Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

39 reviews

brookiebridge's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This was an intense, fascinating book with incredibly vivid and beautiful description and imagery. The author did an amazing job fleshing out the characters, and I absolutely adore Naomi, the main character and I was rooting for her the whole time. Themes of the impact of abuse and colonialism are woven throughout this tense story. I couldn’t put the book down and was listening to it at all opportunities. It’s wonderful and creepy from the beginning to the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Incest, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Classism, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Although there is no explicit rape in the book, there is a consistent fear and threat of rape, and a nightmares in which the main character is raped by being unnaturally coerced into wanting to have sex. Some characters have an unnatural ability to make others feel uncontrollable lust for them, which they use to threaten or attempt rape. There is also a forced kiss, and people viewing the main character naked against her will, and appearing to her naked against her will.

rtthalia's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Body horror, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

cavefly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Death, Domestic abuse, and Stalking

paperknotbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.5

It’s great for gritty scene lovers, and made me compare to books like Annihilation and maybe even Severance or The Raven King. But those books have excellent dialogue, characters, and narrative flow. This book fell flat in all those areas.

I kept having to put this down because the story stiffly shifts from one room, then another, then town, then something trippy happens. The plot was constantly interrupted with stories of past figures and happenings, which would have been something better discovered organically, or detail revealed to the reader through alternate chapters. So what I’m saying is that the book could use some more editing.

By the end, I think it was trying to draw parallels of the Grant Wood painting American Gothic,

if the knowledge of the figures are father and daughter, there’s a light conspiracy twist of incestuous relationship… idk!

The book was certainly unsettling, and full of ‘shrooms. I’m guessing with how often the word “putrefaction” came up, they would be particularly smelly ones! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Blood, Gore, and Slavery

Minor: Incest

lizzybaldwin18's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Racism, Rape, Classism, Confinement, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, and Sexual assault

Minor: Incest

yourstrulytay's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Mental illness, Suicide, Classism, Gaslighting, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Violence, Colonisation, Sexism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Medical trauma

kalmia31's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Death, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Body horror, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

cnricochet's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Child death, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Incest, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cursing

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Body horror, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Classism, Incest, Child abuse, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Racism, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, and Sexism

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization

Smoking. Eugenics, dated language. Illness, epidemic. Seizure (non-POV character). Paranoia, surveillance. Sexual coercion, overriding of will.

bex77's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I’m generally not a huge fan of horror, but the gothic setting and story concept drew me in. Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes beautifully. The book was fast-paced and engaging, but at times I had to stop to appreciate the rich, descriptive language. I found the themes woven through the story fascinating, and would be interested to read a physical copy in order to do some annotations to chart their development. The characters were, for the most part, interesting and varied. 


As far as content, I personally felt that it was descriptive enough to illicit suspense and dread but not so descriptive as to be disturbingly graphic. The profanity was minimal, but strong. 

Overall, this was a fun, fast-paced read that really fit the criteria for both my Summer and Fall booklists, which I found perfect for the in-between feeling of back-to-school season

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cannibalism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Vomit, War, Terminal illness, Infertility, Grief, and Forced institutionalization