characters get to live through, at the end I should have felt drenched, but because of the length, it faded for me.

Thank you PRH Audio for an ALC. Thank you to Penguin Random House and netgalley for a chance to read this book. All opinions are my own.

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A perfectly acceptable but not terribly memorable trip through the darkest part of night. I feel that some things may have been post in translation. Nevertheless, I was truly and completely spooked. Not bad. A good little night of terror.

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I’d like to thank Random House and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Mariana Enriquez has a way of making your flesh crawl, uneasiness writhing under your skin like an itch you can’t satisfy with a scratch. This is the first novel of hers that I’ve read, and the shocking, grotesque, and cruel imagery/events painted in my mind won’t be quick to leave it. I love witchcraft, I love the occult, I love the left hand path, I love this book and can’t wait to own a physical copy!

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Our Share of Night begins with a grief-laden, father and son road trip. It’s not a welcome trip, but an inevitable one. Juan Peterson and his son Gaspar travel across Argentina to the family home of Rosario, Juan’s late wife and Gaspar’s mother. Ultimately, Juan’s goal is to prevent his son from inheriting the same life he has: that of medium used in service to his family’s powerful devotion to the Darkness and the “way of the left hand”—black magic. Whether Gaspar possesses his father’s ability to invoke the Darkness is not clear, but Juan is determined to cut the boy off from his brutal family who relentlessly seek communion with the Darkness through their medium. Using the same power that makes Juan simultaneously precious and a target for exploitation, he works for years to build protection around the boy. All this happens against the backdrop of the political unrest, kidnappings and disappearings of 1970s Argentina.

Mariana Enríquez’s novel is without a doubt a foray into the dark, mysterious and grotesque, but is shot through with a few deeply likable characters. The evil and horror that is central to the story alternates between shocking and disarmingly casual. Enríquez adds to the sense of the grotesque with her constant reminders of the damp, oppressive heat that suffocates her characters and scenes in the Misiones Province where much of the novel takes place.

Our Share of Night is a long book at nearly 700 pages. At times, the pace moves along nicely through changes in perspective from Juan, to Gaspar, to Rosario and a few other narrators. Some backstory takes a long time to unravel for little reward in the form of insight into the plot or characters. The book is at its best when told from Gaspar’s limited point of view as he grows from a child to a man, almost entirely unaware of the danger his father works to protect him from.

I think it’s worth your time to dive into this long, but thrilling exploration of Argentinian occult and political history, but don’t expect a quick read. For a reader unschooled in Argentinian history, a few google searches here and there to learn more about both the political and religious references may enhance your reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this electronic advanced reader copy.

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OUR SHARE OF NIGHT is impressive and horrifying. It's an eerie, looming painting of a dark fable, shaded with the bloody paint of histories. It's gory and gothic- impassive yet brutally tragic; an epic that entwines allegory with political and occult horror into a spell that entrances.

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From the publisher:
A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality.

For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar’s father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate?

Moving back and forth in time, from London in the swinging 1960s to the brutal years of Argentina’s military dictatorship and its turbulent aftermath, Our Share of Night is a novel like no other: a family story, a ghost story, a story of the occult and the supernatural, a book about the complexities of love and longing with queer subplots and themes. This is the masterwork of one of Latin America’s most original novelists, “a mesmerizing writer,” says Dave Eggers, “who demands to be read.”

My thoughts:

I felt sorry for Gaspar. His mother dies when he is very young. His father, while trying to protect him, is also abusive at times. The Order and his grandmother want to use him to try and obtain immortality of consciousness.

The pace of the book is uneven. It is very slow in parts which gives it a dreamlike or should I say nightmarish quality.

The book jumps around with different sections focusing on different characters. I liked the parts that focused on Gaspar the best. I was puzzled about the inclusion of a section from a journalist's point of view. The only reason I can think of for it is to point out again the horrors of some of the time period the book is set in.

It is definitely a horrifying story. From the Darkness to the way that Mercedes treats and mistreats others as nothing but tools to serve her, it is an unsettling read.

The book does deserve trigger warnings for the body horror and the mentions of abuse of all kinds. The horrors of war and the AIDS epidemic could also be triggering for some people. But seriously, this is a horror book.

I was a little unsatisfied with the ending. I don't want to say more because of spoilers.

Overall, I give this book 4 stars. I liked Gaspar. And even in the slow parts I wanted to know what would happen next and ultimately how things would turn out. If you enjoy your horror with a historical setting mostly in the 80s, in particular Argentina, then this might be a good book for you.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not influence my opinions.

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Happy pub day to the translated version of Our Share of Night - you win the honor of being the most difficult book I’ve ever had to review!

This is a chonk of a horror novel, and steers pretty heavily into literary fiction. It took me SO LONG to read - I swear I would be reading on my kindle for an hour only to make it like 3% further into the book. It was some weird witchcraft.

There were parts of this book I found SO incredible and at times it was impossible to put down. UNFORTUNATELY, there were entire sections that added literally nothing to the plot (IMO, I guess) and I wonder if part of that is due to this being a translation. Perhaps something was lost in translation there that I just wasn’t picking up on?

I loved the characters and the rich backstory that was created…but I hated that the chapters were SO INSANELY LONG. I wish it had been broken up differently…same with paragraphs…some paragraphs went on for multiple clicks of my Kindle screen. No ma’am.

BUT I can’t stop thinking about the story?? Like there were parts I could have totally skipped and still understood everything…but MOST of the book was so well written and fascinating!

Idk man. I can’t say whether I recommend it or not.

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One of my most highly anticipated releases for this year, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy via NetGalley.

This one is definitely higher on the "literary" side of horror and fans of grief-horror will love this one. This novel is a huge undertaking, with Mariana Enriquez expertly spanning decades of time and several regions throughout history, building an unsettling sense of looming dread throughout.

I will excitedly be looking forward to seeing more from this author in the future!

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Our Share of Night is oneof those that only coes around once in a very long time. It's a debut (incredible that it's her first) novel by Mariana Enriquez who is the author of The Dangers of Smoking in bed. Our Share of Night is a horror novel that really is more about the horrors of the dirty war in Argentina. The two main characters are a father Juan and his son Gaspar who struggle to not be devoured bya secret society called The Order which is the deceased wife's family. It's a back and forth in time which you must be patient with. The writing is so exquisite but you must undertsand that it has a rhythm that you have to let happen. It's also a dense novel with many layers that unfold in ways that will make you glad you are reading this book. As I was turning the pages I noticed that the author was exposing the dirty war in such an ingenious way. It has so many paralells to what is happening in today's world. People behaving in excess but not undertanding that it has an effect on others less fortunate than them or those with less political power that them. Eventually we learn it will catch up with them. Warning: This novel has some scary scenes and lots of gore. It's not just for the sake of gore but shows the horrors of what a regime who thought they were on the right side of history could do such unspeakable acts and feel just in doing so. This novel is great for bookclubs because you will have plenty to discuss. Thanks to Hogarth and Netgalley for the read. I'll be buying copies for my friends!

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There are several factors that lead to me picking up any given book to read. In this case, lots of factors converged. First, the cover! It grabbed me. I appreciate great cover art, and am trying to give it more credit, but I like to think it doesn’t influence me that much. In this case, it absolutely did. It is done by Donna Cheng, with interior art by Pablo Gerardo Camacho. .

Secondly, the author’s work is celebrated. Argentine writer Enriquez has published two story collections in English: Things We Lost in the Fire and The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (a finalist for the International Booker Prize and the Ray Bradbury Prize for Science Fiction, among others). I haven’t read them, but I’ve heard of them and wanted to read her work.

Finally, I love horror, and this seemed horrible and weird, from the description.

As per my usual MO, I didn’t read too much about the book before diving into it. I realized it was over 600 pages long and would take a while to read. I didn’t read it quickly; rather, I took my time with it, reading it a bit at a time over two weeks. This was a good choice because it kept me interested, and reading slowly gave me time to let the book settle in my brain.

It needed to settle a bit, because the tone and pacing varied throughout. Set in Argentina, it’s the story of Gaspar, at first a young boy living with his father Juan. It spans from the story of Gaspar’s parents in the 1960s, to 1997 when Gaspar is in his mid-twenties. Important characters flit in and out of the fractured time-line, and there are different points of view throughout. The one unifying story is of Gaspar and his family over the years. The horror here is The Order, a cult that worships the Darkness; it pulls at Gaspar and his parents, haunting them and permeating into everyone they know.

The setting is relevant to this novel. The first parts take place during Argentina’s military junta years from 1976 to 1983, then continue in its aftermath. This was a bloody, turbulent time, and it is estimated that up to 30,000 people, mostly opponents of the regime such as young unionists, students and political activists, were killed, or “disappeared.” The wealthy, the elite, and even foreign governments such as the US and its CIA, supported the junta.

The story felt visceral yet disconnected at the same time, the way a dream sometimes does. There is emotion–in this case horror, disgust and fear–but there is also a sense of remove, just like in a dream. The content is often horrible, but the words on the page are sometimes dispassionate, reflecting the casual cruelty of the Order. Then, sometimes the horror does feel real, usually when told from the point of view of Gaspar, or one of his friends. The depth of the depravity is abhorrent at times. This book is not for the easily triggered: there are some pretty awful scenes of child abuse, so do be aware before reading.

That said, there are times when the story is more factual, filling in the background and giving context, which took some time to emerge. However, I liked how at the beginning the reader is dropped into the middle of Juan and Gaspar’s dealings with the Order and its Darkness. We have to navigate without a map for some time. It added mystery, and enhanced the fear of the unknown.

One pleasure of this book was how, as I sat with it after reading, themes emerged. I found myself jotting notes down in my journal as I contemplated the Darkness and its implications. I realize that the Darkness may be a metaphor for the exploiters; their quest for power; and the selfishness required to sustain it. More specifically, the abuse of power and the exploitation of the poor, the indigenous, the colonized, and those who speak out against injustice.

The more I thought about it, the more I saw the universal relevance of the struggle here. As I was reading, I wondered if I'd get more from it if I knew details about Argentinian politics, and perhaps that’s true. However, this theme is timeless and occurs the world over, no matter where you look. The haves and the have-nots. Interestingly, it’s easy to dismiss the exploiters as someone I’d never be, and group oneself with the “good” folks in the book, but honestly, that’s not completely true. Most of us, in some way, are the exploiters, or at least somewhere in between.

It isn’t a perfect book, but it doesn’t need to be to be enjoyed. The pacing can tend towards the slightly uneven, and again, there is some very horrific abuse on the page, so this will not be suitable for every reader.

I’m thoroughly glad that I read it, and plan to read Enriquez’ short story collections.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Books/Hogarth Books for this digital ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

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Our Share of Night is a masterpiece of slow-burn intrigue and horror. This novel has everything: demons, millionaires obsessed with immortality, human sacrifices, toxic family members, polyamory, lifelong friendships, portals, poetry, and colonial mansions in the jungle. Each of these features is then set against the backdrop of the bloodiest and most disturbing era in Argentina's recent history, the so-called Dirty War.

At 600 pages, Our Share of Night is definitely the longest horror novel I have ever read. At first, this fact seemed like a detriment. The novel is also slow-paced and I couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for it all to come together. Eventually, though, I settled into the rhythm and skill of Enriquez's writing and McDowell's translation.

The central focus of Our Share of Night is the father-son relationship between Juan and Gaspar. Juan is a disabled medium whose entire life is controlled by a cult known as the Order. Gaspar, his son, is an inheritor not only of the Order's prestigious bloodline but also of Juan's ability to connect with the spirit world. Hoping to protect Gaspar, Juan stops him from developing skills as a medium. Juan is seductive, repulsive, and frustrating. Gaspar is sweet and loyal and a victim of his father's dark moods and the Order's disturbing world.

In addition to Gaspar & Juan, the supporting cast of characters are well-developed and interesting, too. Gaspar's childhood friends Pablo, Vicky, and Adela are each delightful. Their strong lifelong friendship is realistic and empathetic. Two more excellent secondary characters are Tali and Stephen. I wish we had been gifted more of Tali in this novel. A priestess of the Saint of Death, she has the most fascinating life.

Overall, I'd highly recommend Our Share of Night to anyone willing to invest their time in a world of dark magic and complicated characters.

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I wish to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this much-anticipated book by one of Latin America's most renowned authors. Unfortunately, I left it unfinished after weeks of picking it up and trying to connect with the characters and storyline. Readers of literary horror and world fiction have enjoyed and praised it highly, but I regret it wasn't for me. Every time I tried to get into the story and its style, I put it down, feeling exhausted. I was bored more than horrified and thought much was added for shock value.

The background touches on the brutal years of Argentina's military dictatorship with its brutal political oppression. Thousands of protesters and young activists disappeared into mass graves. My most vivid memories of Argentina were witnessing the demonstrations of 'the mothers of the disappeared' on several occasions. They were seeking justice and information about what happened to their missing young people. The book's macabre, supernatural, occult atmosphere, with some horrific, grotesque passages, overwhelmed the actual historical atrocities.

This was a blood-soaked epic, and the novel's structure was challenging. The pacing was uneven,
with pointless paths and tangents, unnecessary backstories and flashbacks, pages of irrelevant details, and underdeveloped characters. I thought it was too long, meandering, and bloated. Entire passages could have been edited out.

Juan is a man in poor health who has served as a medium for the Order, a cult serving his dead wife's demonic family. His young son, Gaspar, has started demonstrating Juan's supernatural gifts. Gaspar's destiny is to become a medium like his father, able to summon the god Darkness during the Order's horrendous rituals. These rituals aim to connect with the spirit of Darkness to gain immortality amidst bloody sacrifices and gruesome acts. Juan and Gaspar are on a journey while mourning Juan's recently dead wife and Gaspar's mother. The father is determined to do anything to save his son's future by keeping him out of the grasp of the Order. Gaspar is subjected to abuse. The Order includes wealthy people who support the junta and the turmoil and suffering it caused.

Two books of short stories by Mariana Enriquez have previously been translated into English with much acclaim, one being shortlisted for a Booker literary prize. I plan to read a collection of her short stories, but very sorry this overly long and bloated novel didn't appeal to me.

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Wow. There is a lot of heart and soul in this book but it is very dark. Beautifully written. A masterpiece that horror fans will appreciate and so will non horror lovers

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Wow, “Our Share of Night” by Mariana Enríquez, is an absolutely stunning work of horror. This book gave me nightmares! The plot centers around a mysterious group called The Order, who worship and serve a god they call the Darkness, and who desire to be as gods themselves and live forever. Members of The Order will stop at nothing to reach their goals, even if it means sacrificing their own family members. The Darkness is powerful, but The Order cannot summon it without a person they call a “medium,” who has the power to bring forth the Darkness so it can speak…and be fed. The summoning comes at great cost to the medium, and they do not survive long. When Juan, the current medium, has a son who exhibits the same talents, he knows he must escape the grasp of The Order in order for his son to survive. Thus begins their attempt to escape the powerful clutches of The Order and change their fates.

Set against the backdrop of Argentine history, “Our Share of Night” is a deeply riveting and atmospheric novel. It is a very dark and complex book; it’s definitely a challenging read. And though it is a lengthy read, it is best read slowly so that the reader can soak up every mystifying moment. I can see why this book is being billed as one of the best horror novels of the year; it certainly terrified me!

Thank you NetGalley and Hogarth for granting me the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of one of my most anticipated reads of 2023. It did not disappoint!

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a free e-book copy of the English translation of Our Share of Night. This review is my honest opinion.

I recommend this novel to fans of horror and suspense. This story had me hooked from the very beginning. The characters were interesting, clearly with more going on beneath the surface that was revealed over time. The family intrigue was very powerful. I also really liked the descriptions and sense of atmosphere the author created. The horror elements added a lot to the story.

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★ ★ .5 (rounded up on Goodreads)

For the most part… I would say that I enjoyed this? Heavy emphasis on the question mark because I didn’t enjoy it this book as a whole, but in pieces. And for me this pieces were stand outs, are what saved this story.

There is A LOT of unnecessary backstory and tangent storylines, shifts in pacing, jumping between flashbacks and present with multiple POV snippets that, while yes, they provide some additional context to characters and parts of the main plot, they don’t really matter to the first two sections of this book (250 or so pages) and the last twenty pages.

That said, this easily could have been half the length and really impactful and effective. For a second, I thought the start of part 3 was going somewhere interesting, but by section 2 it’s clear we’re shifting gears and we’ve completely lost the main character and changed stories. While it’s cool to have some of that backstory it’s got absolutely nothing to do with how the story ends and basically parts 3-5 (making up 80% of the book) are filler content with no real purpose.

I will say there’s one part in the middle that’s relevant to the end, and even so it’s only a handful of pages. Everything else, unimportant.

The mysterious, dark, and challenging fast paced nature of the first two sections is more exciting than the ending, I was underwhelmed. If you make it to the end and can look past the middle sections, the best part about it is that the story does come together and everything that Juan had planned for Gaspar comes full circle so there is a sense of closure. Given how large this book is and how much time it takes the reader to get through, having closure by the end for both Juan and Gaspar is nice.

This is definitely not for everyone. While I can say for the most party I enjoyed it, I don’t know that I’d recommend it to anyone to read. The pacing and shift in story line reminds me of Imaginary Friend, which is really hard to get through and redundant by the end.

thank you Random House for this ARC, courtesy of Netgalley. Publication date for “Our Share of Night” is Feb 7, 2023.

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Family centered occult saga with dark fantasy and supernatural elements. The writing itself was gorgeous, but at 600 pages the story was bloated and meandering with too much backstory that ultimately felt pointless. Pretty devastated that this didn’t work for me, but highly recommend the authors previous work.

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Well I sure am glad this book was translated because I really enjoyed it and know many people who will too. Its definitely character focused and travels over decades and multiple people lives. A fathers goal to keep his son away from his mothers vampiric cult of a family, who’s life’s quest is immortality. This story is complex and heart wrenching,

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I was expecting such great things from this book and kept forgiving things that bothered me until about halfway into the book, I reached my breaking point. Much child abuse, over bloated writing that often times led nowhere or took forever to reach the point. The ending was just so so and left the reader and main character in endless hope.
I will note however that the cover art for this book, especially the UK edition, is excellent.

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