Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

835 reviews

livelylizzzzz's review against another edition

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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.

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raybudbury's review against another edition

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

3.0

I feel like horror is one of the hardest genres to write because I feel like an ending has to land for it to be amazing. 

I liked a lot of the setting, atmosphere, main character, etc. But the ending fell off for me. 

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amyiris's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75


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garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

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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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deetabz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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astralatlas's review against another edition

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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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esterie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

was expecting a haunted house type of story, but instead it was
the horrors of colonialism, incest, and hivemind fungi
. was not expecting 2 of those 3 things, but i liked it!

the only 2 glaring issues for me:
- the timeline is confusing.
howard sought out this cult (where? idk), integrated into it, married a woman from the cult, took over & subsequently killed everyone else in the cult, and left with this woman, now pregnant. later we see who i am ASSUMING is this woman being guided through birth by howard's sisters (agnes and alice). she's then buried alive to become the "seed" under the foundation of the house through which the fungus spreads. but THEN at the end, the woman buried under the house was agnes? wtf am i missing here? as howard is leaving the cult with this woman he thinks of his two sisters back home, so we KNOW this woman isn't agnes. did he burry alive TWO women? different locations, as in the first wife was buried in england (hence the dirt being brought over), then the events in mexico?
i feel like that makes the most sense, but even reading subtext does not make that clear enough for me to feel confident about it being the author's intention.

- also with timeline confusion,
francis mentions that howard has "lived many lives in many bodies" but as far as we know he only ever had 2 living children (well.... before ruth.... you know). so..... whose body was he in during the present pov of the story? it seemed like it was his original body, so why francis' statement about that?
i feel that needed to be explained further.

i could handwave the second point as
howard being so desperate to hold out for a proper male "heir" that he clung to his original body out of spite. but then francis' statement doesn't make sense.
the first point though really confuses me. like i kept having to go back and reread to make sure i wasn't misplacing characters lmao

so much of the rest of this book was an absolute hit for me, but these two points (especially the first one) degrades it a least half to three-quarters of a star imo.
the mushroom visuals were so good! i really loved noemi and francis! the mystery was compelling! the doyle family was absolutely horrendous like oh my god extremely fucked up!
just needed that last lil bit of tightening up and it would have been a 5, but alas. :(

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chaotic_tumbleweed's review against another edition

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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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trying_ceratops's review against another edition

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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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kaylokay_'s review against another edition

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

5.0


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