Helpful Score: 6
This was a very well done book I wish I hadn't read. My library has it shelved in science fiction but I would put it squarely in the horror category. It was page turning, but the lines crossed were so terrible I'd rather not have read them. In the acknowledgements the author thanks her mom for "letting me watch scary movies and read scary books as a kid." If you also enjoy them, then please enjoy this book. If you don't enjoy scary movies and think the beautiful cover on this book is a sign of a beautiful story, take a pass.
Helpful Score: 3
I was kind of mixed on this one. It's touted as a gothic novel and takes place in Mexico in 1950. The main protagonist, Noemi goes to the Mexican countryside to a place called High Place after her father receives a cryptic letter from Noemi's cousin Catalina. High Place turns out to be an old mansion that has been neglected. It is very gloomy, has patches of mold throughout, and only has a limited amount of electricity so the residents have to use candles and oil lamps for light. It's located in the mountains and is damp and cold and can only be accessed by a very narrow mountain road that tends to washout in the rainy season. When Noemi arrives, she finds Catalina in bed and pretty much out of it. Her husband Virgil and the rest of the family are very inhospitable with the exception of the youngest son, Francis. The patriarch of the family, Howard, is old and near death but he still seems to control the household. The house is full of symbols including many depictions of the ouroboros (a snake eating its tail). Noemi begins having vivid nightmares as the house seems to infect her mind. But what is really going on?
The novel took a long time to actually get to the horror of the story. The first two thirds of the story have Noemi trying to figure out what is really happening at the house and trying to understand what is wrong with her cousin. Then the last part of the novel reveals what is really happening and how the family is being controlled by Howard. I seemed to have spent a lot of time waiting for something to happen and then when it did, it was like reading an old story by H.P. Lovecraft or Robert E. Howard from an old issue of Weird Tales. I do like to read these types of stories occasionally but I'm not sure if this really worked too well for this novel. I did enjoy the setting in the old house at High Place but overall I would only mildly recommend this.
The novel took a long time to actually get to the horror of the story. The first two thirds of the story have Noemi trying to figure out what is really happening at the house and trying to understand what is wrong with her cousin. Then the last part of the novel reveals what is really happening and how the family is being controlled by Howard. I seemed to have spent a lot of time waiting for something to happen and then when it did, it was like reading an old story by H.P. Lovecraft or Robert E. Howard from an old issue of Weird Tales. I do like to read these types of stories occasionally but I'm not sure if this really worked too well for this novel. I did enjoy the setting in the old house at High Place but overall I would only mildly recommend this.
Helpful Score: 3
Nicely creepy gothic tale, rather short for a novel. This is set in 1950 - the descriptions of Noemi's clothes and comments about her life give us a good clue, but since the majority of the book takes place in the mansion it could have been any point in time. It is fairly slow to start. You get a little weirdness right away, but it stays at just a touch until very close to the end, and then gets rather horrifying. I would have liked a bit more concern from Noemi about Catherine in the beginning, she seemed just to accept being kept away. But then...1950's debutante from a very macho society...if you think of her that way, she shows a lot of courage. Very atmospheric, very creepy but not horrifying, not gory but some gross bits.
Helpful Score: 3
Mexican Gothic lived up to the hype of being a scary gothic horror tale that will have you racing through the entire story to find out what happens next. We follow Noemi as she goes to the Mexican countryside to look in on her newlywed cousin who is not in good spirits, or health. She stays in the gothic mansion that is in complete disarray and soon finds that everything is not what it seems. There is something sinister hiding in the walls around her and everyone in this strange family are hiding a much larger horrifying secret than just the ghost that haunt the space. Something truly evil is living and breathing within this house and it is feeding off the people who are inside. Everyone appears to be the worse examples of themselves, but Noemi is determined to get to the bottom of the strange mystery and save her cousin before it is too late.
Silvia Moreno â Garcia has created a world that is as fascinating as it is horrifying. You can't help but want to speed through the pages in a fury to find out what happens next while being completed terrified by what is happening around the main protagonists. Silvia's storytelling is so colorful and detail that you feel like you are living in the house and experiencing the doom and gloom happening everywhere. I found myself reading every chance I had because I had to know what was going to happen next. It was thrilling to have that adrenaline rush from the fear and anxiety you feel with the characters.
Mexican Gothic is a spine-tingling, heart pounding, gothic haunted house tale that will make you sleep with the lights on and see monsters in the shadows. Beware for your eyes may not be playing tricks on you!
Silvia Moreno â Garcia has created a world that is as fascinating as it is horrifying. You can't help but want to speed through the pages in a fury to find out what happens next while being completed terrified by what is happening around the main protagonists. Silvia's storytelling is so colorful and detail that you feel like you are living in the house and experiencing the doom and gloom happening everywhere. I found myself reading every chance I had because I had to know what was going to happen next. It was thrilling to have that adrenaline rush from the fear and anxiety you feel with the characters.
Mexican Gothic is a spine-tingling, heart pounding, gothic haunted house tale that will make you sleep with the lights on and see monsters in the shadows. Beware for your eyes may not be playing tricks on you!
Helpful Score: 2
Quite creepy and well done. It kept me turning pages and I had some ideas about what I thought may be going on but it is a more twisted tale than I imagined. I was very happy with the ending though.
