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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
All the things it promised to be but not my personal favourite. A bit too slow for my taste.
El Mago smiled. He had a treacherous smile. It was warm and made you think he was your best friend in the world, even when he was watching a guy get his kidneys ground into nothing by one of his men, as Elvis would later find out. But right then he didn’t know better, and he thought it was a pleasant smile.
(I’m behind on reviews, so just writing some quick ones to catch up—)
I loved, loved, loved Moreno-Garcia’s [b:Mexican Gothic|53152636|Mexican Gothic|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1607462569l/53152636._SY75_.jpg|73647361], so I was really excited to see her tackle a historical Mexican noir, but god, this just did not click for me at all. The pacing is far too sedate and sluggish, and the two alternating main characters unlikeable.
I was a little more fond of Elvis, the street thug dreaming of better circumstances and who sold his soul to a surrogate father figure that he respects and wants to imitate, and the way he tries to craft meaning out of his ugly life — but this also meant that every time the narration swapped back to Maite, I was disappointed. I wanted to sympathise with her, but I couldn’t stand her self-loathing mingled with her misogyny and disdain for everyone else around her, and she didn’t even improve towards the end, either, so it was hard to root for her. I’ve been able to like books with even more desperately awful people, so I think the problem is that she’s not engaging enough to make up for it, either.
Maite was such a slog to spend time with that I really dragged my heels and it took several weeks to read this book, despite its relatively short length. If the pacing had been faster or punchier or snappier, that could’ve made up for it too, but so little actually happens until the plot ramps up at the end. With noirs & pulp & thrillers, I expect to have my face glued to the pages and desperate to find out what happens next, but I was never all that invested in this one.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I hate to give this such a low rating given that I generally love Moreno-Garcia's work, but this one just fell so flat.
I never felt invested in the characters, the fight/scuffle scenes felt oddly punch-by-punch detailed, the "twists" were obvious several chapters in advance, and, despite being a relatively short book, it felt far too slow-paced.
The only character that stirred the barest emotional response from me was that poor cat.
I never felt invested in the characters, the fight/scuffle scenes felt oddly punch-by-punch detailed, the "twists" were obvious several chapters in advance, and, despite being a relatively short book, it felt far too slow-paced.
The only character that stirred the barest emotional response from me was that poor cat.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
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:
Yes
Sorely disappointed in this. I loved Mexican Gothic and I LOVE noir / pulp fiction, but this… was just a couple of half interesting characters dancing in circles around a Macguffin. I thought things were really getting interesting as the two POV storylines began to converge, but almost as soon as they did… everything got rushed to an unsatisfactory conclusion.