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A review by carriepond
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Set in early 1990s Mexico, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Silver Nitrate is full of film references and dark magic. Montserrat and Tristan, friends since childhood, are horror film aficionados who become embroiled in a sinister plot by occultist magicians when they meet famed director Abel Urueta and agree to help him complete his unfinished film Behind the Yellow Door in hopes of lifting the curse Urueta feels has caused him to fade into obscurity.
Look, I am a SMG fangirl. This is the seventh book of hers that I have read. I love how she explores common themes like racism, colonialism, and misogyny by dipping into so many genres and periods of Mexican history. I love her female characters, who are so different from one another but are all strong, smart, and cool in different ways. I will never discourage people from reading her books. She is awesome.
With that caveat, I will say that I found Silver Nitrate more difficult to get into than other books of hers that I have read. She is not one to write breakneck, fast-paced books, so I didn't go in with that expectation, but this one was so slow in the beginning that I found it difficult to get into. Probably around 70 percent of the way through the pieces really started coming together and I was hooked, but it took me longer to get invested than it usually does with her books.
Although not my favorite of her novels, Silver Nitrate has much of what I love about Moreno-Garcia's writing-- flawed characters, strong female leads, and a progressive, feminist lens applied to traditional genre tropes and themes.
Look, I am a SMG fangirl. This is the seventh book of hers that I have read. I love how she explores common themes like racism, colonialism, and misogyny by dipping into so many genres and periods of Mexican history. I love her female characters, who are so different from one another but are all strong, smart, and cool in different ways. I will never discourage people from reading her books. She is awesome.
With that caveat, I will say that I found Silver Nitrate more difficult to get into than other books of hers that I have read. She is not one to write breakneck, fast-paced books, so I didn't go in with that expectation, but this one was so slow in the beginning that I found it difficult to get into. Probably around 70 percent of the way through the pieces really started coming together and I was hooked, but it took me longer to get invested than it usually does with her books.
Although not my favorite of her novels, Silver Nitrate has much of what I love about Moreno-Garcia's writing-- flawed characters, strong female leads, and a progressive, feminist lens applied to traditional genre tropes and themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Car accident