I recently completed my goal of reading 52 books in a year. This is the fastest I've ever completed this objective, meaning that I read at a pace that exceeded a book a week. For the first time in A Book A Week's ten-year history, I'm left with the luxury of an entire extra month of reading time. I have a few recently published books that I'd like to get to, but first I've pulled a title from my backlogged TBR list. Mexican Gothic made huge waves when it was first released back in 2020. I had freshly started my own bookstagram account, and it seemed like every reader was reading Silvia Moreno-Garcia's book. The wonderful @lindseyreviews passed her copy of the novel on to me, and it has been sitting unread on my shelf ever since.
Noemí's life has been one of privilege. As the daughter of a wealthy Mexican businessman in 1951, she lives out her days as a socialite, going to grand parties and constantly changing her studies on a whim. Her father has never asked much of her. He allows her to live her life in relative peace. But now an urgent letter from Noemí's cousin Catalina has arrived, and he wants her to intervene. Catalina was hastily married in secret and has since lived at her husband's compound, a dilapidated vestige of his family's glory days. Catalina's letter is vague, but there is no doubt that she is in some kind of distress. Noemí is tasked with visiting her cousin's new home and checking in on her well-being.
The crumbling walls of High Place stand as battered reminders of the place it used to be. As Noemí enters the country estate, she is greeted by a peculiar cast of characters, each as inscrutable as the next. Each family member who inhabits the manor greets our heroine with a standoffish air of superiority, either unwilling or unable to illuminate the truth behind Catalina's mysterious affliction. The longer she stays in the home, the more peculiarities arise. There is something off about this place. There is something even more off about the people who call it home. As strange happenings begin to unfold around her, Noemí will need to solve the riddle of Catalina's message before she completely falls under the spell of High Place.
I notoriously put off reading hyped books for far too long, only to fall in love with them years after the hype has passed. With Mexican Gothic, I find myself in that place again. Moreno-Garcia's writing in this book is pure magic. Atmospheric suspense fills each page, tantalizing us along the slow-burning mystery that unfolds with precision. There's a lyrical quality to the prose. The physical location and time period become like the characters themself, as much a part of the overall story as the people who inhabit them. More akin to gothic romance than horror in the traditional sense, Mexican Gothic expertly balances character development with supernatural intrigue. I will admit that I did see the ending coming well before it was revealed, but the ambiance of the writing more than made this one worth the read. Mexican Gothic has got the goods. I totally understand and agree with the hype it has received.
For more information visit the author's website, Amazon, and Goodreads.
(2022, 54)
I think it's better to read long after (or before) the hype takes hold. I haven't read this one but I enjoyed Certain Dark Things by her.
ReplyDeleteKaren @For What It's Worth
I've never heard of that one, but I'll have to add it to my TBR!
DeleteI putnit off too cos of all that hype. But I really want to try it
ReplyDeleteI think enough time has passed now to give it a read. I definitely feel like the hype was warranted.
DeleteI read this one last year? Maybe the year before. But I liked it, too. Especially that Gothic atmosphere permeating the entire story, though I did think the truth of things at the end was a little strange. And congrats on reaching your reading goal so early this year! :D
ReplyDeleteYeah that ending was the strangest part for me too, but I still enjoyed it on the whole.
DeleteYeah I heard a lot about this one but I still haven't tried it
ReplyDeleteIt is well worth the read!
DeleteCongratulations on hitting your reading goal early. Good on you! I do think it's easier to enjoy a book once the hype dies down. I feel like there was a lot of drama around this one at some point too. Either way, glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteI'm unfamiliar with any drama around this one, but I'm certainly glad to have read it. It was such a different take on the genre!
DeleteI avoid heavily hyped books until much later too, but there's nothing like the satsifaction of admitting that yeah, a book is just *that* good and deserves the hype LOL!
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
DeleteI remember seeing this book everywhere for a while. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't miss it! I'm glad I kept it on my radar
DeleteYou know, I have had this book sitting on my shelf for a very long time as well. I tend to worry about books that seem to be getting a lot of hype but it sounds like the hype might be deserved with this book.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely take this one from your backlog!
DeleteI also do the same thing - put off the hyped books for ages. I did the same thing with this one and regretted it as soon as I turned the last page. I absolutely loved it so, so much. Then I tried Velvet is the Night and did not even finish it. So weird how we can love one work by an author but be bored to tears by another.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar reaction to Velvet. I can hardly believe it is the same author!
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