Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez

184 reviews

outofthepinksky's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Torture, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, and Classism

thedanosaur_dante's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

I would marry this book 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, and Death of parent

fabiandtheberts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse

nadgtz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't think I have the words for this book. I wish it has lasted a thousand more pages. I loved loved loved the writing style and the different timelines. It felt really important for me to have all of those point of views from different times to really understand what was going on.
I am not going to lie, I cried (a lot), had a few violent nightmares but I would not change things. I loved Gaspar, his aunt and Estaban but I had my reserves concerning his parents. They did their best to protect him but they also gave him long-lasting trauma.
The whole atmosphere was asphyxiating and it finally agve me the thrill I had been looking for since I read Mexican Gothic 7 months ago. I enjoyed feeling what the characters felt, the heavy tension, the evil supernatural, the dramatic consequences of power hungry people's action and the weight on the shoulders of those who survived the cult.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Rape

apollos_books's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

amazing. made me both think and feel A LOT. i hope to write a book half as rich and thoughtful as this one. lots of really interesting themes going on here that are explored so cleverly. for example, one of the biggest themes is exploitation - of physical bodies, cultures and religions, the poor and working class, knowledge, children, queer and indigenous peoples, land, war and trauma...the author is able to make these kinds of connections very clear without undermining the reader's intelligence by being heavy handed about them, and relates them to a broader series of pressing questions: Do the ends ever justify the means? Why does our society normalize the exploitation of certain groups over others? To what extent are we all complicit? To what extent are we (as individuals and as communities) able to break the cycle, and what must we sacrifice in order to do so?

this book has a lot to say, making its length justifiable, and i hope readers who wouldn't otherwise pick up such a long book (and maybe especially a long horror book) give this one a shot. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Child abuse

Moderate: Slavery and Torture

artrobot5000's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Rape, Torture, Mass/school shootings, and Car accident

kari_f's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

I’ve recently been reading Argentinian magical realism, and Mariana Enriquez is a must-read author in this subgenre! Dark and disturbing with serious cult and occult vibes, this book isn’t for the faint of heart. There is body horror, familial abuse, torture, gaslighting, and a whole lot of misuse of power. The primary characters are layered and well-developed, and it was interesting to see different perspectives of each of them through each other’s eyes at different points in their lives.

I really liked that the book dives into some very heavy topics, including social commentary on how those in power treat the bodies and livelihoods of others as disposable. Indigenous people, citizens living in poverty, and other marginalized populations are commodities in the eyes of the powerful, and this plays out in several ways through the book. We also get so much insight into Argentinian political events, social dynamics, and nationwide tragedies that occur during the timelines represented. 

The book is quite long, and more than once I had the feeling that this should have been a duology instead of one book. The build up was extensive, and then the ending felt really rushed. There were also some parts that definitely made me feel uncomfortable or squeamish. That being said, I overall enjoyed it and would absolutely love to see a short story anthology taking place in this world so we could see more stories and perspectives concerning the Darkness and the mediums who reach out to it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Colonisation

Moderate: Self harm and Sexual content

infinitezest's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

4.5

Much like the claw with golden nails on the front cover, this terrifying story grips you and refuses to let you go - I feel marked.
This is one of the darkest novels I’ve experienced. Its villains are exceedingly twisted and its evil is truly revolting and repugnant. Fortunately, though, the kids trying to survive these horrors are richly drawn and so easy to root for.
The ending felt a bit rushed and I had hoped for resolution to some loose ends, but overall this was such a compelling, propulsive, and imaginative story that none of that matters much. I’ll definitely be reading more of this author’s work.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Physical abuse, and Torture

Minor: Medical content and Medical trauma

yajairat's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? N/A

4.0

Took me an abnormally long time to finish this, but don't think that I would have been as engrossed if I didn't take my time with it. So many things this novel touched upon, from its use of supernatural horror elements, the backdrop of Argentina's dictatorship, LGBTQIA characters living at the height of the AIDS epidemic, all interwoven well. What is going to stick with me is its theme of family and familial abuse, especially in regards to Juan and Gaspar's relationship. What do we make of this father/son duo, where abuse is committed in the name of love? I think I'll be pondering that for a bit before coming to a conclusion. 

 Only gripe is I felt the ending to be a little rushed, but still satisfying. Overall, a solid read for this fall season.

"We have children so that we can continue on, they are our immortality."

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

jadegrayy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Self harm, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis