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A review by jedore
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
3.0
“...just because there are no ghosts it doesn’t mean you can’t be haunted. Nor that you shouldn’t fear the haunting.”
It's tough to write a horror book and not be cliché. But, I always hold out hope that the author will somehow find a way to do it differently. Unfortunately, that didn't happen with Mexican Gothic. The clichés start on the first page and don't stop until until you close the book.
Although reasonably well written, this one just didn't do much for me.
I found it distracting and mildly annoying that the author would throw in the occasional high-brow vocab word. There aren't many words that I've never heard or read before...yet somehow there were a small handful in this story. What is the purpose of using a word that no one ever uses...one that would never enter the brain or come out of the mouth of 99% of humans and definitely not a young woman in her 20s living in the 1950s whose first language was Spanish?
Although set in the 1950s, not much felt authentic to this time other than the occasional descriptions of the main character's wardrobe.
Throughout the entire book, I felt like I was reading a book meant for the younger crowd—and that the author was writing with the explicit intent of being the next book-to-Netflix sensation.
I know others who really enjoyed this book, so if you're looking for a gothic horror story and don't mind clichés, just ignore me and give it a shot!
It's tough to write a horror book and not be cliché. But, I always hold out hope that the author will somehow find a way to do it differently. Unfortunately, that didn't happen with Mexican Gothic. The clichés start on the first page and don't stop until until you close the book.
Although reasonably well written, this one just didn't do much for me.
I found it distracting and mildly annoying that the author would throw in the occasional high-brow vocab word. There aren't many words that I've never heard or read before...yet somehow there were a small handful in this story. What is the purpose of using a word that no one ever uses...one that would never enter the brain or come out of the mouth of 99% of humans and definitely not a young woman in her 20s living in the 1950s whose first language was Spanish?
Although set in the 1950s, not much felt authentic to this time other than the occasional descriptions of the main character's wardrobe.
Throughout the entire book, I felt like I was reading a book meant for the younger crowd—and that the author was writing with the explicit intent of being the next book-to-Netflix sensation.
I know others who really enjoyed this book, so if you're looking for a gothic horror story and don't mind clichés, just ignore me and give it a shot!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Suicide