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This is a book that will absolutely stay with you.

On the surface it's about how one family suffers under the weight of a terrible cult built on torture and darkness in the name of a dark God they think offers them immortality in exchange, beneath this it's about trauma and loss- the sort that devours generations- even nations. If you have a hard time with the first book (I certainly did because of my personal triggers), maybe the third too, keep going, there's more than enough reason to finish. Enriquez has built a unique world here, one with edges of atmospheric weight, true and carefully written grief, and an improbably powerful purpose.

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It has been a long day today but it seems fitting to post this #bookreview during dusk. This is my first time diving into @mayaxenriquez 's work and I emphasize DIVE because the character development, the society development, the atmosphere - this shit is DEEP. Thank you to the author, @netgalley, and the publisher @randomhouse for the e-ARC of OUR SHARE OF NIGHT.

Enriquez has created a whole underground universe that intertwines the stories in this collection about a black magic cult that enslaves its mediums under the guise of protection and the multi-generational fight of a family trying to break the curse/gift/enslavement of being a medium for this collective. The stories mostly take place in Argentina and switch between past and present to form the whole of the characters therein.

I enjoyed this connected collection immensely, especially the queerness that radiated through the stories: Juan's bi/pan/poly lifestyle, the discussion of androgynous magic, etc. The shadowy society, attempts to outsmart them, etc were a lovely accompaniment.

I will certainly pick up my copy of THE DANGERS OF SMOKING IN BED by the same author soon! Yes, I bought a book by an author I have never read and then promptly grabbed a copy of said author's new, completely different book on netgalley. Is that weird? Can you relate?

Stay hydrated out there friends!

đź’šSMASHBOTđź’š

#bibliophile #booknerd #booksta #bookworm #bookdragon #bookreview #ourshareofnight #marianaenriquez #shortstorycollection #bookish #booklover #books

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Some days, and then days and days following, you just need to read an absolutely sprawling and brutal cult story, and that’s Our Share of Night.

Following multiple timelines and narrators we see the implosion of a family as they attempt to escape their fate. While woven deftly around that thread is psychedelic portals, ghostly visions, grotesque demonic rituals and the violence of The Dirty War. Serious, this book is dense.

What makes this book easy is the rhythm of Enriquez prose, and what I’m assuming is an excellent translation by Megan McDowell. It’s horrifying and also incredibly pleasurable to read. I was already recommending it to people when I was only halfway through.

This very well may be my favourite book of the year.

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Love a book about a cult, can't keep me away from them. This was no exception. Thank you for giving me the opportunity!

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As usual, her writing is great. Lush, dark, creepy, and intense. The story is interesting and slowly unwinds. I realized the storyline may be a bit too dark for me at this time. I've never been big on horror but wanted to try this one since I read her short stories and love her writing style.

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I think I liked this book. It was masterfully done; my favorite part is how we learn a little more about the people and events of the plot with each character’s perspective that we read. An unsettling and fascinating read.

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This was very long but also so wonderful. This author did an amazing job at weaving this story together - one of my favs of the year

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I LOVED this book, we have already purchased it for our library and it continues to be a hit. The way the story is told leaves you wanting more.

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I think I would have liked this more if I was in a different headspace. This month has been very slumpy and this was sooo long. I started off a little confused than it started to make sense and then I got confused again, there was some stuff that I felt could have been left out and didn't really add to the story. I still can't tell you what this is about really, but I didn't hate it which is a win for me right now.

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This book is a RIDE. It's also a door stopper. Huge and extremely nuanced. 4.5 stars

We meet Juan and his son Gaspar, seemingly on a pretty normal father-son car trip. But soon I was picking up on the weird interactions between the two, the unspoken bits between the spoken words. It gets really spooky and strange REALLY fast. The 600+ page journey hops timelines, but I believe Enriquez does a fantastic job of keeping it pretty streamlined and followable. The narrators change, and we're able to get some fantastic perspective shifts and revelations.

I will admit that a book of this length can fall into pacing issues, and it did just that. There were parts that were great for context but not so great for my attention span. The end is a bit rushed, and I wish that we would have skipped past some of the slower bits and extended the ending to give it the oomph it deserved. BUT. I loved this spooky ooky shit.

Genres: ALLL THE GENRES. just kidding. but there are many. it gets dark and occulty, supernatural fantasy-ish, with all the gothic and horror vibes. Which is my jam.
Warning: this shit is dark. there's major imagery of violence against children, animals, women, etc. etc. The writing is superb, but it makes these scenes all the more disturbing. Read with caution.

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I wanted to love this book. I really enjoyed the scene setting, the atmosphere, and the characters toward the beginning. But the story just moved too slow for me and was bogged down by the details. I would definitely like to check out more of this author’s work, as I do think this had an interesting premise and vibe. Ultimately it just could not keep my interest enough to read it quickly and this made the reading experience drag on too long.

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This book is terrifying and amazing and I will never be the same again.

From the very first page you get this sense that this book is something great, and as I kept going, that sense just got stronger and stronger.

I have one complaint and that is a request for a longer resolution with Juan and Rosario, but I think that my request is more of a need to continue reading Enriquez's work, rather than a flaw in her writing.

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Epic, hypnotic, unpredictable. Enriquez's power to write characters into and out of lifetimes of nightmares only gets stronger with time.

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What a captivating and entrancing read. I was hooked from page one to learn more about the mysteries buried inside this gem of a book. Twisted and weird I recommend to anyone who wants a longer literary adventure!

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This was such a great and unusual book. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because the end is pretty anti-climactic, and there are very long stretches that are really more about the characters just living their lives than advancing the plot that made it feel much longer than it was, and stretch out the horror moments a bit too much. That being said, I did actually enjoy those parts quite a bit. The writing is excellent and the characters are all very interesting. I just personally wish there was a little more horror happening between the big moments because it almost feels like two different books sometimes. But, wow, it was still so good. I love how frequently some random detail that you forget about turns up hundreds of pages later as a major plot point. It's threaded together extremely well. I've loved everything this author's written so far, and I'm even more excited to see what she does next now. I especially hope she keeps up with horror. Some of the things she came up with here are genuinely super creepy. Plus, all the Argentinian history and descriptions of day to day lifestyle was really fun to read about as someone who isn't from there. I enjoyed it very much. Thanks for the ARC!

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This book is definitely a slow burn. It took me quite a while to get through it, I even put it down a few times to read something else. However, I'm glad that I didn't give up. I enjoyed the arc of this story and the development of the characters. Beautifully written..

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I liked this book as a whole but didn’t like all of the in between if that makes sense. I know there was so much life to tell in this book but I thought it could be at least a hundred pages shorter in my opinion. But still the story of Gasper, Juan and The Order kept my attention and resonated with me for days after. Will I read this author again? Absolutely! Would I recommend this book? Yes and no. It’s super dense and very wordy if you have patience to read 600 pages of a gruesome life journey I would say give it a shot !

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I am forever in awe of Mariana Enriquez's ability to write and I loved her short story collection "The Dangers of Smoking in Bed" but this one was.....difficult due to the convoluted plot. I ended up having to check out the audiobook from my local library because I struggled getting settled into the e-book version. Plus I love getting pronunciations in the audiobook. I enjoyed many parts of the first 58% of the book, with some queer rep, horror elements, and such but overall....I found I never cared about the characters and the plot never really made sense to me. And without at least one of those elements hooking me.....I just did not enjoying my reading experience. I will GLADLY read more from Mariana Enriquez in the future but this wasn't for me...

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Holy heck, I did not realize how thick this baby was when I started reading it! I definitely feel like the length could've been shortened a bit, this took me ages to get through because I just kept finding myself thinking, "Are we going anywhere with this?" In between those moments, I did enjoy this story about family and trauma and loss, but again -- the length!! I don't mind long books when they necessitate the length but I don't think this one did at all.

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Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the advance copy in exchange for honest feedback.

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