A review by dufremde
Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez

adventurous 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

to me, all good horror has to act as a mirror, reflecting the social and historical context of the story taking place. this did that, and did it so fully that it's hard to really encapsulate in a short review. the storyline was so expansive—covering almost three decades of national and familial strife—and Enriquez brilliantly wove together different strains of horror, from the occult depravity of The Order and their leaders + acolytes, to the political atrocities of Argentina's dirty war, the everyday ravages of colonialism, the unspooling tragedy of the HIV crisis, and the lengths to which a complicated man can go to protect his extraordinary son. the writing was lyrical at times, with a real devotion to pathos, but never inaccessible. the character work was layered, the cult elements rendered in vividly sickening detail, and the human emotion so raw and immediate. 

I also really appreciated the format—the book is split into five parts, three of them novella-length and two shorter interludes, and the time jumps meant the reader wasn't ever getting the full story all at the same time, but rather piecing certain truths together like Gaspar and his fragmented memories. I found that it kept me invested in even minor side characters, some of whom served surprising purpose.