Mexican Gothic

Mexican Gothic combines Mexican history with the supernatural to create an increasingly unnerving tale???and the more I read, the harder it was to put down.

The story is about Noem??, a socialite and university student, visiting her fairly recently married cousin after her father received a rambling, out of character letter from her claiming that her husband was poisoning her. From the very start, there's an aura of wrongness emanating from the old mansion her cousin now lives in, as well as most of the family who lives there. As Noem?? spends more time there, she unearths more questions and more secrets and it goes from quietly disconcerting to more and more disturbing.

It's not a subtle book yet the backstory is creative and haunting, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mexican Gothic with its determined heroine, secrets, and creepiness???so much that it's one of my favorite books of 2020!

Full Review on My Website

This is the fourth book from Silvia Moreno-Garcia I've read. The first, [b:The Beautiful Ones 55311334 The Beautiful Ones Silvia Moreno-Garcia https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1611470492l/55311334.SY75.jpg 54122902], remains one of my all time favorite books. After that was [b:Certain Dark Things 54785481 Certain Dark Things Silvia Moreno-Garcia https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1615238352l/54785481.SY75.jpg 48011064] and [b:Gods of Jade and Shadow 36510722 Gods of Jade and Shadow Silvia Moreno-Garcia https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543268579l/36510722.SY75.jpg 58230232], both of which I was less excited for. Not that I didn't appreciate them, Certain Dark Things in particular I liked, I mostly just wanted it to be longer, but I just felt like there was something missing from both that meant I wasn't getting pulled in. And now there's this book, Mexican Gothic. The breakout star. And I'm sorry but I just don't get it.Noemi Toboada is a headstrong rich girl living an exciting socialite life in Mexico City (in I think the 1950s), when she is instructed by her father to visit her recently married cousin, Catalina. Catalina has been sending her uncle strange letters, causing her uncle to worry about her mental health and a possible scandal if her new marriage is falling apart. Noemi agrees on the condition that when she returns she will be able to go to graduate school, and so she embarks to find out what has happened to her cousin. What she finds is a gothic, decaying manor perched on a hill in a small town, and her cousin's new in-laws - the austere Doyles. The longer Noemi stays in the house, the weirder things get - but aside from a lot of disturbing dreams, not a whole lot actually happens until the end.I felt a little embarrassed reading this. The copy I have is one I bought for my mother for Christmas last year - my mom loves a good thriller, and I thought she would enjoy a new Latinx author. She is not, however, a fan of horror, but as many reviews and articles will tell you - gothic romance is not really horror. But it looks like my favorite pet peeve has struck again, because once again a popular book got the “it's not really horror” sell, when, in fact, it is. In particular, this book has a lot of goopy body horror, with a mix of eldritch psychological horror. Not exactly what I expected out of a so-called gothic romance. Sorry, Mom.Moreno-Garcia does a lot to establish the atmosphere. Yes, I want to hear all about the tarnished candelabra, the velvet seats and moldy, rose-colored wallpaper. A young handsome man with a mysterious darkness to him? Step right up. The fussy older woman who makes sure she's judging every step the heroine makes? You got it. You signed up or a mysterious, gothic manor, and you're gonna get it, goddammit. But I just couldn't get past the fact that once that atmosphere is established, and the stuffy, privileged Doyles are introduced, the story feels largely aimless. Noemi has come to High Place to see Catalina, but the Doyles only let her see her for a few minutes at a time, and each meeting is not particularly productive, so she doesn't have much to do with the rest of her time. She gets yelled at for disobeying rules, she develops a relationship with the skinny, unassuming cousin, Francis Doyle, and has a lot of unsettling dreams where the walls of the house are alive and her cousin's husband, Virgil, is assaulting her in some way.Ok, we need to talk about how many times Moreno-Garcia is going to have to use the evil entitled rich boy thing. Like, hon, we get it, you hate these boys. Virgil Doyle does have more texture and complexity than Nick Godoy or Martin Leyva, but he's also a lot more diabolical. Unlike Nick or Martin who remain one-note throughout their journeys and you will smirk happily when they get their comeuppance, you will absolutely loathe Virgil Doyle by the end of this book. Which brings me to an important point - if you are sensitive to portrayals of sexual assault and/or nonconsensual touching, this book is probably not for you. Moreno-Garcia puts in the work to make you angry about the stuff that happens in this book, and if it was difficult for me to read, then it will be painful for a lot of others.I think what never clicked for was Noemi. She is sold at the beginning of the story as an intelligent, independent woman who enjoys doing things her own way. She seems like the perfect character to come in and disrupt the lives of the long-established Doyles. But almost as soon as Noemi arrives at High Place, she basically hits an immediate wall. It doesn't matter how many witty remarks she has or what kind of reputation she had back in Mexico City - in High Place, she's just a girl in some nice dresses, stuck in a house with a bunch of white supremacists. None of the previously established character work really contributes at all to where Noemi ends up. She could have been written as timid or bookish instead and it would have made little difference. Unless it was Moreno-Garcia's intention to humble her heroine (she does have that thing about rich kids), but that's not a character arc I'm terribly interested in.Overall, this book is rich with atmosphere and has some great villains, but a less interesting heroine and not exactly a strong plot-driven core, despite its short page count. When the source of the creepy stuff is revealed, it should have been the type of stuff that is right up my alley, but I found myself just wanting to get through it as fast as possible.

Overall I really enjoyed this. The setting was really well done and unsettling. Noemi was interesting but maybe not as fleshed out as I'd have liked. I thought it dragged a bit in the middle, but picked up again towards the end. I still read it in two days though, so it didn't drag that much. This was a good read for spooky season.

I love a good Girl vs. House story: [b:Rebecca 17899948 Rebecca Daphne du Maurier https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386605169l/17899948.SX50.jpg 46663], [b:The Turn of the Screw 12948 The Turn of the Screw Henry James https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567172392l/12948.SY75.jpg 990886], [b:The Haunting of Hill House 89717 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327871336l/89717.SY75.jpg 3627], [b:The Silent Companions 35458733 The Silent Companions Laura Purcell https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500725504l/35458733.SY75.jpg 55746774]. Earlier this year, I picked up [b:Nine Coaches Waiting 27695 Nine Coaches Waiting Mary Stewart https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550784765l/27695.SY75.jpg 1122506] hoping it would scratch that itch, only to be disappointed overall. BUT! This book takes a lot of the good elements of that story and uses them to much better advantage.This isn't a book with monsters jumping out of shadows or ghostly forces making themselves obvious. This genre is about the slow burn, and the heroine's uncertainty. She arrives at the Gothic pile, at the mercy of the inhabitants through poverty, lack of connections, desperation, or the extreme physical isolation of the manse. The staff are secretive, evasive, hostile. Her hosts seem to have something to hide - or is it all in her head? The place seems haunted - or is it her imagination, lack of sleep, stress?This sort of story works for me whether the haunting is metaphorical or clearly literal, and also if it's left ambiguous. It's about atmosphere and dread. And Moreno-Garcia works that angle beautifully. In this case, Noemí isn't poor or without familial support, which is refreshing. But the story believably cuts her off from her resources. She's still active and strong, and I was rooting for her the whole way. Is she battling supernatural evil? A family's dark secrets? Or is her mind betraying her as she deals with displacement and worry? I'll leave you to take the journey with her - that's what makes this so fun.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. My fiancée read it first but was quite dismissive of it - citing it as being generic and not especially creative. She is quite well read in the gothic genre so there may be some truth to that. A lot of other readers and reviewers have been raving about it online though. I have a lot less reading in this genre than she does so decided to give it ago and I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. The Mexican aspect of this is not really there - you are taken to a creepy European family's house in Mexico - the Mexico location ends up being entirely incidental to the plot. This gothic story really could be set anywhere. However, Silvia's writing style is easy to engage with. She creates an interesting sense of being trapped with an overbearing and frightening set of characters with ambiguous motives. The central mystery of the story is well revealed, even if the mechanism has been used before. To me this is a well executed take on the gothic story. Is it especially ‘Mexican' feeling? No. Is it hugely original? Probably not. Is it fun and easy to read with a satisfying denouement? I certainly think so. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Due date arrived while reading. Waiting for it (again). Can't wait to continue reading it.

3.5 stars. It was an interesting book but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. This book just dragged on for me. I did like the main character and parts of the story were intriguing enough to keep me reading. I'd say the last third was the best part.

This story builds very slowly, which I liked because it did build into something completely worth the investment of time.

But even the parts before the monster reveal were enjoyable. Noemie is a likeable heroine, she is smart, quick, brave, but makes a lot of mistakes and has room for self doubt. The early book was about her coping with no longer being in a place where she's popular, loved and protected. She has to deal with the strict rules and humorless personalities of her mysterious hosts.

She also has to think of someone besides herself, her cousin who is ill, in a vulnerable position, and unable to get out of the trap of her marriage. You get the idea that Noemie has never had to take responsibility before and has previously only had to consider her own wants. Watching her struggle, fail, and work up the courage to try again, as well as figure out what is right from wrong was what the early bit of the story was all about. It could be a good YA book for the older end of that age group.

Once the monster part takes off it's wonderfully weird and creepy. That was a good surprise because I was starting to wonder if we were going to get out of the pattern of Noemie having weird dreams in between creepy encounters with her cousin's unpleasant and controlling in-laws.

Fun monster story with romance, thrills, and a good character arc.

I have been waiting to read this book ever since I had first heard about it. I was drawn in by 1950s gothic horror with a debutante sent to see that her cousin is well after receiving an alarming letter.

I managed to get my pre-order days early and it only felt appropriate for how badly I had wanted to read this to drop everything else and visit High Place. THIS IS NOT YA!!!!

Mexican Gothic is a slow build up to the nightmare. Noemí is a dynamic heroine who enjoys parties, fancy cigarettes, anthropology, and is filled with so much determination to get what she wants. The way Moreno-Garcia crafted this story I felt like I was able to watch it unfold before my eyes. Halfway through I already felt as though it was just made to be adapted. This story takes classic gothic horror and gives it a far more interesting backdrop than the English countryside.

I do not want to give much away but this is a story that you just sit back and embrace the ride that you're being taken on.

This book is heavy with trigger warnings so please check them out before proceeding. CW: murder, epidemic, incest, attempted rape, cannibalism, racism, eugenics, hallucinations, gore.

This was one of the most hyped books of 2020, including winning the Goodreads Choice Award for horror, so I decided to give it a try.

Moreno-Garcia does a great job of creating an oppressive, gloomy atmosphere. The characters feel doomed, the situation hopeless. She also does a good job of creating mystery, as the protagonist tries to figure out what's going on and how to get out of a situation that seems hopeless. Once everything comes together, it's a satisfying explanation for the weirdness going on and the conclusion was well earned. Everything in the story was naturally leading to that point, even if you can only see it in hindsight.

So in terms of atmosphere and general story, Moreno-Garcia's writing is excellent. Unfortunately, her dialogue is bad. It's overly formal, clunky, and just doesn't feel natural, even given the setting of the book. That takes you out of the story as a reader – there were times where I actually corrected the dialog in my head to make the scene work better.

The other problem is the lack of scares. There's tension throughout, but no moments that are actually scary. I think the nightmare sequences are supposed to provide that, but they don't work. At least not for me.

The story deals a lot with eugenics and with the culture clash in Mexico between the mestizos and those with so-called “pure European blood.” It also explores the clash between new, modern culture and tradition. Characters do unspeakably terrible things all because “that's how we've always done it.” And characters are literally haunted by things that were done by their family in the past.

I love those aspects of the story. This would be a four or five-star review if only it had better dialogue or if it was scary.

I would say this has spooky “vibes” rather than being actually scary. I really liked the explanation of the horror, it was definitely different, but somehow believable. I wish the main character had been a little more interesting; she was a rich, headstrong young woman who thought she was in control of everything until she truly wasn't and ends up learning a life lesson about love. That just seems one-dimensional. Overall, a great read, but could use more character development for my personal taste.