Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Nuestra parte de noche by Mariana Enríquez

36 reviews

oroseo's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

incredible. the way each section of the book can stand alone but also informs the reader's understanding of the others. the way
that the darkness parallels the horrors of the time. the way the darkness cannot let any of them go, once in its sight. the way that its claws mark a person deapite a lifetime of evasion.
the author writes with clearness, i found myself flinching as i read.

and there are such beautiful quotes. when you finally get to the part where a character says the title. when you reckon with how horribly disposable every body is. the ways that love is twisted and deployed, the ways love is manipulated and disparaged.

there is a slower section in this novel, one that feels odd but reveals itself as necessary later in the novel. it took me a while to get through that section, but i would recommend actively trying to connect some of the more mysterious things happening to what you've already learned.
i think also, there's plot reasons for this. for the reader to stumble around in this unknowlable universe like Gaspar is. For Juan to finally be protected from our knowling, now that he has closed himself off from the Order


also. AIDS? the horror of aids!!! didn't even expect that. do we call this genre historical horror? 

I am slightly convinced that Rosario's section was written from where she lives in the Darkness. Also, i guess more obviously, that Gaspar has fallen into the same madness fortold by everyone in the Order, because he can't let go of the deaths. the darkness uses Adela to hold him hostage, or something to that affect.


I think one thing i wish i understood more, one thing that maybe a lot of non-Argentine readers of the book might need, is a tad more context on the colonial/racial history of Argentina. anti-indigeneity comes across very clear, and not unexpected, but i guess i just need to read more about who colonized and when. shockingly, lack of Argentine political knowledge does not hold one back, despite the time of the book. 

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eelizard's review against another edition

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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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kneecole's review against another edition

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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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arayo's review against another edition

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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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tree_star's review against another edition

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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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danikajoan's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This blew me away. I didn’t want it to end, loved the writing/translation (was already a fan of Enriquez from Things We Lost in the Fire), felt fully invested in the lore and so compelled by the characters. Really intense, a little eerie, sad, romantic, and funny. 

and I am ALWAYS on board for a “house is bigger on the inside than the outside” House of Leaves vibe.

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writingcaia's review against another edition

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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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alicia_rausch's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was an extremely difficult book to rate for me - and felt akin to Donna Tartt's work in which I must shelve them as "masterpieces I kind of hated reading yet I can't stop thinking about them." 

The world, the characters, and the tone of the novel is masterfully done, though it remained much lighter on horror than I expected and the pacing was extremely slow. I found myself wanting to quit this beast multiple times and yet I’m glad I pushed through. I think, a bit like Vampires of El Norte, it was marketed as heavier on the horror than it was - and I was expecting a much larger % of the novel to be action, when in reality it was just a few sequences. 

What it is, is a generational drama with horror elements, which should have been how it was advertised. It’s a quiet book, with a creeping sense of dread, and dark elements as we follow the family and how the cult affects each member over time. Like a darker, more effed-up Pachinko. 

The rep for LGBTQ+ was well done, and like Pachinko, I greatly enjoyed the historical elements about a time period (and place) I am not overly familiar with. 

The actual writing/storytelling was excellent and the way the puzzle fit together at the end was satisfying. I love an ambigious ending so that was a plus for me. But I just could not get past the excruciatingly slow pacing. 

To the right reader, this will be an instant favorite - unfortunately, that reader is just not me.

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smallspoonbigfork's review against another edition

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

2.5

Found the ending slightly disappointing- felt like I was constantly waiting for a climax which never came

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bluebirdegf's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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