Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I'm giving this 3.5 stars, because I enjoyed it for the most part, but there were a couple of issues that kept it from getting 4 or 5 stars. Montserrat and Tristan have been best friends since childhood despite their differences in personalities. As adults, Tristan’s acting jobs have dried up after an incident that got him all but blacklisted, and Montserrat works as a sound engineer for a misogynist boss who’s started phasing her out by giving jobs to the new guy instead of her. When the two learn that Tristan’s neighbor is one of their favorite cult classic horror directors and begin getting closer with him, he discloses that he can help them all turn their luck around. All they have to do is finish a film project started by a nazi occultist who believed he could strengthen his power by performing a ritual with silver nitrate film. When frightening things start happening to all of them, Tristan and Montserrat find themselves unwillingly pulled into a world of dangerous magic and some powerful people who will do anything to get what they want.

I loved Mexican Gothic, so when I learned about this one, I was excited to read it. I enjoyed it a lot, especially getting a glimpse into Mexican culture and traditions. I also appreciated the way Moreno-Garcia showed how quickly disillusioned people can get ensnared in nazi idealogy when they’re exposed to it. The story was good…when it finally started moving along. I know characters and backstory have to be set up in a book, but this one took a long time to finally get to the action. Once the pace did start picking up, I finally got to read those creepy scenes that Moreno-Garcia is very good at writing. There were some legitimately terrifying moments.

Now I’ll get to the other problem I had with the book; the characters’ relationship. They’ve been best friends since childhood, but half the book they were saying awful things that really hurt each other. There was a lot of saying they were best friends and remembering good times, but there wasn’t a lot of showing that they were friends until the end. Despite that, I did like both characters, and my issues with the book weren’t enough to keep me from enjoying it.… (more)

Serving-girl and poor relation Casiopea Tun joins a Mayan God of the Dead in a romp across 1920s Mexico. She doesn't have a lot of agency. The god takes her to various demons and witches while questing for his missing body parts, meanwhile buying Casiopea fine frocks and staying in the best hotels. Of course he is a dapper and handsome god who looks good in a suit, and apart from forcing Casiopea along with him (she supports his lifeforce on 'Middleworld') is always polite company. So this fantasy becomes somewhat a 'romantasy'.

Quite an easy read, but a bit lightweight. I didn't get much of an impression of 1920s Mexico. Apart from a mention of Prohibition it could have been any time. Casiopea and the god never had to struggle for money, so they stayed in rich accommodation and travelled first class everywhere, so their surroundings were generally bland, though the author set the scene with various towns and cities they went through.… (more)

Mexican Gothic ♦ Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Review

Mexican Gothic had already fascinated me with the mysterious but beautiful cover. The blurb also impressed me. But what happened next, I wasn’t prepared for. Despite how exciting it seems, this story is lacking depth. The charm, or challenge, depending on how you look at it, of this weird yet engaging story is found in the final third of the narrative.



Mexican Gothic ♦ Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Opinion

Noemí Taboada, a young, wealthy, and wild party girl in the 1950s in Mexico, travels to isolated High Place, a very old estate that has been contaminated with the decay of dead and mold all over the place of the mansion. A strange letter from her ailing cousin, Catalina, in which she is pleading for rescue from High Place and an unidentified oppressor, is the reason for Noemí’s trip.

When Noemí arrives at the spooky place with its creepy residents, very quickly she realizes that something is seriously wrong. She experiences dreams, delusions, and voices Francis Doyle, a weak young man intimidated by his powerful elders is the only Doyle family member, Catalina married into, that Noemí can possibly trust. The story is pretty disgusting when I realized what is happening. As much as I enjoyed the haunting story and the exposure of all the physical horrors and sacrifices, I had to get used to this narrative. This book is for people who like light horror and some creepy stuff. I have no regrets reading this book, but it was definitely not what I expected.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a truly talented writer. Her emotional style of writing quickly captivates her readers. The final third of the book was wonderful despite being weird, whereas the first two thirds were a touch dull and slow-paced. It got off to a great start. I loved the ominous mood and the spooky relatives. Some of them I wanted to slap into reality. The storytelling got somewhat unreliable, that at some point I couldn’t really follow it no more and I got confused quickly. The part of the family patriarch’s old and mysterious secret took an immense toll on my imagination. Everything turned out to be absurd and strange.

Conclusion

⭐⭐⭐/5

Even though it was a peculiar read I’m pleased I read Mexican Gothic because now I finally understand the commotion about it. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a talented writer with a distinctive style of expression, which I already experience in her book The Beautiful Ones. I’ll attempt reading the German edition of this book once more, although my first read left a strange feeling, which I couldn’t shake off yet. Sometimes a translation can carry a complete different feeling.


This review was first published at The Art of Reading.… (more)