Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez

3 reviews

mari1532's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

I listened to this book through my library with Libby.

Brief Summary: Juan is trying to figure out a plan to raise his son, Gaspar while keeping him safe from his in-laws in the wake of his wife, Rosario's, mysterious death. As Juan tries to keep Gaspar from the family's secret society, he farther into its clutches. However, as Gaspar ages, he begins to realize that his family history is far more dangerous than he could have imagined. 

Thoughts: Enríquez is an exceptional writer. The way that this book is so long and has so many different subplots, but there is not a single loose end at the conclusion of the book is truly a triumph. Each of the characters in this book feels like a real person and the personalities and motivations of each produce a strong reaction from the reader. Overall I did not like many of the characters in this book, but I think that how Enríquez wrote each of them, may have been the point. In the world created in this book, people are complicated, and not necessarily meant to be liked. 

My favourite character in the book was Rosario. She was at once entirely relatable being at once loving and dastardly. Her story arch throughout the book was truly what kept me reading even though she was a character in the background of the story, Rosario is very much central to the the plot. I also appreciated how Enríquez allowed Rosario to be her own person and did not let her love for Juan subsume Rosario's whole personality.  

I do not have a lot of experience reading books in the horror genre, but I can safely say that I will continue to read it as long as Enríquez continues to write. I highly recommend this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

camscampbell's review

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

Moderate: Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

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

mirissab's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

5.0

Please give me more fiction with history, occultism, and queerness. I struggled reading this--a balance between binging and lingering on each chapter, each page. I still have questions but maybe they are never meant to have an answer. It was beautiful, haunting, and layered. Selfishly, I want more from this world, this undeniably tragic yet enchanted universe.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment