A challenging read that merges horror and the fraught politics of Argentina. While I'm certain others will find it illuminating and terrific, she lost me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I DNF at about 30 percent but would urge fans of world literature and literary fiction to give it. a try.

(Also posted on Goodreads on 1/30/2023).

(ARC from NetGalley)

I enjoyed this book. I really liked the dark world and all the magic blended with real events. It had some really good, dark moments and creepy scenes.

I found the book a little slow at times and I was bored, and sometimes the world got a little complicated for me.

Great themes, eerie image of a demon I will have stuck in my head, and super imaginative!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5306765612

I loved everything about this book. I was captivated from start to finish!

This novel was twisted, brilliant, and dark. The writing was incredible, leading to such a well-paced novel that was so addictive!

I cant wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this one!

This is such an epic and horrifying story. It starts with a father and son on a road trip. Soon you learn that this will not be a simple story. Sure there are ghosts, dead people, murder, gore, violence, and abuses all surrounding the context of a cult. However, it is also the story of people with strong emotional and familial ties being coerced financially and through otherworldly means. Each character we follow is struggling with trauma, and at the same time, they take actions that show them both as victims and, at times, perpetrators. On top of that, the backdrop is the military dictatorship in Argentina, state repression, and its aftermath.

This complex story grabbed me and has not let me go. If you can handle it, I highly recommend it.

Our Share of Night is a slow build of dread and unease as the reader follows a family in Argentina dealing with a horror-inducing Darkness. This book has a noir feeling to it when it comes to pacing, and an overall long journey that ends with a satisfying conclusion that maintains the thread of family connections, chosen and not-chosen. This was a rough read at times, but I'm glad I read it. This book is a journey in itself, and the quiet horrors stuck with me more than I thought they would. Overall, I'd recommend this to someone looking to deeply dive into a long noir-horror mystery tale.

Some content notes to be aware of: sexual assault, gore, body horror, homophobia, child abuse.

Set in the 1970s and 1980s Argentina, this is a sweeping family epic horror story, mysterious and twisted. The Order has lived through the years by exploiting the power of the medium. The current medium, Juan, has lived a harsh life - but also complicated further, by marrying into one of the families, and having a son, Gaspar. With his wife Rosario dead from a bus accident, Juan is left to parent Gaspar. And protect him from the Order, who see Gaspar as their next medium.

This was complicated and twisty and dark, fully of dread and disaster. It’s a heavy book (literally and figuratively), with a brutal family obsessed with the Darkness which drives the Order, and a little boy trapped by destiny. Enriquez’s story is so unsettling and brilliant, while McDowell’s translation maintains such a dark and creepy tone. Messed up but compelling.

DNF at 16% (~97 pages). Unfortunately this book and I just didn't mesh well. I was fairly bored and struggled to connect. I am definitely in the minority here, so I will recommend this to those interested. I think there is a lot to get out of this, but it's just not for me.

In the aftermath of the turmoil of Argentina’s Dirty War, the rich create their own darkness, seeking immortality by destroying the lives of others. Juan, a man who was forced to work at the service of this darkness from a young age, knows his end is near, but his greatest hope is to save his young son from the fate he cannot escape.

1️⃣ This is considered horror. And it is absolutely horrifying. But it took me a short while to adjust to the rules of the world, which I didn’t expect from the genre.

2️⃣ The relationships in this book are so complex, with the possibility of animalistic brutality simmering beneath every interaction between characters. And the simmer often, abruptly, reaches a boil. This book contains atrocities.

3️⃣ This is a thick book. If you pick it up on Kindle (🙋‍♀️), you may not realize that until you notice have been at the 1% mark for 25 minutes. Going into the book with that knowledge should help. You’ll need to pay attention and work a bit with this book, but it’s absolutely worth it.

4️⃣ Argentinian literature is one of my favorite things. I loved seeing how Enriquez explored this time period in history through this complicated, horrifying lens.

5️⃣ Although I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with this book initially, it is very much worth the read. As best you can, prepare for horrors you don’t want to face and wade into this story.

I wanted to start off by comparing this to a book that possessed the same effect as Our Share of Night, but I simply can't come up with a single book. Nothing from the years of books I've read. I could say the reason for that is it's told not only in the voice of someone that tells of a place I have so seldom read about, Argentina, but it's done in a similar poetic, enchanting, and laser-focus manner on all the minute details, such as the late, great literary pillar, Peter Straub.

If you want to know what literary horror is, this is just about the greatest example you could ever have.

The horror in Our Share conjure some of the most gruesome images that will surely haunt me 'till my dying day. The folkloric aspects are so enticing that, at times, I can imagine someone romanticizing and glossing over all the awful (and very real) destruction of death and destruction, orchestrated by crooked politicians and evil leaders, and instead, focus on the magic and wonders of a young man trying to figure out life.

This tome checks off just about every damn thing a reader of the dark, twisted, and scary could ever desire. It's the first time this book has been translated in English, as well, which makes me wonder just how many exquisite books and authors I will never be able to enjoy because I don't speak their language.

This giant story is a lot. Author Mariana Enríquez is a very accomplished bilingual writer, but much of the subject matter covered here just wasn't my cup of tea. On one level, Our Share of Night is the story of Juan Peterson and his family: recently deceased wife Rosario and young son Gaspar. But Juan and Rosario's family histories are so intertwined and complex as to be bewildering. I took copious notes in an effort to keep track of all the many characters within several generations spanning 1904-1993 and beyond in both directions, but my confusion stemmed more from disbelief and horror than information overload.

The cruelty and madness within this family parallels political turmoil of South America's dictatorship, socioeconomics relating to colonialism and slavery, and the rigors of diaspora. There are many themes throughout this book having to do with physical and mental suffering, torture, violence and wounded or missing appendages. There is a secret occult society called The Order, that worships a cult of the Shadow, a wildly destructive, orgiastic force of evil. Juan has been a Medium connecting The Order to the Shadow since childhood and has suffered so much in that capacity that he'll do anything to protect his son Gaspar from the same fate. Tall and seductive Juan is a vampirish figure, beautiful in an otherworldly way; a widower caring for his young son but at the same time abusive towards Gaspar. Also he has graphic sex with partners of every gender, including his doctor, sister-in-law, and random photographers. This book was too long and too out there to hold my interest; I would recommend it to fans of epic paranormal sagas featuring gratuitous sex and gore.

Deeply unsettling and weird in the best possible way. 10/10 no notes I preordered it immediately after getting to the halfway point.

This was DARK. Very dark. And mysterious. And addictive. And so perfectly paced. Definitely one of my new favorite horror novels!

Good lord, the next time I decide to pick up a book this long, do me a favor and stop me. Just knock the damn thing out of my hand, or deny my netgalley or edelweiss request ok?!

It wasn't a bad book by any means, it was just toooo damn loooong. I'm postive we could've achieved the same outcome in oh, say, 300 less pages?

In a nutshell, a boy is born to a father who has a magnificantly terrible ability to communicate with an evil darkness and has inherited his powers. His father is sickly, dying a slow death, and is endlessly abused and forced to perform Rites and Ceremonials at the hands of his adopted family, who want to harness this darkness for their own dark, demented means. His father knows nothing will stop them from coming after his son once he's dead so he protects him, marks him so that his family will never be able to find him and force him to suffer the same destiny.

All of this is basically covered in the first section of the book. During the remaining 75% of the novel, we are frustratingly bounced around at a snails pace across a multitude of time periods and by a handful of connected narrators who continue to shed their particular light on what we already knew, the whole time wondering where we are being led and if we are ever really going to get there. And we do, readers, we do. But man, if there was short cut to get there, I would have gladly taken it!

Also, to be fair, this was a big buzz book in 2022, and by now I should know that me and big buzz books don't usually get along so well. So I'm not surprised to find myself underwhelmed.

Here's looking forward to seeing what 2023 has in store for me!!

3.5 stars

Mariana Enriquez writes about characters you will love and darkness that you couldn't have imagined yourself. I really hope this gets turned into a movie some day.

This was an enjoyable, but long read. Some aspects felt drawn out and by the end I felt like there were a lot of loose ends and things I wanted answered. There was so much AMAZING content in here that still could have been expanded upon. I'm usually all for when things are left open for interpretation, but I feel like the ending left us with not much. I was really expecting a big bang! There were for sure moments where I was shocked and actually covered my mouth while reading, and that's always a good feeling. I guess I was just left wanting more overall. Like I said though, I loved these characters. Gaspar and Juan especially will live with me for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hogarth for the advanced copy.

Demons, violent cults, monsters made out of darkness - this book is not my usual cup of tea, but I was surprisingly intrigued. Told in alternating timelines, the story mostly follows a medium, Juan, and his son, Gaspar, as they try to escape the clutches of a demonic cult committed to discovering immortality through torture and murder. There’s a lot more to it, of course - like a very interesting history of Argentinian politics - and like most long books there were some parts I enjoyed more than others.

Ultimately, I liked more than I disliked, but be warned - there is some truly disturbing imagery within these pages and I had more than a few uneasy nights as I made my way through this. I also felt like the climax was a little rushed and rather than an ending, it just ended.

Read if you like: death cults, sleepless nights, nightmare fuel, horror with a side of poetry

I applied for this ARC because of the cover & the intriguing blurb. This book took me several days to finish, and not because it was bad or boring, but simply because it felt like ...a task. It was not one you can quickly breeze through (in my opinion) and I'm not sure if that is due to the translation or the author just writing in a certain style. It was worth the read, however cumbersome and I would read more by this author.

I was so excited to receive this ARC and I blew right through it. It was one of my most anticipated novels for 2023 and it did not disappoint. I am not much into horror novels. I usually only read them around Halloween but I have heard so much good about this one that I just couldnt wait that long. This book is dark and mysterious and impossible to put down. This novel was expertly crafted in its writing and storytelling. Every element blended seamlessly.

unfortunately this is a dnf. the writing style wasn't for me. thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc.

There is so much to love in this book. The characters are really interesting, the occult elements are fascinating, and it does a great job weaving the true history and danger alongside the supernatural. However, I felt like so much of the imaginative and interesting parts were weighed down by the descriptions of day-to-day monotony. I would have enjoyed it more if it had been 200-300 pages shorter with a tighter focus. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

A few years ago, I remember reading this tweet by Alexander Chee that said something along the lines: "There are other ways of expressing that you love someone other than constantly worrying about them." And yet, what if you live in a world that makes other people's existence and well-being so precarious that worrying about them is all we can do? I think "Our Share of Night" is ultimately a book about the corrosive effect of violence on love and care; and how impossible it is to have any healthy attachment and relationship when you are fighting for a better future for the ones that you love.

I think books about dictatorships are hard to do well, especially when you are dealing with events so traumatic and infamous that you have decades of written legacy to contend with. It is not merely trying to do justice to the violence, it is also making sure not to fall into tropes and traps of post-memory fiction as a genre. In transforming truth through the lens of horror and fantasy, Enriquez has created a unique and marvelous text that speaks to the violence of dictatorship in a new and refreshing vocabulary of loss and love.

In re-reading it, I was shocked to realize that, despite knowing the story well, I was still swept in Juan's attempts to save his son's future, in the history of the cult that stole his own existence, and the heartbreaking desire for redemption and salvation. It made me think of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice: of course, Orpheus went to hell to get her back, of course he couldn't save her.