Mexican Gothic by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
In Mexican Gothic, Sylvia Moreno-Garcia reimagines the classic gothic horror genre setting her new novel in 1950’s Mexico. Noemi Taboada is a smart and beautiful socialite who is fashion-conscious and spends her free time attending parties with her friends. She leads a carefree life, that is until one night her father summons her home early from a party and presents to her a letter from her cousin Catalina in which she says the family home is “sick with rot, stinks of decay, brims with every single evil and cruel sentiment.” Catalina has recently married a young man by the name of Virgil Doyle who comes from an old English mining family. Catalina’s letter is alarming to Noemi and her father as she claims to be in danger. On behalf of her family Noemi travels to High Place, the once beautiful mansion of the Doyle family that is now in shambles.
Noemi doesn’t really know what to expect when she arrives at High Place—she just knows she has to check on her cousin. Upon arriving she meets the numerous members of the Doyle family and their staff, quickly learning of their idiosyncrasies and their many strange house rules. She also learns of their high regard for their family name and themselves. It’s always been peculiar to me how these old families, once quite prosperous with a name that carried a lot of weight and respect, still look down on people like Noemi and Catalina even though the cousins are socialites and are much wealthier than the Doyle family. They do not try to hide their racism towards Noemi, bluntly telling her that they are superior to her and the locals in their adopted town. Noemi butts heads with most of the members of the Doyle family, with the exception of the youngest member, Francis. He soon becomes her confidante as she begins to realize there is more to the house than the eye.
“Doyle is an important name. I don’t think you realize how lucky your cousin is to be part of our family now. To be a Doyle is to be someone.”
Moreno-Garcia reels you in, dropping little bite sized crumbs that slowly reveal the mystery and secrets of the house and the family Catalina has married into. Told that Catalina has tuberculosis, Noemi tries to talk with her cousin without the ever present presence of a Doyle to see for herself what she has fallen ill with. For the most part she was unsuccessful in gaining privacy with her. Throughout the book this caused quite a bit of annoyance for me. The Doyle family, in particular the aunt—Florence did everything in her power to keep Noemi and Catalina separate even though she knew that the reason Noemi was even in High Place was to check on her cousin. Florence guarded Catalina as if she was property and now that she had married into the family she could dictate who could and could not see her. Florence and Noemi butt heads throughout the entire book—Florence blantingly letting Noemi know of her disgust towards her, but it is through her interactions with Florence that Noemi starts to notice that all is not right with the family or the house.
Strange occurrences that back up Catalina’s claims about High Place—including hallucinations and nightmares begin to plague Noemi. She soon comes to realize that if she wants answers she will have to find them on her own. It helps that Noemi is headstrong and does not back down often. I found this to be refreshing given the time in history in which the book is set. In the 1950s women were still expected to behave in a specific way. While Catalina seems to be the member of the family who follows the rules and doesn’t like to upset anyone, Noemi doesn’t settle, making her the perfect person to seek out answers at High Place.
As Noemi unearthed the long ago buried secrets of High Place and found herself losing her grip on reality and her sanity the longer she spent time in the house, the more I was reminded of classic horror stories such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe where objects that were once inanimate suddenly seem to come to live. As more of the history of the family was revealed, the more I found myself unable to stop reading. With each page the suspense grew stronger and stronger.
Moreno-Garcia masterfully writes horror and suspense that keeps you wanting more no matter how terrified you may already be. I watch a lot of horror films, and yet at numerous points throughout the book I was prepared for a fright, which I received several times. The plot and the storylines throughout the book are unpredictable so you never know what is lurking around the corner. The unpredictability of the book and the way in which Moreno-Garcia wrote the book also made it so that as a reader, you have absolutely no idea how the story will end. I went back and forth in my mind between two different end scenarios and although neither one was what I encountered on the last page, it suited the story and also left me wanting more.
Mexican Gothic
By Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
352 pages. 2020
About Karla Mendez
Karla Mendez is a writer and artist based in Florida. She is obsessed with buying books at a faster pace than she can read. An avid journal keeper, her favorite part of the day is watching the sun rise as she writes. She is always happy to discuss books and films - find her on Instagram at @kmmendez
