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ahc 's review for:
Mexican Gothic
by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Rating this at a 2.5 likely makes this review an unpopular opinion but I am quite bamboozled by the overwhelmingly positive reviews of this book. Also, I'll give a TW for rape and incest, as I didn't know that was in this book and was quite shocked!!!
I'll start by saying that the plot of the book isn't bad, it's just that the overall story and writing strikes me as extremely unremarkable. I found myself skipping through paragraphs and skipping pages ahead to see if it would get any better. Also, the story is called Mexican Gothic and is set in Mexico. Someone else said this in their review but basically if I hadn't been told that information, I would never have guessed that that's where the book was set. Most of the main characters were (I think) from England originally? So the majority of the story focuses on an English family who lives in the mountains around a Mexican village. The whole story had a Victorian England type feeling that I think detracted from Noemi's character and her heritage.
As I mentioned before, there is both rape and incest in this book. When I picked this book up, I read "spooky house" and thought that this would be about a creepy, almost alive house similar to The Haunting of Hill House. It's not that. The creepiness factor here comes from the cult-like incestuous abuse and the talk of rape throughout. I did not see this coming and was quite thrown off when I read that. This may just be a personal gripe but I don't think stories need that kind of trauma thrown in to further the plot. This book would have been GREAT in my opinion if it was about a possessed, demonic house that grew mushrooms throughout it and used the mushrooms for mind control. That is spooky enough in and of itself! The added layer of trauma and abuse just didn't sit well with me, and I truly don't think it furthered the plot of the story in any way. In fact, it detracted from the plot in my opinion.
The only redeeming quality I can find is the character of Francis. He was great and I enjoyed Noemi's interactions with him. But other than that, I didn't enjoy the book.
I'll start by saying that the plot of the book isn't bad, it's just that the overall story and writing strikes me as extremely unremarkable. I found myself skipping through paragraphs and skipping pages ahead to see if it would get any better. Also, the story is called Mexican Gothic and is set in Mexico. Someone else said this in their review but basically if I hadn't been told that information, I would never have guessed that that's where the book was set. Most of the main characters were (I think) from England originally? So the majority of the story focuses on an English family who lives in the mountains around a Mexican village. The whole story had a Victorian England type feeling that I think detracted from Noemi's character and her heritage.
As I mentioned before, there is both rape and incest in this book. When I picked this book up, I read "spooky house" and thought that this would be about a creepy, almost alive house similar to The Haunting of Hill House. It's not that. The creepiness factor here comes from the cult-like incestuous abuse and the talk of rape throughout. I did not see this coming and was quite thrown off when I read that. This may just be a personal gripe but I don't think stories need that kind of trauma thrown in to further the plot. This book would have been GREAT in my opinion if it was about a possessed, demonic house that grew mushrooms throughout it and used the mushrooms for mind control. That is spooky enough in and of itself! The added layer of trauma and abuse just didn't sit well with me, and I truly don't think it furthered the plot of the story in any way. In fact, it detracted from the plot in my opinion.
The only redeeming quality I can find is the character of Francis. He was great and I enjoyed Noemi's interactions with him. But other than that, I didn't enjoy the book.