Mexican Gothic
Mexican Gothic
By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
What can there be said about this book that isn’t worth a read? First off, it should be said this book is on my read again list. Yes, I have one of those. And yes, I do repeat read. Why not? We watch movies we love over and over, but I digress. Back to the book. Noami is a socialite living the high life in Mexico. She is pretty, smart, and a strongly independent woman. It may not seem like she is nothing more than a spoiled woman looking for a rich husband, but as you read, you learn there is a lot more to Noami than fancy parties, the latest fashions, and a desire to find the perfect husband. At the urging, more like demand, from her father, she leaves the good life for a secluded old mansion in the mountains to tend to her sick cousin. Noami’s cousin, Catalina married a wealthy Englishman, whom none of the family have met. Once Noami arrives, she knows immediately there is something really off about this place. There is no warmth, not in the house or from the family who live there, and they are doing their best to keep Noami from finding the truth about what is making Catalina ill.
During quarantine, I made myself a unique book challenge, rather than a set number of books to read, I gave it details like “a book published the year I was born”, “a book set in the future”, and so on. I’ve kept up on this because, why not? It was fun. Anyway, this book fit into my category of taking place in a country I have never been. (Not hard to do considering at this point in my life I have only ever traveled to Iceland.) But this book could have fallen into several more categories such as: amazing female lead, set in the past (1950’s), and a great twist ending. Don’t worry, no spoilers.
This book is a “I can’t put it down until I know what the eff is going on here” book, my favorite kind. It is filled with rich literary texture, you can feel cold as you read, and sense what Noami is sensing as she navigates the creepy mansion. This is one of those imaginary places that feels so real because it is also familiar, like a classic haunted house. There is no middle lull that can stifle our reading frenzy in this novel and I highly recommend cracking it open, just make sure to wrap a blanky around yourself, and maybe not reading right before bedtime.
