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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I tried so hard to like this. Some of it was SO COOL but then there’s huge breaks where nothing happens and I just can’t.
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think about this book pretty often. Not the supernatural horror but the juxtaposition of living in a country during political uprising and changes. What the uncertainty and sense of off balance our characters have to live through while navigating horrors beyond comprehension in a supernatural and completely 'natural' setting.
I think a lot about how the characters have to live a normal life, celebrate births, new relationships, mourn the ending of other relationships and generally try to just LIVE while also protesting and seeing society crumble.
I think a lot about how the characters have to live a normal life, celebrate births, new relationships, mourn the ending of other relationships and generally try to just LIVE while also protesting and seeing society crumble.
This book is often touted as a future classic and one of the finest modern examples of "literary" (as much as I hate the term) horror - and after reading it I have to agree. This book exceeding its more-than modest hype.
The story follows (for the most part) Juan and Gaspar, a father and son hunted and shackled by their family, who happen to be members of a cult that worships an evil entity known only as the Darkness. We also see the perspective of Roasario, Gaspar's mother, during the 70s in London. The non-linear structure and geographical hopping around never feels abrupt or unwarranted, rather it feels like a rich tapestry. The characters are complex, and incurably flawed - I rooted for them, I cared for them, even when they were bastards (with one exception, who was a phenomenal but irredeemable villain - won't name them).
While the story is intimate and personal, the themes are big and the scope is epic - Enriquez touches on a lot of big things without ever making us feel the story is bloated by them, or like the these get in the way. She covers: family, trauma, love, activism, oppression, Argentine politics and the oppression of indigenous peopls, queer culture, AIDs, 70s counterculture, and many others that slip my mind.
One particular side chapter (of which there are only seven), told from the perspective of a journalist, was a powerful meditation on the generational trauma and the sense of loss for those missing - those who were "disappeared" during the Argentine dictatorship. In a sense, the story of "Our Share of Night" is also the story of Argentina, and the horrors that many endured during the dictatorship.
One of the best books I've read this year.
The story follows (for the most part) Juan and Gaspar, a father and son hunted and shackled by their family, who happen to be members of a cult that worships an evil entity known only as the Darkness. We also see the perspective of Roasario, Gaspar's mother, during the 70s in London. The non-linear structure and geographical hopping around never feels abrupt or unwarranted, rather it feels like a rich tapestry. The characters are complex, and incurably flawed - I rooted for them, I cared for them, even when they were bastards (with one exception, who was a phenomenal but irredeemable villain - won't name them).
While the story is intimate and personal, the themes are big and the scope is epic - Enriquez touches on a lot of big things without ever making us feel the story is bloated by them, or like the these get in the way. She covers: family, trauma, love, activism, oppression, Argentine politics and the oppression of indigenous peopls, queer culture, AIDs, 70s counterculture, and many others that slip my mind.
One particular side chapter (of which there are only seven), told from the perspective of a journalist, was a powerful meditation on the generational trauma and the sense of loss for those missing - those who were "disappeared" during the Argentine dictatorship. In a sense, the story of "Our Share of Night" is also the story of Argentina, and the horrors that many endured during the dictatorship.
One of the best books I've read this year.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
DNF at 20%. If by writing a horror book the author meant an inescapable dread of the thought of picking it up again and getting through the jungle of boredom, then she’s definitely achieved that.
I’ve been wondering for a while whether it’s just me that’s struggling with absolutely NOTHING happening in the book, and no character development whatsoever, and it turned out I’m far from being alone here.
If you’re feeling this way too, go to 1-star reviews with spoilers, read the short version of the book (that won’t take 25+ hours of your time reading the whole book, according to my kindle) and move on.
I’ve been wondering for a while whether it’s just me that’s struggling with absolutely NOTHING happening in the book, and no character development whatsoever, and it turned out I’m far from being alone here.
If you’re feeling this way too, go to 1-star reviews with spoilers, read the short version of the book (that won’t take 25+ hours of your time reading the whole book, according to my kindle) and move on.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't know if I can leave you something that isn't dirty, that isn't dark, our share of night.
"""slow burn""" definitely isn't for me but this book isn't really a slow burn, it's more of a sputtering gas stove which clicks aimlessly for about 85% of its duration and bursts only in intermittent, erratic, short bursts for the other 15. egregiously boring. i did not care for most of it, i did not care for many of the characters, i was checked out by part IV. it is not a compelling horror, the premise is not frightening or novel, and the translation feels very stilted in parts. just tooooo long, not at all justified in its length nor interesting in the way it answers at least some of the questions it raises
but the first half kept me good company at work, so i am grateful for that at least
"""slow burn""" definitely isn't for me but this book isn't really a slow burn, it's more of a sputtering gas stove which clicks aimlessly for about 85% of its duration and bursts only in intermittent, erratic, short bursts for the other 15. egregiously boring. i did not care for most of it, i did not care for many of the characters, i was checked out by part IV. it is not a compelling horror, the premise is not frightening or novel, and the translation feels very stilted in parts. just tooooo long, not at all justified in its length nor interesting in the way it answers at least some of the questions it raises
but the first half kept me good company at work, so i am grateful for that at least
Como chilena, es fácil empatizar con el trauma generacional de una dictadura: los desaparecidos, la violencia y una élite insensible al dolor social fueron una experiencia compartida por varios países de Latinoamérica. Mariana Enríquez construye una historia que funciona como espejo del estado de un país: el deterioro, el miedo, las desapariciones y la Oscuridad misma se presentan como representación del horror de la dictadura argentina.
Lo fascinante es cómo el horror paranormal termina siendo un reflejo del horror humano, que resulta todavía más aterrador. Ya había leído un libro de la autora que era una antología de cuentos y me impresionó la manera en que logra evocarnos recuerdos y sensaciones profundamente latinoamericanos (o al menos del Cono Sur). Esta es la primera novela completa que leo de ella, y me gustó la forma en que entrelaza lo sobrenatural con lo real, presentando espíritus malignos que están más vivos de lo que creemos.
El destino de Gaspar, incapaz de liberarse por completo de su herencia, es una representación poderosa de cómo un país enfrenta su pasado y de qué maneras se puede (o no) construir un futuro. La Orden aparece claramente como el régimen que oprime, mientras que la Oscuridad encarna ese trauma profundo que la sociedad arrastra y que nunca desaparece del todo.
Hoy día podríamos afirmar que la oscuridad a tomado nuevas e inquietantes formas en Argentina y la amenaza de que cruce la frontera es más real que nunca.
Lo fascinante es cómo el horror paranormal termina siendo un reflejo del horror humano, que resulta todavía más aterrador. Ya había leído un libro de la autora que era una antología de cuentos y me impresionó la manera en que logra evocarnos recuerdos y sensaciones profundamente latinoamericanos (o al menos del Cono Sur). Esta es la primera novela completa que leo de ella, y me gustó la forma en que entrelaza lo sobrenatural con lo real, presentando espíritus malignos que están más vivos de lo que creemos.
El destino de Gaspar, incapaz de liberarse por completo de su herencia, es una representación poderosa de cómo un país enfrenta su pasado y de qué maneras se puede (o no) construir un futuro. La Orden aparece claramente como el régimen que oprime, mientras que la Oscuridad encarna ese trauma profundo que la sociedad arrastra y que nunca desaparece del todo.
Hoy día podríamos afirmar que la oscuridad a tomado nuevas e inquietantes formas en Argentina y la amenaza de que cruce la frontera es más real que nunca.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced