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Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, Colonisation
Minor: Medical content
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
As for the rest: if you're looking for a book to puzzle over, this is not it. The author is incredibly heavy-handed at the start, dropping clues with all the subtlety of a neon sign for the first fifty pages, but apart from that, I found Mexican Gothic to be pretty good. It's a creepy house tale in the grand tradition of the Haunting of Hill House, with a heavy dash of colonialism and a generous helping of men are trash. It's definitely a story I'm going to sit with for a while now that I've finished, and could easily see myself rereading in a year or two. That said, it's not exactly worth the hype surrounding it, but still, as I said, it's pretty good.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Sexual assault, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment
Minor: Gun violence, Torture, Vomit, Pregnancy
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicide
Overall I think this is an accomplished entry into the Gothic literary canon. It takes many of the tropes of the genre (e.g. young female protagonist who wonders if she's going mad, scary house, mean old lady who hates protagonist) and weaves them into a new story.
I was surprised at first at how much the setting is literally a transplanted English Gothic setting into the Mexican countryside, however as I kept reading I was very impressed at how this was used to explore themes of colonisation, misogyny, and the subjugation of poor and female bodies.
The atmosphere in the book begins with low level, constant dread which slowly ratchets up the tension into full panic, and the body horror is incredibly visceral and stomach-turning.
I did however find it dragged in some moments, and the plot became a bit convoluted towards the end. I felt like the book was trying to fence sit on whether or not the cause was supernatural, and having it end up being
I also found
Overall I think this is is a more polished book than Gods of Jade and Shadow, but I found that to be a more enjoyable and emotionally engaging read, hence it receiving a higher rating.
I also think this is a book that would benefit from a second reading once all of the plot twists are revealed.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, Classism
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Vomit, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic