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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I feel so conflicted about this book. The story was interesting and gave insight into a difficult political time in Mexico. But the character I liked most was a hired thug (Elvis). I found the characters really unrelatable and unlikeable, but I suppose morally greyness and unlikeability are standard in noir.
The story keeps sneaking back into my thoughts. If you can get past how weird Maite is, it's definitely worth a read.
The story keeps sneaking back into my thoughts. If you can get past how weird Maite is, it's definitely worth a read.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
La autora juega muy bien con el suspenso. Todo el tiempo quieres saber qué está pasando y al final tiene un giro de tuerca muy bueno en cuanto a quien es el "villano. Eso te hace querer seguir leyendo y leyendo
Sin embargo, no llegó a gustarme el estilo de la redacción y los personajes. Siento que los personajes en general eran demasiado cliché, como si no tuvieran complejidades, más allá de los prejuicios de siempre. Por otro lado, la jerga de barrio y las situaciones en la ciudad parecían forzadas, como si ella no fuera de ahí, que puede ser, pero se sintió raro e incómodo.
Sin embargo, no llegó a gustarme el estilo de la redacción y los personajes. Siento que los personajes en general eran demasiado cliché, como si no tuvieran complejidades, más allá de los prejuicios de siempre. Por otro lado, la jerga de barrio y las situaciones en la ciudad parecían forzadas, como si ella no fuera de ahí, que puede ser, pero se sintió raro e incómodo.
Velvet Was the Night is my third book by Moreno-Garcia. I did not like her wildly popular Mexican Gothic and was not greatly impressed by The Daughter of Dr. Moreau either. Needless to say, I went in without much expectations (only because it was a book club pick). But to my pleasant surprise, I quite liked this one.
Velvet Was the Night is set in a tumultuous period in Mexican history, the Dirty War of the 1970s. This story follows a Maite, a single secretary obsessed with romance comics, whose neighbor Leonora goes missing. Maite has spent her life at a distance from the student political activities but Leonora turns out to be involved in the said politics and Maite goes in search for her because she was left with Leonora’s cat before her fateful disappearance. On the other hand we see Elvis, a thug in the govt organization Hawks that’s used to intimidate and control student activism. Elvis, with a penchant for music, is put to the duty of locating Leonora. Thus the mystery ensues and different characters cross paths until the final action-packed showdown.
Moreno-Garcia has a flare in her prose and ambiance creation, which I couldn’t deny even when I thoroughly disliked her plots. That flare is intact here. What’s better is that this time the plot is fictional and yet dipped in history. This book will transport the reader to the 1970s Mexico City and give them a taste of the society and politics. I could feel the atmospheric fear of oppression of that time, but it was not overbearing. I liked the choice of having Maite as one of the two protagonists. Although she got embroiled in the mystery, she was a common person with no involvement or interest in the political activities around her. Her, put in contrast with Elvis who is bang in the middle of the action or the elusive Leonora, really worked in the story.
This is a well-paced and well-written thriller, that also taught me something about world history. I’d call that a win.
Velvet Was the Night is set in a tumultuous period in Mexican history, the Dirty War of the 1970s. This story follows a Maite, a single secretary obsessed with romance comics, whose neighbor Leonora goes missing. Maite has spent her life at a distance from the student political activities but Leonora turns out to be involved in the said politics and Maite goes in search for her because she was left with Leonora’s cat before her fateful disappearance. On the other hand we see Elvis, a thug in the govt organization Hawks that’s used to intimidate and control student activism. Elvis, with a penchant for music, is put to the duty of locating Leonora. Thus the mystery ensues and different characters cross paths until the final action-packed showdown.
Moreno-Garcia has a flare in her prose and ambiance creation, which I couldn’t deny even when I thoroughly disliked her plots. That flare is intact here. What’s better is that this time the plot is fictional and yet dipped in history. This book will transport the reader to the 1970s Mexico City and give them a taste of the society and politics. I could feel the atmospheric fear of oppression of that time, but it was not overbearing. I liked the choice of having Maite as one of the two protagonists. Although she got embroiled in the mystery, she was a common person with no involvement or interest in the political activities around her. Her, put in contrast with Elvis who is bang in the middle of the action or the elusive Leonora, really worked in the story.
This is a well-paced and well-written thriller, that also taught me something about world history. I’d call that a win.
adventurous
funny
informative
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:
N/A
I listened to this one on audio and honestly I think I would’ve enjoyed it even more if I had read a physical or kindle copy instead!
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
informative
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
I appreciate the historic context highlighted in this novel, although I found the characters to be annoying - it has been a long time since a character's inner dialogue has felt so frustrating to me. I had remembered that I liked this author's writing style, but now I wonder if it is moreso the storylines themselves - it may take me a while to return to another Moreno-Garcia novel.