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A review by crloken
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
4.0
Delightfully weird. Noemi is a Mexican socialite who is expected to go to parties and find a husband, but, while she does enjoy parties and men, she is more interested in attending grad school than she is in getting married. Her father agrees to think about grad school if she will first go and check on her cousin who recently got married and has been sending some odd letters. So before long Noemi finds herself staying in a huge Gothic manor called High Place with her cousin's husband and family and her sickly cousin. So far, so Gothic, but from there the story branches in some weird and nasty directions as Noemi realizes the truth of High Place.
Noemi is a great protagonist; at first glance flighty and flirty, but with an equal interest in anthropology as she has in dancing and gambling. She is exactly the kind of character who can convincingly stay in a dangerous situations because she doesn't like giving up, and who can believably win over the loyalty and affections of others with little effort. The other characters, while not as vividly drawn, are also convincing and believable characters. Most importantly for the genre, High Place is a vivid setting so realized that you can almost hear the creaks and groans and smell the musky fungal odor.
Mexican Gothic understands the history and tropes of Gothic Horror and plays with them with a fascinated fervor, but it has more to it than just a fun remix on an old genre. Similar to Get Out, Mexican Gothic has a satisfying fantastical explanation for events, while saying more about the effects of colonial power and it's legacy than a non-genre story would be able to. Noemi is constantly drawn to the intoxicating allure of this colonial power, one that would offer her power and influence at just the cost of her freedom and her soul. Mexican Gothic is far more than just a delightful play on an old genre, but rather speaks to hard hitting themes without ever losing the sight of its increasingly surreal and haunting narrative.
Noemi is a great protagonist; at first glance flighty and flirty, but with an equal interest in anthropology as she has in dancing and gambling. She is exactly the kind of character who can convincingly stay in a dangerous situations because she doesn't like giving up, and who can believably win over the loyalty and affections of others with little effort. The other characters, while not as vividly drawn, are also convincing and believable characters. Most importantly for the genre, High Place is a vivid setting so realized that you can almost hear the creaks and groans and smell the musky fungal odor.
Mexican Gothic understands the history and tropes of Gothic Horror and plays with them with a fascinated fervor, but it has more to it than just a fun remix on an old genre. Similar to Get Out, Mexican Gothic has a satisfying fantastical explanation for events, while saying more about the effects of colonial power and it's legacy than a non-genre story would be able to. Noemi is constantly drawn to the intoxicating allure of this colonial power, one that would offer her power and influence at just the cost of her freedom and her soul. Mexican Gothic is far more than just a delightful play on an old genre, but rather speaks to hard hitting themes without ever losing the sight of its increasingly surreal and haunting narrative.