Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is now currently being hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give the reasons why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez

Blurb from Goodreads

A woman’s mysterious death puts her husband and son on a collision course with her demonic family.

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.”

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! I know that Monday is the least favorite day of the week by most of us – and yes, that includes me. I was feeling a little sluggish. The two days’ worth of respite were relatively short. If only we could extend the weekend by at least one more day. Nevertheless, I hope that everyone had a great first day of the workweek. The first day of the week also means new opportunities to learn, grow, and develop. I hope that everyone will have a great week ahead. With the year slowly drawing to a close, I hope that the coming months will be filled with nothing but good news and positive vibes. I hope everyone will get repaid for the hard work they put in during the year. Let us end the year with a bang. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in mind, body, and spirit.

Goodreads Monday updates have become a weekly blogging tradition, the opener for a week’s worth of blogging. After spending a month and a half immersing myself in the works of African literature, I have commenced a different journey to a different part of the literary world: South American literature. Like African literature, South American literature is a part of the literary world I have rarely explored. To align with the month’s reading motif, I am featuring works of South American writers in this month’s Goodreads updates.

For this Goodreads Monday update, I am featuring Mariana Enríquez’s Our Share of Night. I first encountered the Argentine writer – interestingly, I am featuring an Argentine writer for the second week in a row – in 2021 when her short story collection, The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Because of my aversion to short stories, I bypassed the book. Imagine my delight – and surprise as well – when I learned that one of her novels was translated into English and released this year.

Originally published in Spanish in 2019 as Nuestra parte de noche, Our Share of Night is her fourth novel – it is also the latest one – and the first novel to be translated into English. Two of her short story collections, including the aforementioned The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, were previously translated into English. What is drawing me to Our Share of Night is the story it contains. It is a work of historical fiction that promises to transport readers during and after Argentina’s military dictatorship. I must also admit that compared to its neighboring Chile, the literature of Argentina is one that I have scarcely explored. I can’t recall reading a work by an Argentine writer before.

I hope to obtain a copy of the book as soon as possible; I am crossing my fingers that I can make it part of my foray into South American literature this year. How about you fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!