I have a bunch of mixed feelings about this book, which has made me postponed this review for a long time. Karina Borgo brings a narrative that, for sure, has appalled to her readers. But while dense and full of lively descriptions, with angst, contempt, and violence, there is a gap on how the conduction of the characters’ actions are filled in the context.

Venezuela is brought to the reader in the mists of a popular revolution, political chaos, and disintegration. While we have followed the news on what’s happening in the country in recent years (especially because there was a flow of immigration from Portugal to Venezuela in the 40’s, that kept increasing up to the 80’s. Therefore, we can still find some communities of second-generation Portuguese immigrants that stablished their life there), there is a lack of specific context for the less knowledgeable reader. Even so as I have continued reading with doubts on if the descriptions were of events that happened in the past (remembering the revolutions of the 70’s, the Caracazo episode in 1989 or any other moment of instability and uplifting of the misery of Venezuelans) or were focused on more recent years.

To me, having a defined period would be necessary to start focusing on the characters and their challenges without feeling lost. As continuing the reading, we find some glimpses of objects and period references, and could perceive the period of the book as being focused on recent years. However, in that moment I was already less involved with it the plot, following all the effort unrightfully channelled to a dilemma that should not have been one.

Nevertheless, I cannot say how palpable the violent descriptions were and how much despair we have felt after Adelaida’s mother funeral and all the events this woman faced while having to start facing the world alone.

The main impact I’ve felt during this reading was the comparison between the past and the present and the eminent feeling of fear and frustration resulting from the fragilities of the institutions we as a society trust in. If there is anything we remembered from these past months, is that life as we know it can change in a glimpse, and countries only survive as long as their leaders are trusted, and when there isn’t any external context defying its substance.

Venezuela is being dissected and exposed on its fragilities, on its dichotomies between the poorest and the most dangerous, the hopeless and the ones still fighting with all the guns they find, even if that means losing their morality and humanity. The crimes and violence are the law, and the people are simultaneously sheriffs and culprits.

Adelaida finds herself completely lost, without anyone to give her assistance, and must reinvent herself and find a solution for her life. Not only is her country falling apart but her finances are completely spent on her mother’s funeral. Her cultural roots, her family memories and her financial support are lost in the Venezuela of the present.

With the arrival of unexpected events, there is only one solution, and every bet is on this small chance of success. I have found this section of the plot a bit forced mainly because of its simplicity. Everything was too easy and almost given to the main character, which makes the complementarity between the context and her decisions a bit unplausible. The sequence of events in a determinist flow seamed exaggerated and somehow, diminished the impact of the character’s decision.

The path between Venezuela and Adelaida’s destination is shortened in description, and I confess I finished the book a bit disappointed. Even so, I must point out the ability of Karina to describe every scene and to create a realistic conjunction of moments. Her career as a journalist becomes very recognisable in this process and one of the main reasons why I kept reading was the fluidity and incisive construction of Adelaida’s internal thoughts.

This was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it. thanks for letting me have an advance copy. I'm new to this author.

This was a hauntingly gorgeous book. The subject matter is current and difficult to read but handled with care and grace so as to avoid being too sensationalist.

What I really loved about the book was the translation. As a bilingual person myself, Bryers handling of certain turns of phrase was so wonderfully done. A particular quote, which she delves into more detail in her translator's note at the end, made me stop and pause in appreciation. We often take for granted how translators work, it that they just move from one language to the other, but it's the small nuances that are often the hardest to convey without sounding too clunky or over explanatory.

In all, I look forward to reading the completed Spanish and English versions. Both writer and translator really capture the desperate political climate of modern Caracas and the human impact with deft and descriptive language that made me finish in a single sitting.

I received an ARC copy of this book via net galley. There is a certain beauty to the writing which is very descriptive and evokes the time and place really well. There is however something missing from the way those words build a plot line that i could really get into. It moved between time periods, often without clarity and this made it difficult to enjoy as a whole. There were also pages of untranslated songs or poems which the English speaker must simply turn over. Whilst i see that these may be difficult to translate or may not carry the same cadence in English it seem spotless to include them if the reader isn't going to be able to read them

For me this book just failed to reach its potential

My thanks to 4th Estate/HarperVia for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘It Would Be Night in Caracas’ by Karina Sainz Borgo and translated from the Spanish by Elizabeth Bryer in exchange for an honest review.

From publisher: “In Caracas, Venezuela, Adelaida Falcon stands over an open grave. Alone, except for harried undertakers, she buries her mother – the only family Adelaida has ever known.”

This was an unrelenting grim account of a woman struggling to survive in a country that is disintegrating into anarchy and violence.

‘It Would Be Night in Caracas’ was a very harrowing novel to read, though the occasional flashbacks to happier times in Adelaida’s life I didn’t feel were that well integrated into the narrative.

While I am not that familiar with the politics of South America, awareness that the government forces depicted here in such damning terms represented an elected left-wing government did make me uncomfortable.

The outcome for Adelaida was quite satisfying though it just ended leaving questions about how her life changed following her decision to leave.

I assumed given the author’s background and her having left Venezuela for Spain that there were autobiographical elements in this novel. While she does state “some episodes and characters in this novel are inspired by real events, but are included here for literary purposes, not as testimony.”, I would have appreciated more details.

A harrowing account of one woman's struggle to survive in an economically-devastated Venezuela, this is a worthy but, ultimately, slightly frustrating novel. The premise sets itself up for either a thrilling novel of how our central character, Adelaida Falcón, manages to escape the rioters, the looters, and how she finds a way out. Or it could have been a fascinating critique of life under Chávez and Maduro. For me, it was neither. Perhaps it was a deliberate decision to make the central character quite unemotional (although the book opens with her burying her mother); but in doing so I felt a distance to the events that left me quite cold. And yes, there were plenty of comments about the state and politics, but there was no balance, simply extended rants: 'This was not a nation. It was a meat mincer.' There was genuine anger, for sure, but it needed a balance to stop it feeling slightly overdone.

I applaud the author's attempts to create this novel, but it just didn't work for me. However, I encourage others to pick it up and read it. We must always be open to new voices, and new insights into other countries, and for that the publisher should be applauded for giving Karina Sainz Borgo a wider audience.

(With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this title.)

A fascinating look at the political and social situation in Venezuela. I had heard about this on the news, but had no idea as to the depths of despair that people were living in.

Adelaida was a very sympathetic character, although my only niggle is why she would go to such lengths as to pretend to be her neighbour, right at the very end of the book (trying not to give any spoilers away...)

This book was frightening and dark and gives a clear indication of how quickly a world can break down.

Reviewed on Litsy, but links not working.

It Would Be Night in Caracas is a moving and intensely gripping debut novel from critically-acclaimed Latin-American author Karina Sainz Borgo. It simultaneously tells the story of a woman and a country, both of whom are falling apart at the seams. It's a genuinely challenging book to read because of this but it has an important and eerily compelling tale to tell all the same. When it begins, the times in which it is set flit around in a disorienting manner, but this was almost certainly Borgo's intention in order to depict the chaos and discombobulation felt by both protagonist, Adelaida, and Venezuelans at the time of the economic collapse. It should, therefore, be no surprise that it is an often uncomfortable and eminently painful narrative with a very engaging set of characters and a keen sense of place; Venezuela is depicted in the most beautiful of ways and conversely in the ugliest.

At its heart, though, this is a deeply powerful and affecting political novel, and although it has many important messages and morals within, it is written in such a smooth, flowing style that these heavy topics it explores somehow don't weigh the plot down in any way at all; that is such a mighty impressive task and definitely no easy feat. With lyrical prose, vivid descriptions and an explosive climax, this is a timely and devastating ode to a mother country in true turmoil. I often don't agree when an emerging author is described as a literary master but this is actually rather accurate in this case. I cannot wait to read what Borgo will produce in the future. It's just unfortunate that it will take even longer before it is translated into English. Hopefully, it'll be worth the wait! Many thanks to HarperVia for an ARC.

I will be honest – I had a problem with this book. If you read it on the one level of a single woman struggling against an unnamed political (of whatever persuasion) regime which has taken over her country that is one thing. To my mind it can also be read as a damning indictment of the socialist party led by Chavez bringing Venezuela to its knees, with more than an little artistic licence in spreading blame and counter blame. The latter made me very uncomfortable. I don’t claim to be an expert in Latin American politics (although I do pay attention) but I can smell propaganda a long way off.

As a novel recounting a woman’s loss of her mother and her memories of her childhood and the people she met along the way, this is a well written and readable novel but in other readings there is an uneasy and one-sided view of a country which has, more than once, been used as a political pawn in the machinations of other countries. I’ll say no more.

Thank you to NetGalley and W M Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Adelaida Falcón has just buried her beloved mother and finds herself completely on her own, when not just her own life but the lives of all inhabitants of her hometown of Caracas crumble. Outside, protesters fight, looters take everything they can and leaving the apartment surely means an immediate death. When her small world is invaded, too, she tries to fight, but in vain, she not only has nobody to turn to anymore but also has to consider herself homeless. The fight for her life makes her do things she, the literary translator, would never have dreamt of. But these are not times to act morally, these are times of trying to survive only.

Karina Sainz Borgo’s debut is a work of fiction, but to anybody who followed the news of South America in the last couple of months, the question of how much truth and reality might be found in the novel inevitable comes to mind. In an interview, the author underlines the fictitious nature of the plot, yet, she also stresses that all the rioting, murdering, fraud and random acts of violence are true. They do exist and they certainly exist in fragile countries.

“Generous in beauty and in violence, two of the qualities that it had in greatest abundance.”

Not all is bad in Venezuela, Adelaida remembers the time of carelessness outside Caracas where she spent her childhood summers. But she also knows city life where all was welcoming for children, but simply a waste since going outside and enjoying the playgrounds was too dangerous. She finds herself oscillating between extremes, her country does not seem to know any state of moderation.

“Human beings transformed into meat, which someone else would turn into news items displayed on the newsstands the next day.”

At times, it is hard to endure what Sainz Borgo narrates. In particular, the report on situation in Venezuelan prisons under the watch of the paramilitary troops made me hold my breath. One does not want to read about it, does not want to know about it, however, you are totally aware that this is how it is.

“Only a small difference in sound separates ‘leave’ from ‘live’.”

How can one live under such circumstances? One cannot. Dot. So, if the chance of escape presents itself, seize it. And that’s just what Adelaida does, though, not without a guilty conscience.

A novel full of brutality and misery, the portrait of a country on the ground. Corruption and violence dominate; humanity is hard to find. It is not an objective report, it remains a work of fiction and the first person narrator underlines the subjective point of view, which in this case, however, only renders the atmosphere gloomier and more depressing. A novel that goes under your skin and forces you to face what people have to endure day in, day out.

A claustrophobic and unflinching novel which instantly pulled me into a place and conflict I knew nothing about. There is a palpable sense of fear and desperation, and I felt very invested in the fate of the narrator. The writing is really taut and arresting, and well conveyed in translation.

Karina Sainz Borgo, the author of this book, is a Venezuelan journalist who now lives in Madrid. This novel features a young woman journalist, Adelaida, surviving alone in Caracas, Venezuela, during the current political, economic crisis. As I was reading it my main question was how much of the novel was autobiographical. It has been translated from the original Spanish into English by Elizabeth Bryer.
Adelaida's life has just changed dramatically following the death of her mother, with whom she lived in a flat in Caracas. Following this immediate shock however Adelaida is confronted with the huge changes in her environment resulting from a massive economic crisis and political instability. The novel does not seek to explain this situation but rather to demonstrate the impact on the daily lives of citizens, faced initially with food and medical shortages, then with actual threat to their lives and survival. In this chaos the rule of law is abandoned even by Adelaida who has to make difficult decisions to survive and the reader is caught up in the terror of her daily reality.
The book led me to want to be more informed about the issues in Venezuela and to read some of Borgo's non-fiction works.

Thanks to the publishers via Net Galley for a complimentary ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Sometimes a novel comes along which floors you with its language, subject matter and voice. This is a novel about loss. Loss of a country, the death of a country you love as it slides into lawlessness and a woman faced with a life changing choice.

The novel takes place in Caracas, Venezuela and the city is enmeshed in a power struggle like never before. Anarchy rules the streets, political unrest controls every part of life. The country is sliding into abyss and it’s a tragic state for any country to be in. People are mourning the freedom and the food they once had and missing the days when life was good, before politics and violence blew up that stability. Adelaida at the same time, mourns her mother and through flashbacks to her past, mourns her country. Life when her mother was alive was good and she had a happy childhood. The two stories, one happy, one sad, intertwine to form a rich tapestry of life in Venezuela. It’s heartbreaking, heartwarming and harrowing all at once and a very powerful read in every sense of the word.

I think it’s a very apt book for modern times too as it shows how quickly a state of peace and democracy can change. What would you do to stay safe and how would it feel to have to flee to save your life? What does it feel like to flee your country? How do you survive when your country is falling down around your ears?

It’s extremely moving and sad to read about Adelaida and her mother. I was in bits! It’s definitely a book which I am going to remember for a long while and one which is going to leave its mark.

Heartbreaking raw shocking look at Adelaida life in Venezuela a country falling apart lawlessness setting.The heartbreak of burying her mom now all alone she returns to her apartment and what happens there will shock you s
Horrify stay with you.So well written so tragic for her& her country.#netgalley#4thestate

It Would Be Night in Caracas is a vivid and at times harrowing depiction of a country falling apart, with peace and security taken violently from citizens and a mixture of luck, contacts and selfishness being the barrier between life and death. Focusing on Adelaida as she comes to terms with the death of her mother and as society crumbles around her, the story flits between the family history and the horrifying events in Caracas.

On the whole, a fascinating study of an individual at a time of crisis. I wasn’t entirely sold on the conclusion, but the journey is worthwhile.

One quibble - ‘women’s fiction’ as a category feels rather reductive. What defines women’s fiction? This is about humanity, and at times the lack of it - the category runs the risk of alienating potential readers.

This is a novel about loss. Loss of love for a country. Loss of the chance to live without fear of violence. Loss of home and family. And ultimately loss of one's own identity. Gordo's novel tells the story of a daughter, Adelaida, left on her own in a Caracas flat following the death of her mother. With no money, no family and no hope she fights for her existence as Caracas spirals downwards into violence, murder and hatred. Thugs, sponsored by the revolutionary military government, ruthlessly control the black market in food and supplies whilst freely murdering anyone who opposes them. In order to survive Adelaida is continually being forced to make agonisingly difficult choices. In describing just how she survives Gordo pulls no punches. The text is visceral and drags the reader into the mess that is Caracas. But, thankfully, interspersed with this violence are episodes of almost lyrical beauty where Adelaida recalls memories of happier times. Brilliant writing captured beautifully by Elizabeth Byer, the translator. By the end of the novel Adelaida becomes Aurora. To find out why she takes on this new name you have to read the book but without her doing so "It Would Be Night in Caracas".

This is a heartbreaking and harrowing read. Adelaida is trying to survive in the broken country of Venezuela. After her mother dies her fight for survival gets tougher. I will remember this book for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Borgo's debut is likely to cement her as one of the best Latin American authors of the moment. This is a fast paced and gritty novel that tells of a. woman's fight to hold on to her identity and her country for as long as possible.

What a boring repetitive book
It was underdeveloped and had no twists in it
The only good thing was the setting even the characters were dull
This could have been a great story