Our Share of Night

A Novel

By: Mariana Enriquez, Megan McDowell

Narrated by: Frankie Corzo

Length: 27 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

“A masterpiece of supernatural horror.”—The Washington Post

“An enchanting, shattering, once-in-a-lifetime reading experience.”—The New York Times (Editors’ Choice)

ONE OF TIME AND THE ATLANTIC’S TEN BEST NOVELS OF THE YEAR • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S TEN BEST HORROR BOOKS OF THE YEAR • LONGLISTED FOR THE DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD • GOOD MORNING AMERICA BUZZ PICK • A woman’s mysterious death puts her husband and son on a collision course with her demonic family in the first novel to be translated into English by the International Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed—“the most exciting discovery I’ve made in fiction for some time” (Kazuo Ishiguro).

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, The Washington Post, Esquire, Publishers Weekly, BookPage, Book Riot, PopSugar, The New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, Polygon, Tordotcom, Lit Hub, Electric Lit, Commonweal, CrimeReads

“A magnificent accomplishment.”—Alan Moore, author of Watchmen

“A masterpiece of literary horror.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“One of Latin America’s most exciting authors.”—Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality.

For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar’s father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate?

Moving back and forth in time, from London in the swinging 1960s to the brutal years of Argentina’s military dictatorship and its turbulent aftermath, Our Share of Night is a novel like no other: a family story, a ghost story, a story of the occult and the supernatural, a book about the complexities of love and longing with queer subplots and themes. This is the masterwork of one of Latin America’s most original novelists, “a mesmerizing writer,” says Dave Eggers, “who demands to be read.”

©2023 Mariana Enriquez, Megan McDowell (P)2023 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A literary achievement, gorgeous and exacting in its execution . . . Our Share of Night is not only a bloody valentine to the bonds between parent and child, but also an inspired evisceration of how the powerful prey on the powerless . . .”—The Washington Post

“Reads like a Stephen King coming-of-age adventure transplanted to the streets of Buenos Aires.”—The Guardian

“An ailing medium who can connect with the dead tries to protect his son from an insatiable darkness. . . . Monumental.”—The New York Times

New Favorite Book

Excellent book! My new favorite. The narrator did a great job. Such a dark and beautiful queer tale set in Argentina. Great lore-building and not tacky at all

Donna Tart Meets Stephen King

This is the kind of book you’d like if you liked The Goldfinch, but also like horror. It was a slow and languid tale about a neglected little boy specked with some pretty graphic horror scenes. I don’t think I could have made it through reading on paper because the middle was incredibly boring and confusing, but via Audible, it wasn’t too hard to get through. There were a couple loose ends not tied up, and the chapters didn’t flow in a straightforward way, but it was good writing, and definitely a compelling idea.

6.5/10

interesting read

one of those books you can't stop thinking about. very interesting setting and characters.

Masterpiece

Not much to say except buy it. It’s epic. Was hard to get invested at first but pays off if you stick with it.

bored

I chose the story because I thought the content of it would be interesting and exciting, and I loved that it was translated from Spanish so it definitely hit a lot of check boxes. I also love that it's about the occult and mediums and the relationship between the father and son is really great. About 10 hours in I gave up on the audible version because the narrator, although she does an excellent job with the Spanish pronunciations, and I can really tell that she is a native Spanish speaker, she just talks way to slow and I'm bored. So I'm transitioning to the hard copy book and crossing my fingers it gets better.

Masterpiece

10/100
100/100

This book is dark, gripping, and will cut you straight across your heart

Wonderfully written almost poetic

The author paints the story and dives deep into the main characters. Sometime heart breaking, thrilling, often dark and haunting,

Favorite book of 2023

Let me start by saying, I understand this book will not be for everyone. But honestly, I think it is a masterpiece. I agree with another reviewer who said it is like Donna Tarte does horror. The character development is so thorough and the story so well crafted, I honestly listened to the audiobook 3 times and was still having new thoughts about it each time. It’s a sweeping epic spanning multiple time periods and geographical locations, and that really felt so necessary to the main plot of cultists and mysticism that I don’t think you could separate the two from each other and have the story still make sense. I’m careful who I recommend it to because, like I said above, I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I do think it is an amazing piece of literature.

This Story Grew on Me

Although I was disappointed with the ending, the sum of the whole is what really matters with this one. It’s been a few days since I finished the book yet I still have an unsettling feeling in my bones. It was an interesting ride.

Worth the Time

Lastingly creepy and horrific. Gross and grand. Loved how it spanned multiple generations. Somehow I still wanted more at the end!