Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez

30 reviews

kari_f's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

I’ve recently been reading Argentinian magical realism, and Mariana Enriquez is a must-read author in this subgenre! Dark and disturbing with serious cult and occult vibes, this book isn’t for the faint of heart. There is body horror, familial abuse, torture, gaslighting, and a whole lot of misuse of power. The primary characters are layered and well-developed, and it was interesting to see different perspectives of each of them through each other’s eyes at different points in their lives.

I really liked that the book dives into some very heavy topics, including social commentary on how those in power treat the bodies and livelihoods of others as disposable. Indigenous people, citizens living in poverty, and other marginalized populations are commodities in the eyes of the powerful, and this plays out in several ways through the book. We also get so much insight into Argentinian political events, social dynamics, and nationwide tragedies that occur during the timelines represented. 

The book is quite long, and more than once I had the feeling that this should have been a duology instead of one book. The build up was extensive, and then the ending felt really rushed. There were also some parts that definitely made me feel uncomfortable or squeamish. That being said, I overall enjoyed it and would absolutely love to see a short story anthology taking place in this world so we could see more stories and perspectives concerning the Darkness and the mediums who reach out to it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Colonisation

Moderate: Self harm and Sexual content

9brightshiners's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is an intense, extremely violent, and challenging story that spans decades. While often horrifying, this is an extraordinarily well written novel. Gut punching monstrosities live alongside moments of aching loveliness. Families are lost, found, fled from, and reunited. History and living mythology play out on a grand scale. Our Share of Night is unforgettable, for better and worse.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Confinement, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Deportation

There are frequent, very graphic descriptions of abusing, torturing, and murdering children throughout the book. There is violence, gore, and blood as well as graphic injuries both accidental and on purpose that are caused by supernatural entities and humans. State violence, kidnappings, and deportations are mentioned throughout the book. In one instance a mass grave is exhumed and studied by forensic archaeologists. There is prejudice, mistreatment, and violence against women, Africans, indigenous South Americans, and frequent use of the f-slur related to homosexuality as well as ableism and one use of the related r-slur. This book deals with period realistic violence but there is also a great deal of abuse, violence, torture, and gore associated with occult rituals specific to the fictional secret society. Also of note: the AIDS epidemic is depicted in this novel.

e_asw_97's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Police brutality, and Alcohol

school_for_scandal's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Honestly could have used another 50 pages. Man, what a ride.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

simp_librarian's review against another edition

I love this book but I hit pause because it's a lot

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, and Injury/Injury detail

eelizard's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

georgiaaa's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Death of parent

Moderate: Body horror, Homophobia, Slavery, and Colonisation

tree_star's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I enjoyed this audiobook so much. I was super invested in each protagonist and every story arc. At its core, this is a horror story.
It's also historical, political, and queer fiction, and that together is the triforce that did me in. 
The end was worth all the hours spent wondering what the evil was and that it is both part of this world and not gives me the chills... but maybe you'll see it differently. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical trauma, and War

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Genocide, Mental illness, Rape, and Police brutality

ember_is_gay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i was obsessed with this book while i was reading it, i spoke to everyone about it and recommended it to them and was so excited to talk about it. this had me hooked in so quickly, i loved how book moved through timeframes non-chronologically and gave us such a rounded insight into juan and gasper.

even though this book is so so long, it didn't feel that way at all. i was so caught up in the story and honestly my one complaint is that the ending felt rushed and i would have loved it to have been more dragged out (although i am not sure how much of that is because i just didn't want the book to end). 

i honestly cannot wait to read this book again and to find someone who loves it as much as i do so we can spend hours talking about it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

writingcaia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Still, not sure about the rating, the ending was kind of anticlimactic and I expected a nicer bow tying it all.
Review to come!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Colonisation

Minor: Miscarriage, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Excrement, and Cannibalism