This was my first Mariana Enriquez book and it didn't disappoint. What a stellar and fantastic novel from beginning to end!

I've been sitting at 35% on this book for three months.

The book is way, way too abstract and dense for me to fully enjoy. I may come back to it in time, but for now what I seemed to grasp is that the mother is dead. The son may have inherited the father's gifts. The family of the mother wants to son to manifest his gifts of seeing dead people and communicating with them so they can put the soul of the father into he son. The father does not want this to happen so he is trying to keep the son's talents down.

I got as far as the time change - into the future. the 80's. The boy is older now.

There was a lot of physical abuse from the father that was a bit odd for me to fully take in. I have no idea if that's a cultural thing or the father is that type of person.

There have only ever been a handful of horror books that have stuck with me, entwining into the little crevices of my brain, and then arriving in nightmares years later. Until recently, these were things like The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski and more recently, anything by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.   Into these offerings, I bring you the novel (at least I pray it’s a novel) Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez. Told in wildly different styles in multiple segments, the book follows a young man named Gaspar and his unique abilities, and his father’s desperate attempt to hide them.

Juan Peterson is Gaspars’s father. He is also a Medium for a group known only as The Order. After the death of his wife, the daughter of some of the wealthiest and highest-ranking members of The Order, he is called to bring himself and his son to a ritual at the house. Juan is a conduit for something extremely dark, and it is the hope of The Order that Gaspar will share his father’s abilities. What follows is a book involving houses that are far bigger on the inside than the outside, missing children, disappearances in Argentina during some pretty shaky periods in history, and some descriptions that are never going to leave my head.  The book travels from Argentina in the 1980s, to London in the 1970s, and then back to Argentina in the 1990s.  The book is massive, and is best digested in small portions, as the twisted plot and body horror can get to be a bit much for anyone not well steeped in horror.

Mariana Enriquez has created something monstrously beautiful, a vicious feast of cruelty and other worlds we cannot touch. Our Share of Night is a brilliant book and I plan to read everything in Enriquez’s catalog.

Our Share of Night comes to stores February 7, 2022.

Thank you to Random House/Hogarth and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Mariana Enriquez's 'Our Share of Night.'

It's hard to categorize this one but what a ride! It's a combination of straight-up horror, literary fiction, cosmic horror, South American Gothic, and a sneaky political and social history of mid-late-20th century Argentina with a peek back at it's more distant European immigrants and a clear nod to the devastation of her indigenous people and lands. It's a long book but the writing is gorgeous, especially at the beginning when the father and son embark on a road trip. and the characters deep and memorable. I obviously read the translated version so the use of language in the original Spanish must be even more outstanding.

Woven into all of the above is a tale of intergenerational abuse and trauma. Multiple generations of a cult layer horror on top of horror in the name of a great quest. Even though there's a very clear and obvious supernatural core to this generational trauma, it could be applied to more 'mundane' and 'everyday' trauma both personal and societal, both of which are liberally examined. There's a clear thread of queer sensibility throughout including a narrative about the devastation caused by AIDS in the 80s. The author pulls no punches when it comes to the physical and psychological abuse and its impact on individuals and in turn the political and military abuses and their impact on people and the nation.

The structure of the book is impressive and we're constantly seeing connections between previous parts of the book and story that really, for me, resulted in multiple 'ooooooooooohhhhh' moments.

I can see how this could be a love it or hate it type of book but for me it's a winner.

This was a tough read. I had a hard time reading this for personal reasons but it was incredibly well written and an amazing story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez blew my mind. Magical and tragic and horrifying and full of love. when I finished this massive book I was left completely speechless. I'm begging you to read this book!

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is one of my favorite short story collections. It was rich with culture and contained some of the most bizarre stories that I have ever read. Hearing that Mariana was releasing her first full novel I was shaking with excitement. I just had a feeling that this was going to be something to brag about.

This started off slow and didn’t really pick up. Parts were definitely weird and a little spooky but it just didn’t hold my attention like her other books. To be honest, I was bored throughout but decided to give it a bit more time. That was my mistake. Readers told me that everything gets explained in the end but I just couldn't make it that far. I'm surprised that I made it as far as I did. (Yay me!)

I felt as if I’d walked into a dream about the dark pits of hell and had no idea what was going on. There was a lot of pussy-footing around with a big song and dance and I’m still overly confused. That’s not how I like my books. You have to make some kind of sense for me to continue or make it mysterious enough to have me fully invested. It was one that wouldn't bother me if I didn't finish. The book was way too long for everyone to tiptoe around what was really happening. It just wasn’t for me.

Our Share of the Night just wasn't my cup of tea. For a book as long as this I would have expected some kind of mysterious fog coming out from the pages of this book to kidnap me but it just didn't happen. It really pains me to say this because I loved her other two releases. I'll still read her books but I'm going to have to pass on this one. Don't mind me, I'm just going to go cry in the corner.

This was my first book to read by this author but won't be my last! The story and its characters will stick with you long after you finish the story. Highly recommend!

** I read the original Spanish edition.
This book is a conundrum. I did like it. There are a lot of vibes to it and it flows well, I also really enjoyed the writing style (in the original Spanish). The problem is that it is long and not just a little bit too long.. it is LONG, and you feel it drag in parts where it could have been told more concisely. Considering that there really isn't a tight plot in this, I don't know why it couldn't have been edited to be more impactful in a shorter time. I'm not advocating for any of the content to be removed, just for the storytelling to be tighter in each section. Dialogue often droned on after having conveyed its meaning. The ideas, concepts, and themes displayed here were all interesting to me, so it wasn't a total chore to keep reading, but for a reader that is less easily captivated, this will be a real struggle.

I will read Mariana Enríquez again - I am eyeing her short story collections-- and this is a recommendation from me, albeit with numerous caveats.

I felt like this book could have been shorter and been more effective, but in the end I did enjoy it and look forward to more by this author.

I read the translated version and apparently everyone else seemed to really like this one. For me, I felt like there was a horrifying story here, but sometimes it was so hidden by mundane things that I wanted to cut out a few hundred pages to get to the meat of it all. Overall it was a journey to get to the end and I guess I expected more once I got there.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very middle of the road book for me. I feel like it could have been a lot shorter or just more interesting. The horror aspect was so/so and the characters and plot were just okay.

WOW!!!

First I would like to thank NetGalley for this ARC, it's my very first and can't wait to read and review future titles.

but first, it is my responsibility to share some TW - child abuse, cult blood ceremonies, murders, sexual violence, and domestic violence

Starts in the 1980s, in Argentina (Dirty ear era) with father Juan taking his song Gaspar on a road trip.
Gaspar is trying to protect his son from his prophesized destiny. Gaspar's maternal side are members of a cult named "The Order" created by the wealthy families of that era that were able to escape the atrocities going on in the county. Juan was rescued when he was younger and suffering from a heart condition. A doctor soon realized that Juan has abilities to communicate with the dead and is used as a vessel for the "darkness" . This is where the book gets really dark the Order pretty much makes human sacrifices including torturing and abusing children.

Juan's health is deteriorating and they have their sites set on Gaspar assuming his place in the order.
The story is about Juan protecting his young son that doesn't understand everything that is going on as his own special abilities start to appear and will be even stronger than his father.

it is also a VERY long read but it's needed to include everything necessary to the story.
It reminded me of Tananarive Due, My soul to keep/ African Immortals books but WAYYYYYYY more intense and violent

"His son was crying, but Juan couldn’t console him. Gaspar missed his mother— she had done these things automatically: trimmed his nails, sewn his buttons, washed behind his ears and between his toes, asked if he’d peed before leaving, taught him how to tie his shoelaces in a perfect bow. Juan missed her too, but he didn’t want to cry with his son that morning. You have everything you want? he asked. We’re not going to come back for anything, I’m warning you."
loc96 Kindle ebook

The main character, Juan, gives a warning at this early point in the book. He's warning his recently orphaned son, Gaspar, that he is not a loving father, so not to expect it. He is warning him life is about to change in horrible and inescapable ways, that his warning is all he will ever have again.

This warning is also for the reader, and it's for similar reasons. None of the characters will behave as we expect them to--no such thing as friendship or family loyalty as we know it, and violence might come from any unlikely source, and be directed at any unlikely target. "We're not coming back," Jaun says, but what he means is, the only way out, is through.

I found this book incredibly difficult. The form is brutally organized, looping and looping, or perhaps it's above my head. I actually think it's the second. I had a language and style issue also, that I initially thought was a translation problem. But it's not. Enriquez *meant* for some of the English sentences to be challenging syntactically, or so it seems. In a way, I couldn't access this book.

I do not know how to rate this book. I recognize how brilliant it is, even though I was left outside of it. For that I want to give it 5 stars. But I floundered with this huge book for hours, which means the writers vision is inaccessible to its target audience. Right? I'm a horror reader in English. And for that I would give it 2 stars. Averaged, that's 3.5 stars. It deserves rounding up because as I said before, I can tell it's a brilliant work of horror fiction.

Thank you NetGalley, Hogarth, Random House Publishing Group, Mariana Enriquez, and Megan McDowell for the chance to read this ARC.

Rating 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars
Finished November 2022
Recommended for readers who can read the original translation; fans of horror, cult thrillers, magical realism, family sagas with horror/thriller elements
TW there are so many triggers in this book, see if you can find a list on the author's website. Violence against children, knives and cutting and stabbing, DV, SA, cults, blood cults, toxic relationships, blood, abandonment

This book was not for me. It was hard to read, and I’m not sure why. I couldn’t fall into it. Though my circumstances may be different than someone else’s - I have 2 kids under the age of three, so if it isn’t easy for me to read, unfortunately, I just can’t get into it.

Lord help me, I tried with this one. I really did. Argentinian horror pastiche and supernatural thrillers really does seem to be my jam. But this book felt like a slow, relentless slog of a narrative and despite my best intentions I ended up doing something I rarely do -- I put it down and decided to move on. I'm sure people will like this book. It's not for me. DNF, 25%.

This book is well-written for the most part but I feel like something was lost in the translation -- I couldn't connect with, or relate to, any of the characters.

Our Share of Night is a stunning story and there is a lot to unpack within its pages. This is a long, slow, slow burn story... but that only enhances the themes and the enjoyability.

On the surface this story is one of nightmares and horror and while that is true, on a deeper level it is also a story of relationships, honor, trust, generational terrors, family, and the parent-child relationship. It has so many levels and you can get out of it what you want, as much or as little. I found myself having to put this down from time to time because it is a very dark story, a beautifully written and wonderful dark story.

I love slow burn stories that really pull me in diverse ways and that push me to look at different situations in new and unique ways. This story is one that left me with many thoughts and views, and I am still thinking about it a week later. I feel the need to read this a few more times to fulling get the impact and the answers I am searching for.

I don't want to give anything away because this is a story that needs to be unfolded in increments just as the author wrote it so I will live that here but just say, as far as a horror story goes, this one is wonderful and unique. I loved everything about it and think those readers looking for a story that will devour them, will find that here. Brillant and amazing!

I received an ARC via NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Hogarth and I am leaving an honest review.

Our Share of Night was a really interesting book, a mix of horror, mystery, and historical fiction. I liked the Argentina setting and the themes of family trauma and relationships.
I felt that the book was WAY too long.

Evocative and haunting. Mariana Enriquez's exploration of generational trauma, family legacies, and parent-child relationships gripped me from beginning to end. I enjoyed the complexity of the relationships and the slow burn of the plot.