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A review by taliereadsbooks
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
2.0
This novel threw me back to sitting in a feminist literature course in college. Back then, I imagine, I would have probably enjoyed this novel more. I would have probably written a lengthy analysis on it as well.
Mexican Gothic is like an updated version of/love letter to the Victorian gothic novels and riddled with allusions to stories we all read as English majors: a little Jane Eyre, a little Wuthering Heights, some of “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “House of Seven Gables,” and of course Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Or rather, just Doyle (IYKYK).
I liked that the novel wasted no time in getting started (same for its conclusion), but my goodness did it take its sweet time in the middle. The plot seemed to drag on and on, and if I weren’t reading this for book club, I would have given up on it.
There seemed to be a theme about the need for female authorship in the literary canon and why women like Noemí (who are opinionated, outspoken, and independent) are frequently rejected from and even punished by it (because only men can be Byronic heroes). These voices are, instead, strangled by the patriarchal canon and forced to learn its ins and outs (the rules) to either play along or simply watch “superior” voices do it the “right” way.
The problem with this notion, of course, is that it’s been done…and done and done and done before.
But there were also messages warning about the horrors of eugenics, colonialism, and racism that are often sought out and even praised in the works of male authors. Therefore, this tale is not only about the need for female authorship, but female authorship that is more diverse—to kill the traditional canon and the toxicity it carries/spreads (like a damn fungus) along with it.
While these themes are hella valuable and worthy, the way the the plot carried out was—in my opinion—just messy. But perhaps this disorganization was intentional. After all, women (especially women of color) have to find different routes to achieve even comparable levels of success to their white male counterparts.
Mexican Gothic is like an updated version of/love letter to the Victorian gothic novels and riddled with allusions to stories we all read as English majors: a little Jane Eyre, a little Wuthering Heights, some of “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “House of Seven Gables,” and of course Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Or rather, just Doyle (IYKYK).
I liked that the novel wasted no time in getting started (same for its conclusion), but my goodness did it take its sweet time in the middle. The plot seemed to drag on and on, and if I weren’t reading this for book club, I would have given up on it.
There seemed to be a theme about the need for female authorship in the literary canon and why women like Noemí (who are opinionated, outspoken, and independent) are frequently rejected from and even punished by it (because only men can be Byronic heroes). These voices are, instead, strangled by the patriarchal canon and forced to learn its ins and outs (the rules) to either play along or simply watch “superior” voices do it the “right” way.
The problem with this notion, of course, is that it’s been done…and done and done and done before.
But there were also messages warning about the horrors of eugenics, colonialism, and racism that are often sought out and even praised in the works of male authors. Therefore, this tale is not only about the need for female authorship, but female authorship that is more diverse—to kill the traditional canon and the toxicity it carries/spreads (like a damn fungus) along with it.
While these themes are hella valuable and worthy, the way the the plot carried out was—in my opinion—just messy. But perhaps this disorganization was intentional. After all, women (especially women of color) have to find different routes to achieve even comparable levels of success to their white male counterparts.