Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

218 reviews

aksmith92's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The setup: Noemí Taboada is partying it up in Mexico City, flirting with cute men, attending debutant-like balls and events, and pondering what she should do with her life when her father notifies her that they have received quite an alarming letter from Noemí's cousin Catalina. The letter reads as if Catalina needs some psychiatric help—she sees ghosts, the walls talk to her, and she is having intense nightmares. It doesn't help that Catalina recently got married to essentially a stranger, and one of European descent no less. They live with his family in the Mexican countryside, where his British lineage once made a name for themselves exploited Mexicans in the mining industry.

Noemí isn't necessarily the closest with her cousin, but she is worried, and her father offers to pay for her anthropology school if she goes to investigate. Therefore, Noemí treks to High Place, where Catalina lives with Virgil, her husband, Virgil's father, Howard, and others in the family, including Florence, Virgil's cousin, and Francis, Florence's son. Noemí discovers that Catalina isn't well, but everything is not as it seems. We trek on a journey with Noemí as she discovers a house that brings about nightmares and a family's past that unravels long-time secrets.

What I liked: I'm going to preface my entire review with this fact: I knew going into this that this wasn't as scary as it may have been set out to be. I forget where I heard it, but I knew that this was not a jump scare horror novel. Regardless, this is an odd tale that intertwines a creepy family and some natural wonders (but not in the best way!). I honestly loved the "horror" aspect to this - an utterly unhinged family and their story and a captivating plot around a house of horrors. I found it unique and compelling. I'm being vague for a reason - I don't want to give any spoilers to the house of horrors, but I thought it was exciting and original. This story made me cringe at parts, so while it didn't scare me a lot, it psychologically spooked me in other ways. Additionally, I thought Noemí was a refreshing and lovely character. She somehow didn't annoy me, which is quite challenging in a thriller/mystery/horror novel like this one. The main character inevitably decides something to further the plot where you want to scream "NO!" That didn't happen to me here, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The slight romance plot was also refreshing as Noemí most certainly didn't act like a woman of the 1950s (at least by American standards). I liked this novel's plot, thriller aspect, and characters.

Lastly, I was struck by the novel's profound symbolism, particularly its exploration of colonialism and racism. The theme of eugenics, set in 1950s Mexico, was a powerful reminder of the country's history. The Spanish conquest, the Revolution, and the exploitation of the land and its people by colonizers all resonated strongly. This voice, so prevalent in the novel, was a necessary and thought-provoking element.

What could have been better: Like many reviews, I must acknowledge that the pacing was a bit uneven. The first half of the book was admittedly slow, but the last 20% picked up dramatically. However, even during the slower parts, I was still invested in Noemí's journey, and it kept me hooked. Some parts were slightly predictable and occasionally dull, and the horror element wasn't as pronounced as I expected (or, at least, in the way I expected). Also, the writing was not atmospheric or flowery for a gothic novel. Still, the gothic elements were at least described - particularly an old, outdated house with no electricity and plenty of bad weather, mist, and fog hovering on the mountain. 

Lastly—and this didn't impact my review, but I think for expectation sake, I will share—this book did not necessarily explain the how behind the horror-like element of it; you were just expected to roll with it. Did it make a ton of sense? No. Nor was there a lot of time explaining it. However, was it interesting and a great take on something different in the genre? Absolutely. 

Overall, I enjoyed this novel, even when the pacing prevented me from rating it higher. I particularly liked the natural elements that weaved into the overall premise, and it was generally well done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Gore, Kidnapping, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Rape and Cursing

Attempted rape, but it does not happen. However, there is a sexual assault. Suicide is on page, multiple places. Suicide attempt also on page.

kbowles24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Incest, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Rape, Gun violence, Cannibalism, Violence, Classism, Confinement, Sexism, Racism, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Vomit, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity

merrynthomas's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cannibalism, Gore, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Confinement, Death, and Physical abuse

emciver's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infertility, Colonisation, Child death, and Incest

elizas's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.0

Highly unusual, and I really liked the way that 1950s Gothic tropes were transferred to Mexico. I felt the first half of the book was very slow, though, and the second half often grim. I would highly recommend checking content warnings if you have any triggers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Incest, Sexism, Kidnapping, Bullying, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Confinement

Minor: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Abandonment, Colonisation, Confinement, Rape, and Child death

emilemilemily5's review against another edition

dark mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Violence, Blood, Sexual assault, Vomit, and Gore

garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Medical content, Murder, Incest, Gaslighting, Confinement, Racism, Body horror, and Classism

Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Colonisation, Cursing, and Sexism

Minor: Child death, War, Suicide, Rape, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood

The r*pe tag is for

an attempt that is stopped

chaotic_tumbleweed's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Body horror, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Gore, Classism, and Confinement

Moderate: Medical content, Cursing, Gun violence, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Sexual assault, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content

jayinbee's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Xenophobia

Moderate: Cannibalism, Child death, Violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent

au_conn1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Body horror

Moderate: Incest, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Suicide, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Vomit