Velvet Was the Night

Another day, another genre of book that I don't usually read. Frankly, I don't think I've ever read a noir, pulp fiction type book before. But this was Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I couldn't resist getting a review copy.

For almost a third of the book, I was bored and annoyed with the characters and just couldn't see what was the point of everything that was happening. But then, I will not say it got terribly interesting, but I got used to the writing style and decided to quickly finish the book. The author captures the atmosphere of the times very well - the authoritarianism of the political leaders and the police; the dirty work by gangsters; the students who are fed up with the messed up situation and have become activists, but are themselves a target now; and a young woman who doesn't care about any of this happening around her because she is too busy thinking about her drab and boring life. The author is really good at showing the murky reality of Mexico during different times in history through each of her books, and this was no exception. The story was also fast paced with quite a bit of action and suspense, with one twist towards the end that I never saw coming.

Elvis was an interesting character, trying to find the place where he can finally belong to and maybe make a name for himself. He may have been working for a gangster, but there was a naïveté about him that made him a sympathetic character. Maite on the other hand completely frustrated me - on one hand because I was annoyed by her fixation on good looking guys and making tall tales about everything to feel like something was going on in her life; on the other hand, there were some characteristics of her life that hit too close to him and I didn't want a reality check. But I liked how both of their storylines followed each other and intersected and diverged, but never actually met. The only other character whom we get to know somewhat is Ruben but he was a typical young guy who romanticized revolution and none of his actions truly surprised me. Elvis's teammates were also stereotypical sidekicks and didn't leave much of an impression.

To conclude, this was a quick read, probably as expected from pulp fiction. It was also engaging enough but I don't think it's something I'll remember after a while. I could have liked it more but the ending (which was quite unexpected) just felt like the whole point of the book was a waste and that left me dissatisfied. But it's just my opinion. If 1970s Mexico at a time of student protests and government overreach, and a noir story about two completely different people whose paths collide in a twist of fate feels like something that'll interest you, go for it.

Very rarely do I find a writer and want to devour their entire catalogue, yet that's exactly what happened when I read Mexican Gothic.

Now, here we are, with Moreno-Garcia releasing a different kind of book into the wild.

There's this idea that once an artist establishes themselves, they need to strictly adhere to what the public knows of them or worry about upsetting or losing them. So when an author like Moreno-Garcia releases a very different book, it's a risk.

I'm glad she took this risk.

Velvet Was the Night is a neo-noir set in Mexico during the Mexican Dirty War. What was this, exactly? It was Mexico's branch of the Cold War, where the US backed the Mexican government's efforts to purge “radical” beliefs through your bog standard repression, violence and silencing. Leftist student and guerilla groups rose during these times and there were eruptions of violence stemming from subversive, government-funded groups trying to ensure leftist ideologies didn't take over their country.

If you saw the very good ‘Roma' you've seen what those looked like, but Velvet Was the Night comes from a much different perspective. Where Roma came from the view of a wealthy family and their maid during that time, this book plants the reader right in the middle of the conflict. We see two alternating POVs through the book: Elvis, a member of the government-funded group of young thugs, the Hawks, and Maite, a 30-year-old secretary who obsessively read romance comics and didn't really follow the news.

The contrasts couldn't be more stark if they tried. Maite was ignorant of what was happening, while Elvis was creating the news. Both were living as they were because of circumstance, not from conviction or belief. Yet, both end up in a tangled web surrounded by people full of conviction, and are forced to take sides.

Elvis doesn't seem to have a grasp on what these lefty students care about, just that ‘commies' are bad, and his job is to bust ‘em up, intimidate journalists and make sure nothing positive was written about the student protests, nor were there photos or any proof whatsoever. Because, look, that's how this goes, right? Remember back to Minneapolis in the summer of 2020 during the George Floyd protests? Where there was a mysterious umbrella-holding man in police tactical gear who smashed up an AutoZone attempting to start a riot, while onlookers filmed him and chased him away (into an actual precinct building)?

This is real stuff that happens. The Hawks were a real group that existed and this is what they did. Moreno-Garcia mentions in the afterward about her research, including declassified documents about the actions of the Hawks, their intent and the US govt propping them up with money, training and support.

Maite, on the other hand, waits for her romance comics to be released every week and to her, these things happening were just minor annoyances. They were the things she'd read about in the paper and think “how awful” without taking a side. Multiple times throughout the book she presents the safe narrative of events presented by their government. Guerilla fighters? No, they're terrorists. Peaceful protests from students? They were violent riots and the police and military were there just to keep them in line. What's relatable about Maite is we all know a Maite or two in our lives. Perhaps you, my dear reader, are a Maite. Life is hard enough, right? So you get lost in the minutiae of your own life, in your books or shows or movies, and the things happening around you are distant and strange.

When Maite's neighbor, Lenora, introduces herself and sets the stage for Maite's adventure, it's innocent enough. She's gotta get out of town and needs someone to check in on her cat. She'll be back on Sunday, Monday at the latest. Of course it's not that simple. Lenora is a photographer and has photographic proof of the Hawks not only existing, but causing a recent riot. It's a direct contrast with what the government and president have stated, the kind of stuff that could blow everything wide open.

Maite doesn't know this, though. She just knows there's a cat she has to feed and Lenora never came back. This leads Maite down the rabbit hole, so-to-speak, of checking in with Lenora's comrades, a smarmy and handsome photographer pal, journalists and even a fling with a wanna-be freedom fighter. All of a sudden, these distant events were her life and Maite has some serious questions.

Elvis is on a different path, but is heading toward a similar destination. Their group lives in relative secrecy, everyone working under a code name and a pal who got shot at the riot in question, never comes back. The leader of the Hawks, El Mago, is the kind of guy Elvis aspires to be, although there's friction there. He loves his rock music, books and having fun, it's just that life has taught him he needs to be hard and violent to get anything he deserves.

While Maite is undergoing her personal radicalization, Elvis is following her and finding himself drawn to her. There's nothing inherently special about her, in fact, she's dreadfully normal, but her taste in music, books and the way she carries herself is magnetic to him. Watching while she cavorts around with his enemies and entangles herself further into this web, question arise the more Elvis digs. El Mago is out for himself, he's told, and the Hawks were expendable to him as long as he can get ahead. Everything they're doing is built on a bed of lies. El Mago is a true believer in their cause, or is he? Is he just a violent sadist who wants power?

Both Maite and Elvis are forced to make difficult, life-altering choices based on their moral compasses, and it's not on the side of their government.

The plotting in this novel is tight, allowing some breathing room early on before the story unravels and the world shrinks in on itself. There are inevitabilities about Maite and Elvis and their shared fate, but each have very natural awakenings and problems they deal with. What we see is that people, even the blissfully ignorant or those led down the wrong path, when faced with moral, life-or-death decisions, are going to gravitate towards what may feel alien, but feels right to them.

I can't commend Moreno-Garcia enough for taking a risk like this and I very much look forward to her next one.

I got an eARC from NetGalley via Random House in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

This is my second novel from Moreno, who has soundly established herself as an author with a strong voice. My first novel from her was Mexican Gothic, a novel that I thoroughly enjoyed and wished she wrote more in the horror/suspense genre. However, Velvet Was the Night is a book decidedly not in that same vein but of political suspense. As noted in the Author's Note, this book is based on a real horror story: government-funded violence against civilians and protestors. As an American, we are shielded from the terrorist acts that the U.S. government funded in other countries, especially in the “war against Communism”. This novel highlights exactly what dynamics are in play during such a high-tension moment in Mexico political history. People killing each other, running away, espionage, the like. The way that one of the protagonists, Maite, spent her whole time before the events of the novel willfully oblivious to the politics and the dangers of the world, yet was dragged in anyway. A wonderful metaphor to how no matter how much you don't read the news or engage with dangerous characters, you are affected by politics and the dangerous games they play with civilian lives.

This book is wonderful and has unique, memorable characters. I only wish there was more to Elvis as Maite is much more flushed out. All in all, I highly recommend this book if you would like a small course in Mexican history.

I can't really put into words what exactly I thought about this book. On one hand, I didn't hate and it kept me entertained at certain points but on the other, I also found it to be extremely hard for me to get through. This isn't my usual thriller genre and I initially requested this arc from Netgalley because I have read Mexican Gothic by the same author in the past and liked that one. Well, let me just tell you, this one is nothing like Mexican Gothic was and I realize it's not the same genre but personally for me, this one was just really not my cup of tea. Like at all.

First of all, Velvet Was the Night is about a woman, named Maite, who gets tangled up with some dangerous groups of people when she agrees to housesit for her neighbor, Leonora. This plot really was not my thing and I found all the political talk to be very tedious and boring to me. I enjoyed the romantic aspects of the plot but that's about it. There was definitely enough excitement but it was more on the action side of things and it was just too much for me. I prefer suspense and thrills in my books leading up to the climactic buildup over nonstop action and violence. Definitely will not be reading any books based heavily in the political sphere ever again.

Secondly, the characters were okay. They were not jumping out of the book at me and yet they also weren't the most boring characters I have come across in books. We definitely got to know Maite well but not as in-depth as I would have preferred. Maybe the whole plot was so far out of any realm of reality for me that it made the characters harder to relate to. This is the reason domestic thrillers are my absolute favorite trop probably. The relations between the characters in this novel was the strongest part of the characterization in my opinion.

Finally, the writing style was done well enough. It was easy to read and understand what was happening as it occurred but at the same time it didn't flow effortlessly either. It was just okay. I do appreciate it for not being too choppy, that would have made it getting through the book that much harder.

In conclusion, while this book didn't blow me away, it didn't completely disappoint me either. I have ventured out of my comfort zone and have understood that books based heavily in politics and the government are just not for me. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys action and adventure over personal development of characters. This book definitely felt a lot like watching an action film and for this reason I can definitely appreciate it for what it is.

My first outing with this author and I'm happy I took the chance.

Maybe knowing 60's & 70's Latin American history, Mexican specifically, would add to your enjoyment of this but I think it's a perfectly good example of a modern noir. I'll be coming back to this well.

Maite and Elvis aren't heroic people in any sense of the word and yet are the only characters in this tale with any, albeit incidental, moral clarity. They're not overly ambitious or pretentious. They like music and want someone to know and know them. Simple. So hard.

I'm generally a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books, but this noir pulp fictiontook some effort for me to get through. I had a hard time staying interested, there wasn't much of a hook to pull the story forward.  The writing is solid and the backdrop of political unrest creates tension in most interatctions. I kept hoping for something to draw me into the story and it does...just at the end. 

The characters really carried the book, especially Maite. At first I didn't like her because she was vapid and had odd quirks. But as I learned more about her and understood her insecurities, she started to make the events much more interesting. 

I'm still a fan of SMG, but I'll probably stick with her fantasy books.

I first read this author when I cracked open Gods of Jade and Shadow and I loved it. So when I saw this come up for an ARC review I jumped at the chance to snag it...

This is a historical noir and the first I've read in this genre. I love the writing, the atmosphere and the storyline. That being said this is definitely one you NEED to be in the mood to read because it is a slow read. Not a slow burn..a slow read.

From what I understand that's the niche of a noir. It's mostly about atmosphere and mystery which this one does well with.

If you're looking to dive into this genre and love historical fiction, I would say go grab this one and give it a go.

I sincerely appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.