Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez blew my mind. Magical and tragic and horrifying and full of love. when I finished this massive book I was left completely speechless. I'm begging you to read this book!

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed is one of my favorite short story collections. It was rich with culture and contained some of the most bizarre stories that I have ever read. Hearing that Mariana was releasing her first full novel I was shaking with excitement. I just had a feeling that this was going to be something to brag about.

This started off slow and didn’t really pick up. Parts were definitely weird and a little spooky but it just didn’t hold my attention like her other books. To be honest, I was bored throughout but decided to give it a bit more time. That was my mistake. Readers told me that everything gets explained in the end but I just couldn't make it that far. I'm surprised that I made it as far as I did. (Yay me!)

I felt as if I’d walked into a dream about the dark pits of hell and had no idea what was going on. There was a lot of pussy-footing around with a big song and dance and I’m still overly confused. That’s not how I like my books. You have to make some kind of sense for me to continue or make it mysterious enough to have me fully invested. It was one that wouldn't bother me if I didn't finish. The book was way too long for everyone to tiptoe around what was really happening. It just wasn’t for me.

Our Share of the Night just wasn't my cup of tea. For a book as long as this I would have expected some kind of mysterious fog coming out from the pages of this book to kidnap me but it just didn't happen. It really pains me to say this because I loved her other two releases. I'll still read her books but I'm going to have to pass on this one. Don't mind me, I'm just going to go cry in the corner.

This was my first book to read by this author but won't be my last! The story and its characters will stick with you long after you finish the story. Highly recommend!

** I read the original Spanish edition.
This book is a conundrum. I did like it. There are a lot of vibes to it and it flows well, I also really enjoyed the writing style (in the original Spanish). The problem is that it is long and not just a little bit too long.. it is LONG, and you feel it drag in parts where it could have been told more concisely. Considering that there really isn't a tight plot in this, I don't know why it couldn't have been edited to be more impactful in a shorter time. I'm not advocating for any of the content to be removed, just for the storytelling to be tighter in each section. Dialogue often droned on after having conveyed its meaning. The ideas, concepts, and themes displayed here were all interesting to me, so it wasn't a total chore to keep reading, but for a reader that is less easily captivated, this will be a real struggle.

I will read Mariana Enríquez again - I am eyeing her short story collections-- and this is a recommendation from me, albeit with numerous caveats.

I felt like this book could have been shorter and been more effective, but in the end I did enjoy it and look forward to more by this author.

I read the translated version and apparently everyone else seemed to really like this one. For me, I felt like there was a horrifying story here, but sometimes it was so hidden by mundane things that I wanted to cut out a few hundred pages to get to the meat of it all. Overall it was a journey to get to the end and I guess I expected more once I got there.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very middle of the road book for me. I feel like it could have been a lot shorter or just more interesting. The horror aspect was so/so and the characters and plot were just okay.

WOW!!!

First I would like to thank NetGalley for this ARC, it's my very first and can't wait to read and review future titles.

but first, it is my responsibility to share some TW - child abuse, cult blood ceremonies, murders, sexual violence, and domestic violence

Starts in the 1980s, in Argentina (Dirty ear era) with father Juan taking his song Gaspar on a road trip.
Gaspar is trying to protect his son from his prophesized destiny. Gaspar's maternal side are members of a cult named "The Order" created by the wealthy families of that era that were able to escape the atrocities going on in the county. Juan was rescued when he was younger and suffering from a heart condition. A doctor soon realized that Juan has abilities to communicate with the dead and is used as a vessel for the "darkness" . This is where the book gets really dark the Order pretty much makes human sacrifices including torturing and abusing children.

Juan's health is deteriorating and they have their sites set on Gaspar assuming his place in the order.
The story is about Juan protecting his young son that doesn't understand everything that is going on as his own special abilities start to appear and will be even stronger than his father.

it is also a VERY long read but it's needed to include everything necessary to the story.
It reminded me of Tananarive Due, My soul to keep/ African Immortals books but WAYYYYYYY more intense and violent

"His son was crying, but Juan couldn’t console him. Gaspar missed his mother— she had done these things automatically: trimmed his nails, sewn his buttons, washed behind his ears and between his toes, asked if he’d peed before leaving, taught him how to tie his shoelaces in a perfect bow. Juan missed her too, but he didn’t want to cry with his son that morning. You have everything you want? he asked. We’re not going to come back for anything, I’m warning you."
loc96 Kindle ebook

The main character, Juan, gives a warning at this early point in the book. He's warning his recently orphaned son, Gaspar, that he is not a loving father, so not to expect it. He is warning him life is about to change in horrible and inescapable ways, that his warning is all he will ever have again.

This warning is also for the reader, and it's for similar reasons. None of the characters will behave as we expect them to--no such thing as friendship or family loyalty as we know it, and violence might come from any unlikely source, and be directed at any unlikely target. "We're not coming back," Jaun says, but what he means is, the only way out, is through.

I found this book incredibly difficult. The form is brutally organized, looping and looping, or perhaps it's above my head. I actually think it's the second. I had a language and style issue also, that I initially thought was a translation problem. But it's not. Enriquez *meant* for some of the English sentences to be challenging syntactically, or so it seems. In a way, I couldn't access this book.

I do not know how to rate this book. I recognize how brilliant it is, even though I was left outside of it. For that I want to give it 5 stars. But I floundered with this huge book for hours, which means the writers vision is inaccessible to its target audience. Right? I'm a horror reader in English. And for that I would give it 2 stars. Averaged, that's 3.5 stars. It deserves rounding up because as I said before, I can tell it's a brilliant work of horror fiction.

Thank you NetGalley, Hogarth, Random House Publishing Group, Mariana Enriquez, and Megan McDowell for the chance to read this ARC.

Rating 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars
Finished November 2022
Recommended for readers who can read the original translation; fans of horror, cult thrillers, magical realism, family sagas with horror/thriller elements
TW there are so many triggers in this book, see if you can find a list on the author's website. Violence against children, knives and cutting and stabbing, DV, SA, cults, blood cults, toxic relationships, blood, abandonment

This book was not for me. It was hard to read, and I’m not sure why. I couldn’t fall into it. Though my circumstances may be different than someone else’s - I have 2 kids under the age of three, so if it isn’t easy for me to read, unfortunately, I just can’t get into it.

Lord help me, I tried with this one. I really did. Argentinian horror pastiche and supernatural thrillers really does seem to be my jam. But this book felt like a slow, relentless slog of a narrative and despite my best intentions I ended up doing something I rarely do -- I put it down and decided to move on. I'm sure people will like this book. It's not for me. DNF, 25%.

This book is well-written for the most part but I feel like something was lost in the translation -- I couldn't connect with, or relate to, any of the characters.

Our Share of Night is a stunning story and there is a lot to unpack within its pages. This is a long, slow, slow burn story... but that only enhances the themes and the enjoyability.

On the surface this story is one of nightmares and horror and while that is true, on a deeper level it is also a story of relationships, honor, trust, generational terrors, family, and the parent-child relationship. It has so many levels and you can get out of it what you want, as much or as little. I found myself having to put this down from time to time because it is a very dark story, a beautifully written and wonderful dark story.

I love slow burn stories that really pull me in diverse ways and that push me to look at different situations in new and unique ways. This story is one that left me with many thoughts and views, and I am still thinking about it a week later. I feel the need to read this a few more times to fulling get the impact and the answers I am searching for.

I don't want to give anything away because this is a story that needs to be unfolded in increments just as the author wrote it so I will live that here but just say, as far as a horror story goes, this one is wonderful and unique. I loved everything about it and think those readers looking for a story that will devour them, will find that here. Brillant and amazing!

I received an ARC via NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, Hogarth and I am leaving an honest review.

Our Share of Night was a really interesting book, a mix of horror, mystery, and historical fiction. I liked the Argentina setting and the themes of family trauma and relationships.
I felt that the book was WAY too long.

Evocative and haunting. Mariana Enriquez's exploration of generational trauma, family legacies, and parent-child relationships gripped me from beginning to end. I enjoyed the complexity of the relationships and the slow burn of the plot.

I like horror literature and mystery novels so this one hits that great balance between both. The characters are very well written and the story in general is well descriptive, you want to know whats happening next.

I enjoyed the Historical Fiction part, understanding a little more what was happening in Argentina and how the character developed around the storyline.

It is not an easy read in terms of the plot and I would recommend it for an adult or mature audience as a reader, but it was amazing. Also, the translation was really good!

The writing is ok, but it's soooo slllllooooowwwwww

I've heard good things about her short story collection though

This is the author’s first novel to be translated to English. The description sucked me in: We are following the story of a father and son who are leaving a cult, The Order, that is obsessed with immortality. No matter the cost. I feel like if I say more I’ll spoil things so I’ll leave it at that. Lots of trigger warnings.

I was on board until I got to part III, I feel like the story really slowed down and could have been edited to be shorter (the book is a chunker, coming in at around 600 pages). Things started to pick up again after part III for me and I will say it had a satisfying ending.

Thank you to NetGalley, & Random House/Hogarth Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

(My review will be posted to my Instagram, @booksandbackstreet, closer to publishing date)

This is a long book. I like the depth the author goes into with the characters. The descriptions of buildings, jungles, people, monster/thing/darkness are excellent. After a while, though, the novel felt like a slog to go through. Descriptions of horrific child abuse got to be too much for me.

I know this is horror, and sometimes horror is grim, but graphic, bloody, torturous child abuse just...ugh.

My other problem was that the folks doing all the torturing didn't seem to understand why they did it. They were appeasing a violent, big, dark thing without being sure it could give them what they wanted. A lot of people were lying, hurting, torturing, and being hurt themselves without a clear understanding of why. The book is commentary on the brutal Argentine military rulers, but it might have been better as a thriller instead of a horror novel.

Honestly, the story gave me nightmares. The brutal torture of small children was too horrendous to me Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for allowing me to read and review Our Share of the Night...even if it gave me nightmares.

I haven’t read Mariana Enríquez before, so I went into Our Share of Night with no knowledge beyond her reputation for literary weirdness. I knew that this was technically a horror story (that cover!), and while it is that — with some seriously sick characters and graphic violence — I didn’t know that it’s also a savvy metaphor for the tumultuous recent history of Enríquez’s Argentina — with some seriously sick characters and graphic violence — and while it did feel overlong (my kindle app puts it at a thirteen hour read), it also felt like that length was making commentary on the banality and omnipresence of evil. I winced and harrumphed and sighed my way through this — and then I winced again, sighed some more — and any read that makes me feel so much, even so much negative, is worth four stars in my opinion (and especially when those negative feelings gave me a sense of Enríquez’s truth).