Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Mexická gotika by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

296 reviews

katemarie99's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

It's giving Saltburn. It's giving Wuthering Heights. It's giving Beloved. It's giving The Yellow Wallpaper. It's giving Get Out. It's giving Alice in Wonderland.

I'm spooked down to my very bones, but this is a good book. Do yourself a favor and check out TWs first, tho.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Misogyny, Sexism, and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, Incest, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Classism, Death, Murder, Child death, Colonisation, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I do not know how to feel about this book lmao. Moreno-Garcia does a good job of creating this sort of creeping sense of horror and realizations, and Noémi is a compelling character with a ton of backbone. But somehow, despite this book not being very long, it feels like it really dragged on: there are a ton of reveals around 2/3 of the way through the book, and I felt like the next 100 pages both moved very slowly, and went a million different places that made no sense. I appreciated the author's critique of colonialism and cultural sexism, but this one just didn't work for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Cannibalism, Racism, Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Kidnapping, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, and Sexual harassment

bucketsjen's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Likeable and dislikable main characters, in appropriate ways. Well done. Very engaging. There's inspiration from classic horror woven in, which I enjoyed a lot.

Without saying whether the ending was good or bad, it was satisfying.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Colonisation, Child death, and Misogyny

Fungi. A lot of mold and mildew and fungi.

emzinator's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This book has a sleepy lull in the first half - but don't worry, it picks up SO much. I think this book reads almost like a screenplay, and I hope the Hulu limited series gets back on track! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Gore

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Incest, Gaslighting, Blood, Confinement, Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Murder

melanishka's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

4.5, rounded up 

This was.... not at all what I was expecting. Beautiful writing, absolutely terrifying setting and premise, and progressively spookier with every chapter. I loved the ending leaving a bit of uneasiness with you. I'd love to see this adapted into a film or Netflix series!

(.5 stars removed for the unnecessary baby cannibalism thing?)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Body horror, Miscarriage, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Child death, Child abuse, Cannibalism, and Blood

amyiris's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Vomit, Incest, Racism, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Violence, Gore, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Child death, Mental illness, Colonisation, and Gaslighting

garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The first big reveal was kind of an obvious one, but they took it in an unexpected direction. It was interesting and well written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Medical content, Murder, Incest, Gaslighting, Confinement, Racism, Body horror, and Classism

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Colonisation, Cursing, and Sexism

Minor: Child death, War, Suicide, Rape, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood

The r*pe tag is for

an attempt that is stopped

astralatlas's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I listened to this book as an audiobook and it was a real struggle to get through 75% of it. Much of the buildup seemed exceedingly repetitive and a lot of the characters seem pretty flat. However, even though I figured out the general shape of the reveal, the last 25% was riveting. Great body horror, fascinating backdrop, biting metaphorical critique of capitalism/colonialism/classism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Colonisation, and Body horror

Moderate: Incest, Suicide, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Miscarriage

chaotic_tumbleweed's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. However, towards the end there was a lot of explaining I didn't think was necessary. It felt like the action kept starting and stoping. Other than that I really enjoyed it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Body horror, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Gore, Classism, and Confinement

Moderate: Medical content, Cursing, Gun violence, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content

trying_ceratops's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

My main problem with the book was the pacing. It was hard to get into but once it did, the mystery was great to unravel! It definitely felt like the gothic novels I’ve read before, so it is aptly titled. There is some character development, but it’s more about the story. I loved the reason for the mystery at the end and it was very new. 

Id recommend this book to people who enjoy a slow build and a touch of spookiness. I wouldn’t consider this horror by any means, but it can be creepy. I can understand the hype this book created and am glad I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, and Colonisation

Moderate: Mental illness, Bullying, Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Racism

Minor: Cannibalism, Body horror, Incest, Blood, Child abuse, and Rape