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A review by bumble_abi
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Noemí dreams of becoming an anthropologist, but all her father dreams for her is a good marriage. So when they receive a disquieting, possibly deranged, letter from her recently married cousin, Noemí agrees to go to her to investigate in exchange for the promise of enrolment at the National University. But once she arrives at the crumbling and incongruously English house nestled among a hilltop forest, it becomes clear that whatever ails her cousin is more than a simple fever.
Let's start with what this novel gets right: it has atmosphere in shovelfuls, and the imagery deteriorates gradually, from grubby to gruesome to downright grotesque. The pacing is slow, but effectively so, winding up the tension like a jack-in-the-box. As far as sporror (that's spore-horror, or fungal horror) goes, this is by far the most graphic example I've read and richer for it's bold, disgusting choices. It benefits from a well-rounded heroine, although its villains perhaps lack subtlety.
I found the plot itself rather predictable, although I think this novel may have suffered from me having read T. Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead first, because the concept is strikingly similar. I think in general the 'old family, ruined house, dark arcane secret' plot can kind of only go one way, and this one had a frustratingly unsubtle case of Chekhov's cigarette lighter / oil lamp. I found the romance b-plot underdeveloped too.
I also think this book is let down somewhat by its title and cover. Yes it's gothic, but apart from the protagonist and setting, it's not actually very Mexican, with much of the uncanniness coming from the Englishness of it all. And yes, an argument can be made that perhaps a colonial legacy, the intrusiveness of Europe, is what makes a distinctively Mexican gothic, but it nonetheless feels unbalanced in that regard. The cover too, sells a genteel, romantic, perhaps subtly spooky story, not this full-throated, vile horror.
All in all enjoyable, but not without flaws.
Let's start with what this novel gets right: it has atmosphere in shovelfuls, and the imagery deteriorates gradually, from grubby to gruesome to downright grotesque. The pacing is slow, but effectively so, winding up the tension like a jack-in-the-box. As far as sporror (that's spore-horror, or fungal horror) goes, this is by far the most graphic example I've read and richer for it's bold, disgusting choices. It benefits from a well-rounded heroine, although its villains perhaps lack subtlety.
I found the plot itself rather predictable, although I think this novel may have suffered from me having read T. Kingfisher's What Moves the Dead first, because the concept is strikingly similar. I think in general the 'old family, ruined house, dark arcane secret' plot can kind of only go one way, and this one had a frustratingly unsubtle case of Chekhov's cigarette lighter / oil lamp. I found the romance b-plot underdeveloped too.
I also think this book is let down somewhat by its title and cover. Yes it's gothic, but apart from the protagonist and setting, it's not actually very Mexican, with much of the uncanniness coming from the Englishness of it all. And yes, an argument can be made that perhaps a colonial legacy, the intrusiveness of Europe, is what makes a distinctively Mexican gothic, but it nonetheless feels unbalanced in that regard. The cover too, sells a genteel, romantic, perhaps subtly spooky story, not this full-throated, vile horror.
All in all enjoyable, but not without flaws.