Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Unser Teil der Nacht by Mariana Enríquez

32 reviews

jhbandcats's review against another edition

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

5.0

I didn’t want this book to end. It was so enthralling that I wanted to keep reading about these people struggling in this world of horror and evil. It was gory and terrifying, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. 

I haven’t read a book in ages - even fabulous books - where I lose track of time, but I was completely absorbed in the story. The characters are compelling, especially Juan - he seems sympathetic in the section told from his perspective but he’s a monstrous father to Gaspar. The vile grandmother and her sister are the most frightening of all. 

The author conjures a world where magic and the horrors of Argentina’s dirty war are intertwined. By using the supernatural, she’s able to describe the terror of that period so it’s easy to imagine how awful it was for those targeted by the military junta. 

This book is definitely not for everyone. It’s violent and vivid and visceral. It’s extraordinary. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

school_for_scandal's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Honestly could have used another 50 pages. Man, what a ride.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

cameronkobesauthor's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism

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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

kate_303's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Self harm, Violence, Death of parent, and War

Moderate: Chronic illness, Car accident, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting

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!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

knenigans's review against another edition

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

fkshg8465's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Not really sure what hoopla was about this book. I get how it’s actually a political allegory, but it was way too long, had too many unnecessary digressions, and not enough resolution for my satisfaction. Enjoyed the overall story, but there were far too much that I didn’t care for in between.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

camscampbell's review against another edition

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.

.

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

---

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

henpower's review against another edition

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Abandonment