Book Review: Mexican Gothic

Author: Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Pages: 320, hardback

Pub date: 30/6/2020

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads

"She was the snake biting its tail. She was a dreamer, eternally bound to a nightmare, eyes closed even when her eyes had turned to dust."

Noemi lives her life between red lipsticks and cocktail parties. She wants to go to college, but to do so, she must first discover whether her cousin's cry for help in her last letter is a real crisis or a newly-wed's melodrama.

So Noemi sets out for the Mexican countryside, to a manor called High Place. There is madness and violence scrubbed away from the walls and floors of that house, and bodies buried in nameless graves at the cemetery of its backyard. The nearby town is decaying, just like the patriarch of the manor and Noemi's dreams are plagued with prophesies and ghosts, souls that desperately try to warn her.

Noemi needs to get her cousin out, before the house swallows them both.

This book was a roller-coaster from start to finish, and I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it. The plot thickens and twists around your neck like a vine, slowly dragging you into the madness of High Place and refusing to let you go.

When I first met Noemi, I had three words in mind to describe her. Airheaded, entitled, aloof. I was delighted to be proven wrong with each passing page. We have all heard the saying "show, don't tell" when it comes to writing, and this young lady is a perfect example of how a character proves effortlessly both that their brain works and that they have their wits about them. Balancing her rebellious, hot-tempered nature with calculating thoughts and planned actions, she navigates both the unstable psyche of the house and its residents, as well as the mortally dangerous realm of dreams, from which she -and definitely we- are left even more confused once she wakes.

Aside from her well-crafted plot and the amazing characters, Moreno-Garcia doesn't miss the chance to talk about issues that, to this day, turn the lives of many into actual horror stories. The book touches on colonialism, racism and eugenics, and Noemi has an extra hard time being stuck with a family with 'ideals' from another time, all because she is a woman of colour. These recurring discussions are meant to add to the horror element of the story and do well at it. I was disgusted and appalled every time the patriarch opened his mouth, whether to speak or to breathe (and I believe so will you, as you read).

The ending was immensely satisfying, but I was sorry to reach the last page. I needed more of this story and its characters, more of the romance and the adrenaline of revelation.

Needless to say, the author gained another fan.

After a bit of digging, I found there is an entire playlist curated by the author herself to enhance the book experience! So here you go:

I would love to hear your opinion on the book, so make sure to message me once you get to it.

Now, on to the next book!