A review by dustin_frueh7921
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

4.0

I remember Silvia Moreno-Garcia popping up almost sporadically on my Facebook and Goodreads feeds as far back as a few years ago. But it wasn't until 2019's [b:Gods of Jade and Shadow|36510722|Gods of Jade and Shadow|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543268579l/36510722._SY75_.jpg|58230232] (best described as a dark, historical fantasy,) that I instinctively knew she was a big deal; that I needed to sample her work. The kindness and generosity of a dear friend rectified that. In all likelihood I would never have acquired such a stunning work of art.

She sat in the bed and gripped the covers with one hand while with the other she held her cigarette. Slowly she stood and approached the wall, unblinking. The shifting mold was mesmerizing. It rearranged itself into wild electric patterns that reminded her of a kaleidoscope, shifting, changing. Instead of bits of glass reflected by mirrors it was an organic madness that propelled the mold into its dizzy twists and turns, creating swirls and garlands, dissolving, then remerging.

There was color to it too.


Essentially, Mexican Gothic was an examination of the descent into madness. But like its cover, it revolved around much more. Such superficialities didn't interest the author. She really went all-out, leaving nothing to chance. It's interesting that many of the earliest concepts and references to the Mexican Revolution and class relations served as foundations of what would develop later on. In the confines of its three hundred pages, she dabbled in the many forms of art, including folklore, mythology, and architecture-- the precision of High Place being a prime example. Religion and gold mining were also on display. And though she ran the thematic gambit, Mexican Gothic never felt convoluted or disorganized. The opposite, in fact. Everything was very professional, amply researched, and well-thought-out. Never boring.

Throughout this marvelous, tour de force journey, Moreno-Garcia's literary influences were unmistakable. To name a few: Bram Stoker's [b:Dracula,|17245|Dracula|Bram Stoker|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387151694l/17245._SY75_.jpg|3165724] Shirley Jackson's [b:The Haunting of Hill House,|89717|The Haunting of Hill House|Shirley Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327871336l/89717._SY75_.jpg|3627] and based purely on conjecture (I haven't read them yet,) [b:The Castle of Otranto|12923|The Castle of Otranto|Horace Walpole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390597628l/12923._SY75_.jpg|46432] by Horace Walpole and [b:The Yellow Wallpaper|8217236|The Yellow Wallpaper|Charlotte Perkins Gilman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1276430319l/8217236._SX50_.jpg|17352354]
by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Also, it goes without saying, the original [b:Grimm's Fairy Tales|19351490|Grimm's Fairy Tales|Jacob Grimm|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386705031l/19351490._SX50_.jpg|46022931]. I have no doubt whatsoever that there were many more classic gothic stories which greatly influenced her.

And then there's the horror aspect. My gosh, it was ridiculously good, complete with ample quantities of creepiness and the disturbed that's sure to please most horror aficionados. It wasn't merely vivid depictions of gore or adrenaline-fueled discomfort. It was much more. One aspect I enjoyed a lot concerned the psychological. In that realm, she posed questions of immorality and other perversions. How do you accurately define right and wrong? Those being relative terms, is it even possible to give meaning to morality and immorality in such ways as to satisfy everyone? That worked exceptionally well because it closely resembled real life: nothing's ever black and white. Shades of gray permeate.


There must be other minds, bits of persons, hidden underneath the wallpaper, but none as solid, as tangible as Ruth. Except, perhaps, for that golden presence that she still could not identify and that she could not even declare a person. It didn't feel like a person. Not like Ruth.



That ending, though. Holy crap. Despite some very heavy-handed foreshadowing, I did not see that approaching, or how it all came about, at all. If the first two hundred pages can, in fact, be called a slow burn, then the climatic finale was very bizarre, dark, unpredictable, revelatory, at times disgusting, and ultimately satisfying. There were, however, a few details which felt convenient and perhaps a little too easy (clichéd, too,)) but overall I can’t complain too much. Driving the denouement home in a powerful and earned way was the authentic development of our protagonist, Noemi Taboada. She genuinely came into her own, gradually and steadily. I liked her from the start, yet by the end, I adored her. Her cousin, Catalina, and their mutual friend, Francis, proved themselves in strong ways, too.


The house was quiet, a quiet that she disliked, for it seemed to her all the boards that normally creaked and groaned had stopped creaking, the clocks on the walls did not tick, and even the rain against the window panes were shushed. It was as if an animal waited to pounce on them.



I mentioned that the end got bizarre and gory. The quality and quantity was satisfying, but I was expecting Moreno-Garcia to take it further, to revel in unprecedented carnage and mayhem. I was hoping to be gobsmacked, to be taken aback with sizable twists and turns of the proverbial knife. Nevertheless, I was extremely impressed, and I highly recommend Mexican Gothic.

My next work by the author will probably be the aforementioned, Gods of Jade and Shadow.