Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Мексиканска готика

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Мексиканска готика by Калина Павлова, Емилия Л. Масларова, Слава Александрова, Фейсаут Стюдио/Тим Грийн, Румяна Георгиева, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

389 reviews

rmcassel's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

livelylizzzzz's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

* A creepy and poetically dark mystery *

Mexican Gothic had me hooked from the beginning not only because of the mysterious premise but also the style of writing. The style of writing reminded me a little of something from Mary Shelley. (Although it's been a while since I've read Frankenstein.) The style of writing is very poetic and dark with a nice hint of embedded narrative. This was my first ever Audiobook so I really enjoyed the narration by Frankie Corzo as well, her voice was very soothing and went well with the tone of the book.

Noemi Taboada receives a letter from her cousin Catalina that insists that her newly wed husband is trying to kill her. This immediately gives a sense of urgency and intrigue as Noemi travels outside of her home to help her cousin. Upon arrival she finds her cousin is sick and with her sanity in question. Not only does Noemi seek to help her cousin but also questions just who are the Doyle's, the family in which Catalina has married into so suddenly.

I automatically connected with the protagonist Noemi and found her to be very likeable and sassy. I knew instantly that going through the journey of this mystery, with this character, was going to be entertaining and refreshing. The setting is in 1950s Mexico, the way of life was far different then now, so the topics of racism and sexism held importance within the story. Just these topics alone sent me on a rollercoaster of emotions, with me having to remind myself that back then woman were viewed differently and acted differently as well. This was my first gothic novel in years, so I definitely had to adjust. Not only did those types of topics emerge but also some with much more disturbing natures, such as body horror, gore, incest and assault. So this is a warning to those that might be a little more sensitive to those types of topics and themes.

After adjusting to the raw, yet poetic, nature of the story, I found myself invested deeply into solving the mystery that is the Doyle Family. The novel is extremely character driven which is fascinating yet can drag on at times. This book is definitely a slow burn read, but has a thrilling and exciting, well worth it, ending. If I could change anything I'd like to see more of the facts and folklore of the story that was a bit rushed towards the end, to be fleshed out more in the middle of the story. I feel this would add more to the mystery of the Doyle family and the dark atmosphere the story held.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading my first Gothic and era driven novel in years. I would definitely recommend this story to others and I am looking forward to seeing it's Netflix adaptation.

Content Warnings

garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

ecster's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Really enjoyed this dark gothic horror set in 1950s Mexico, a great allegory of intergenerational trauma and memory and colonization

Content Warnings

astralatlas's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

mochipooja's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

This definitely has that same feel of the gothic novels we had to read in advanced lit classes, almost like Wuthering Heights-style. Except this is horror with a spunky Latina lead. While it’s written fairly well, it takes way too long to get to the point and I got bored partway through. Doesn’t really pick up in pace till a little over halfway into the book. But once we see the mystery unveiled, the horror element becomes super creepy. I could honestly see this getting adapted as a movie.

Content Warnings

jayinbee's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

I don't know if it was because I had too many spoilers or if it was the fact that I just finished the first book in a series and wanted to continue on with it but this came available from the library first or because I read another gothic novel recently and it filled the mood for a while but something about this one just didn't hit as well as I had expected. It was good- the shifting between reality and the nightmares/memories/hallucinations was eerie. The explanations for all the strange things were fine. The characters- especially Noemi- and the writing were good. I wanted to keep reading (even though I had a pretty good idea of how it would go from the start), but it just didn't capture me as fully as some similar books I had read. It was a good story and I was glad to see a happy ending but that was the extent of my emotions toward it.

Content Warnings