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A review by starrybooker
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
There’s nothing like a fucked up haunted house book to kick off the summer, and I mean that completely sincerely.
Mexican Gothic was everything I wanted in a horror novel. It draws on classic horror plots (the fall of the house of usher sprang to mind from the beginning), and uses them to expand on themes of colonialism, misogyny and sexual violence in a way that worked perfectly. The protagonist, Noemí, was an excellent mix of curious and stubborn, undeterred by any attempts at intimidation and absolutely determined to rescue her cousin and escape alive.
I’m not often frightened by horror novels, but Mexican Gothic had moments of genuine terror for me. The prose was beautiful without being overwrought, and, like all great horror writers, Moreno-Garcia was able to write descriptions that poetically turned your stomach.
My only criticism isn’t actually aimed at the book, but at some reviewers. It took me a while to getting around to read this because it was often described online as ‘YA adjacent’, and the only thing I have to say about that is - what the fuck kind of YA books were they reading.
One of my favourite reads of the year, a deliciously grotesque little novel.
Mexican Gothic was everything I wanted in a horror novel. It draws on classic horror plots (the fall of the house of usher sprang to mind from the beginning), and uses them to expand on themes of colonialism, misogyny and sexual violence in a way that worked perfectly. The protagonist, Noemí, was an excellent mix of curious and stubborn, undeterred by any attempts at intimidation and absolutely determined to rescue her cousin and escape alive.
I’m not often frightened by horror novels, but Mexican Gothic had moments of genuine terror for me. The prose was beautiful without being overwrought, and, like all great horror writers, Moreno-Garcia was able to write descriptions that poetically turned your stomach.
My only criticism isn’t actually aimed at the book, but at some reviewers. It took me a while to getting around to read this because it was often described online as ‘YA adjacent’, and the only thing I have to say about that is - what the fuck kind of YA books were they reading.
One of my favourite reads of the year, a deliciously grotesque little novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Body horror, Incest, and Violence