Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Nuestra parte de noche by Mariana Enríquez

7 reviews

kneecole's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Body horror, Child abuse, Violence, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Homophobia, Classism, Car accident, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Medical trauma, War, Mass/school shootings, Grief, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Car accident, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault

Minor: Animal death

Death of a pet dog is “off screen”

clairehe's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

There were times I felt my mind wondering because not much was happening but overall this was a great read. Every time I thought I knew what was happening, things went a different direction. Each character is fully developed in their flaws and strengths. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent and Homophobia

marianne_clh's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Death, Dementia, Self harm, Body horror, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, Gore, Grief, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Child abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, War, Addiction, Drug abuse, Rape, Medical content, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, and Suicide attempt

ehmannky's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

A sprawling and meandering horror book with a plot I feel like I cannot do justice to in a short summary. The general plot of the book follows Juan, a medium for a cult, and his son Gaspar over 30 years as Juan does everything in his power to keep Gaspar from being abused and used in the ways he was. But that feels so reductive because this book is so good and covers so much and it’s beautiful. It’s about the lingering effects that wealthy colonizers have had on people in the global south and rural poor (literally using up their bodies in the pursuit of riches), the damage of the greed of the already wealthy, the lingering psychological and physical effects from the trauma of a dictatorship and living with the ambiguous loss of the disappeared. This book forces you to read slowly, and you get to live out the pain and consuming fear and confusion of Gaspar. It’s so good, I cannot recommend this enough if you like horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Mental illness, Death of parent, Body horror, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Blood

Moderate: Colonisation, Animal death, and Slavery

Minor: War, Gun violence, Cancer, and Rape

blackteadragon's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Child abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Child death, Death, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Gun violence, Addiction, Rape, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Miscarriage and War

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Review:

Our Share of Night is the first book by Mariana Enriquez that I have read. Although the plot and the story (mostly) kept my interest throughout its 500+ pages, I struggled to feel emotionally invested in the story. The horror element of the story, while certainly objectively horrifying, failed to scare me. At most, I felt slightly unnerved. The story is well-crafted and comes together nicely, but it did not need to be as long as it is. 

 

The book explores themes of family/generational trauma, relationships, PTSD, war, queer love, and violence. Personally, I did not find the way the story handles these topics to be particularly insightful or original, and I think the book struggles under the weight of all the themes and issues it touches upon. However, I could definitely see someone else connecting to this story on a deeper level than I did, especially if they have a personal connection to the setting or topics.

 

Some of the representation of physical disability struck me as a bit insensitive, but as an able-bodied person I do not feel qualified to speak on that. One thing I do feel qualified to object to, however, is the unnecessary and problematic representation of two individuals who undergo sex changes. These characters are described as undergoing these procedures in order to better worship the god of Darkness, an evil demon, and the narrator notes that people would freak out if they knew how the Order (the demonic cult in the story) had infiltrated the NHS. Given how trans health care is under attack, any portrayal of these procedures as being related to demonic worship is inherently problematic—but what makes me especially angry is that these characters are literally of no importance to the story whatsoever. These characters are briefly mentioned, only to die shortly after their introduction. 

 

 

The Run-Down: 

You will probably like Our Share of Night if:

·      You have a personal connection to the story’s setting or its themes

 

You might not like Our Share of Night if:

·      You don’t want to read a really dark book (please read the content warnings! This book is not for the faint of heart)

·      You dislike morally questionable main characters

 

A Film like Our Share of Night:

Hereditary, directed by Ari Aster (2018). Similarities between these two pieces of media include:

·      Intense horror plotlines that explore grief, family inheritance, and generational trauma

·      Demon cults and possession

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Self harm, Violence, Grief, Terminal illness, Torture, War, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Suicide, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Gun violence, Police brutality, Sexual content, Animal death, Classism, Infidelity, Alcohol, Drug use, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

Minor: Abortion, Cancer, Car accident, Infertility, Addiction, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

sophmcgraw's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, Murder, and Blood

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Confinement, Abandonment, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Torture, Gun violence, and Homophobia