Pretense reviewed Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Review of 'Mexican Gothic' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This novel had an interesting premise and a great deal of promise, and while it was an enjoyable read, it didn’t quite hit all the spots for me. The characters, plot, and writing style were ultimately all just average, and while altogether they tell a good story, it wasn’t something that struck me as particularly clever. The references to the Gothic literary tradition are no doubt meaningful and interesting, but not being well-read in that area, they didn’t mean too much to me. Still, the plot was engaging and the story easy and fun to read, even though I would have liked to see more in terms of character development and the historical fiction element.
What struck me as odd was that, despite being the catalyst for the premise of the story, Catalina Taboada is largely irrelevant to the story—for much of it, she isn’t even involved directly. If I …
This novel had an interesting premise and a great deal of promise, and while it was an enjoyable read, it didn’t quite hit all the spots for me. The characters, plot, and writing style were ultimately all just average, and while altogether they tell a good story, it wasn’t something that struck me as particularly clever. The references to the Gothic literary tradition are no doubt meaningful and interesting, but not being well-read in that area, they didn’t mean too much to me. Still, the plot was engaging and the story easy and fun to read, even though I would have liked to see more in terms of character development and the historical fiction element.
What struck me as odd was that, despite being the catalyst for the premise of the story, Catalina Taboada is largely irrelevant to the story—for much of it, she isn’t even involved directly. If I were visiting a sick cousin, rules be damned, I wouldn’t be thinking about her brother-in-law more than her, especially considering he is nearly a stranger to Noemí. For similar reasons, I did not like the insertion of a certain romantic relationship in the plot; it felt forced. Noemí was an interesting character on a superficial level, but the readers don’t really get a chance to get deep into her psychology or motivations in the book.
The plot also has some issues with pacing. I was engaged in the first 10-20% and the last 25%, and the middle was a plodding-along sort of affair. Not much really happens, and what does happen is vague, dreamlike, and largely passive. Some elements sprinkled throughout the novel also felt like afterthoughts, and it would have been better if the themes of post-colonialism and eugenics were used more explicitly throughout the story, rather than serving as mere backdrops to the main events of the story. The plot twists were also fairly standard and predictable, though I didn’t anticipate the specific direction they go in.
There were some decent attempts at horrific elements, but it was more tell than show, which kind of lessened the impact of those particular scenes for me. (Also, I love not being able to visualize with moments like this, because if you’re the sort of reader who can’t help but imagine the events as you read, I’m sure this book would hit a lot worse.) Also, despite being historical fiction, nothing in the book really sold me on it being 1950s Mexico, which was slightly disappointing. The author does say that the book would be better titled as Postcolonial Mexican Gothic, but even then a lot of the narrative feels isolated from the time period and locale.
Despite these reservations, the book still managed to be compelling and the storyline was resolved, even if it was done in a rather unorthodox way. It was a fitting yet unplanned read for October, which I always forget has Halloween in it. This book didn’t quite scare my pants off, but the grim and gothic atmosphere was a fitting ambience—definitely a great book to finish on a rainy October afternoon.
