Review: Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia

I’ve seen this book called a mix of gothic horror and fantasy. But in my mind, it’s a mix of gothic horror and sci-fi.

Plug your ears for a sec if you want absolutely zero spoilers, but the whole “human memories living on in sentient mushrooms” thing is classic sci-fi to me. Where’s the fantasy in that? C’mon? It’s not magic! It’s pretend science!

I joke about the mushrooms, but in all honesty, I can’t express how much I adore this gorgeously creepy read. Mexican Gothic is one of my favourite books of the decade, hands down!

Maybe it’s because I’m from a Mexican-American family myself and I got a little too much vindictive satisfaction seeing a smart Latina heroine putting the creepy bigoted bad guy in his place. Maybe it’s because I love a romance where a nice, nerdy, non-alpha boy gets the girl. Maybe I just love Mexican Gothic because it’s so different from my usual reads. (How often DO you see sentient mushrooms pulled off in a non-campy, give-you-shivers, successfully witty way, after all?)

Enough about the mushrooms, though. There’s a lot more to this intelligent, well-plotted mashup.

The story takes place in 1950’s Mexico, where Noemi is a socialite and university student not quite ready to settle down and pick a husband. So when her father offers an opportunity to prove herself by journeying to the countryside to investigate a disturbing message from her recently married cousin, Noemi jumps on it.

But when Noemi arrives at her cousin Catalina’s new home in the mountains, Catalina’s in-laws insist that Noemi’s cousin is ill and only allow her short, limited visits. Determined to see things through, Noemi stays. But she begins sleepwalking and having strange dreams and weird encounters with her cousin’s husband, and the increasingly creepy in-laws make her feel like it’s all in her head.

Noemi’s only friend is an awkward, shy young in-law Franics, who hints to Noemi that she should be careful. But is Francis on her side, or his family’s?

Things get seriously scary as Noemi uncovers the horrors of the family history and the dark nature of the house itself, and she realizes she will have to fight to save her cousin and herself if she wants to make it out alive.

The story is well plotted and well-paced, with pieces of the puzzle slowly revealed so that as the reader you experience the story as if you’re in Noemi’s shoes, half-believing the mounting horrors are all in her head until it’s almost too late.

The characters are all interesting and well done. The romance is sweet (just a kiss). And the criticism on colonialism is well-done and meaningful without being heavy handed.

But the highlight of Mexican Gothic is the creepy vibe. Silvia Moreno-Garcia infuses her world with such immersive sensory details that you can almost smell the mildew and feel the spores infesting your brain as you read.

You’ll never feel completely at ease stepping into a musty old house again!

With a hint of romance, a touch of horror, and a witty twist to old-fashioned tropes that should satisfy even literary fiction aficionados, Mexican Gothic is a sci-fi masterpiece with wide appeal. I highly recommend this novel to everyone from readers of sci-fi to romance to literary fiction!