Reviews tagging 'Death'

Our Share of Night: A Novel by Mariana Enríquez, Megan McDowell

99 reviews

booksandcoffeewithlexi's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Terminal illness, and Medical content

lilly_dav_reading's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Fascinating, terrifying, chilling, layered, and long as hell yet I couldn’t put it down and when I did finally put it down- I would think about it until I could pick it up again. 
I took away a star because I was a little disappointed with the ending. I would have liked to have seen Gaspar be able to heal from his pain and trauma. Will there be a second?? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Gore, Murder, Kidnapping, Vomit, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, War, Rape, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Religious bigotry

drivera55's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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: Self harm, Violence, Sexual violence, Blood, Child death, Rape, Murder, Gore, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Genocide, Sexual content, Colonisation, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Classism, War, Police brutality, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Miscarriage, Infidelity, Infertility, and Mental illness

siddydakiddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Torture, Rape, Self harm, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and War

zhi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

5.0

Absolutely terrifying - had to fight back the urge to read this before bed but could not stop myself from turning the pages… 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Drug use, Blood, and Body horror

lareinadehades's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Classism, Child abuse, Body horror, and Genocide

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

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

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

crocus_and_clematis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

5.0

TLDR; gripping read that demands contemplation and leaves a lasting impression.

Reading “Our Share of Night” was like getting sucked into a black hole. The narrative, with it’s long, circular sentences, has a gravitational pull that refuses to release it’s grip. It’s the kind of horror which permeates your very being, dragging you along by the ankle, refusing to let go. With lots of poignant reflections on privilege, grief, trauma, and ancestral burdens, this is a book which will have you questioning how far is too far to go to protect the ones you love.

Central to the book is the harrowing dichotomy between the love between Gaspar and his father and the incredible violence inflicted by the father on the son. It’s a painful portrait of wounds that never truly heal, of transgressions that surpass the bounds of forgiveness. Yet, beneath the brutality lies Juan’s desperate attempts to shield Gaspar from the horrors of the Order and the evils he and his mother had to endure. As more and more of Juan’s secrets and crimes were revealed throughout the book, I found myself asking if he was right. If he should have done differently. If he had a choice.

The characters are complex and achingly human. None are wholly virtuous, but none irredeemable (except, perhaps, Gaspar’s grandmother). They are flawed beings, navigating through life in search of meaning, connection, and immortality. In this world, the Darkness takes away just as much as it gives, and no one is wholly innocent.

The fact that all the violence, the plotting, the abuse takes place among the backdrop of the immense societal and cultural changes taking place in the 60’s and 80’s only deepens the feeling of apprehension running throughout the book. The monster isn’t just the Darkness with its open, panting maw, it’s the military dictatorship disappearing people in the 70’s, it’s the siren’s call of London’s nightlife in the 60’s, it’s the AIDs epidemic claiming the lives of vibrant young men in the 80’s. This is a book which spans multiple decades, and multiple evils.

The ending is equal parts satisfying and sad.

While Gaspar survives and Juan’s decades-old plans come to fruition,

the lingering question persists: at what cost? the lingering question persists: at what cost? This is not a book to be rushed through. There were multiple points I found myself putting the book aside so I could reflect. Even so, it demands your attention; the prose is gorgeous, the narrative equal parts horrifying and hopeful, the characters deep and real. It’s a masterpiece, weaving together violence and beauty in equal measure, dragging you in like a hand hiding in the Darkness.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Death