Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Nuestra parte de noche by Mariana Enríquez

81 reviews

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

isaospina's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Una noche dormí después de leer este libro, soñé con La Oscuridad, con La Orden, con los sacrificios. 
Hacía años no soñaba con lo que estaba leyendo, pero no me sorprende que pasara con Nuestra parte de noche. 

Con un principio lento, tan lento que por un momento dudé sobre si podría terminarlo. Pero apenas terminó la primera parte de la historia de Juan y Gaspar todo se volvió claro: no iba a poder dejar de leer este libro. Es uno de esos libros que de tanto tenerlo contigo, llevarlo a todos lados, leerlo en cada momento posible le tomas afecto al objeto físico como muestra del afecto a la historia. 

Mariana Enriquez cuece a fuego lento una historia de misterio, oscuridad, tensión política y magia, donde el horror no es el horror de las películas que requieren un susto momentaneo, es un horror que hace que se te erice la piel, se te haga un nudo en la garganta, y sientas en la planta de los pies el temor y la tensión que sientes cuando tienes miedo físico. Es como ser niña otra vez y tener que atravesar una casa en la oscuridad, tarde en la noche, esa inseguridad, ese temor latente pero presente se siente leyendo las escenas más tensionantes de Nuestra Parte de Noche. 

Los personajes, todos, tienen sus imperfecciones, desde Juan con su forma bestial de tratar a los que lo rodean, hasta Gaspar, con sus iras heredadas de su padre. Vemos a niños crecer en la sombra que queda después de la dictadura de los 70s en Argentina, la epidemia de sida en los 80s, y todas las crisis económicas y políticas del país afectan a los personajes. Eventos reales, como el robo de las manos del cuerpo de Perón, la erupción del volcán y destrucción de Armero en Colombia, el mundial del 86, todos eventos reales, como la dictadura (los militantes y partidos si tienen nombres diferentes) entrelazados en un mundo de magia oscura, en una organización secreta cruel y violenta hace que el miedo sea más real porque estamos, al fin y al cabo en el mundo real. 

Los saltos cronológicos no llegan a ser confusos, de hecho, son un gran método para contar y aclarar la historia de Juan y sus acciones con Gaspar. Enriquez no deja nada al azar y al final casi todos los cabos quedan atados, igual que el colgado, arcano mayor del tarot. La escritura es fluida y la prosa, en español, casi preciosa, especialmente cuando describe lugares como Misiones o casas cambiantes. 

Dejo este libro con un deseo loco de conocer Misiones, Corrientes, Buenos Aires, La Plata y Choscamús y con un espacio en mi corazón para personajes como Gaspar, Vicky, Adela, Pablo e incluso Stephen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Homophobia, Violence, Child abuse, Rape, and Blood

kate_303's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, War, Self harm, and Death of parent

Moderate: Car accident, Classism, Abandonment, and Chronic illness

Minor: Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, and Rape

yrioona's review

adventurous dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Una mezcla impresionante de ficción histórica, terror cósmico, y drama familiar multigeneracional. Me fascinaban los personajes y me encantaba como la autora usa la lenguaje, el imagen, y la metáfora. Es un libro hermoso y también horripilante, con personajes complejos (incluyendo versiones de David Bowie y Genesis P-Orridge!) y una trama que extende desde el siglo XVIII hasta los años noventa tras múltiples narradores, y que se entrelaza con la historia de Argentina y sus horrores reales e imaginados. Es increíblemente oscuro y a veces brutal, pero también tierno, y enraizado en una exploración franca de la trauma intergeneracional.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Self harm, Chronic illness, Torture, Medical content, Murder, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Genocide, Sexual violence, Suicide, Child death, Car accident, Death of parent, Cannibalism, and Medical trauma

ka_cam's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

A gripping horror read- fast because I didn’t want to put it down. Also, very dark. The setting and descriptions of time, place, energy and ethos of various setting was very well done, especially for translation. I appreciated how I really got a feel for how ‘normal’ the very traditionally abnormal (hyper-wealthy multigenerational death cult and spirits/spirit worlds) world was for various characters, and their distinct experiences of it as medium, clairvoyant child of medium, elder, child, follower, other etc added to the sense of reality. Went a bit on/could have been a bit shorter but a compelling read. Check the content warnings tho, not for the faint of heart!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Drug use, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence

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

mynameisjobo's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Gore, Medical content, Genocide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Body horror, and Suicidal thoughts

camscampbell's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

4.0

This dark horror novel is set in Argentina and spans the period from 1960 to 1997. It follows the lives of Gaspar, the main character, and his family as Gaspar comes of age. His father, Juan, will stop at nothing to protect him from the evil clutches of his wife's family, who want to take advantage of Juan and Gaspar's talents of accessing the Darkness to become immortal. 

I read the English translation (by Megan McDowell) and thoroughly enjoyed it. The structure moves around, and I never found myself annoyed by the time shifts back and forth. 

It has some troubling scenes of violence, particularly of child abuse.

The scenes of the children in cages in the dark tunnel under Puerto Reyes were horrific.

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If you enjoyed Stephen King's It, you'll probably enjoy this. The part set in Buenos Aires in 1985–1986, in particular, reminded me of the Losers Club from that novel. Fans of Clive Barker would probably enjoy it, too. I felt some vibes of The Great and Secret Show in this in how dark it was.

My YouTube review of this book is here: https://youtu.be/M2GgCPpWEpA

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Medical trauma, Torture, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Confinement, Body horror, and Bullying

Moderate: Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Abandonment, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug use, and Classism

arayo's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Medical content, Child abuse, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Gaslighting, Blood, Chronic illness, Gore, Child death, Grief, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Death, and Body horror

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Biphobia, Alcohol, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Vomit, Cannibalism, Genocide, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Infidelity, Drug use, Rape, Infertility, Police brutality, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

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, Death of parent, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Self harm, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Homophobia, Colonisation, Body horror, and Slavery