Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Not Rebecca, Not Mexican Gothic

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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I had heard of Isabel Cañas’s The Hacienda as Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, but in Mexico. When I found that it wasn’t literally a Rebecca retelling in Mexico, I put it down because I expected Mrs. Danvers, not priests. This probably says more about me than the book. But I did intend to check it back out when my expectations calmed down. (If I saw all the Mexican Gothic comparisons beforehand, I might have finished it the first time.) This review shouldn’t be about […]

Gothic Horror in the Mexican Countryside

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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Beatriz is the only child of a Mexican general who was executed in the aftermath of the Mexican war for independence. After months of depending on the generosity of her mother’s extended family, Beatriz latches on to Don Rodolfo Salorzano as her best chance of escaping the capital and having a home of her own. The hacienda is prosperous, but the house itself has seen better days. Rodolfo’s sister Juana, used to having the run of the hacienda, is scornful of Beatriz and her plans […]

Vampires in Old Mexico (AKA Texas). What’s Not to Love?

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas

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cbr16bingo horses Mexican gothic has, to my surprise, become a new favorite genre for me.  It’s a different flavor from the British gothic that I grew up on, more of a sense of connection between the living and the not-so-much living, that seems to be a part of the Dia de los Muertos Mexican mentality.  So it’s always a treat to get a new sort of being, such as the vampires in this book.  So yes, they want to drink blood for nourishment (not unheard […]

Hot Priest Plus Actual Witch? OK, I’m Here For It.

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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I have a new favorite niche – Mexican Gothic.  Actually this genre and I go way back to my high school days.  I was in Spanish III, junior year, and we read Doña Barbara by Romulo Gallego, written in 1929.  OK, it was actually a Venezuelan novel rather than Mexican, but I suspect the landed gentry in those two countries were not all that different back in those days.  Of course, my Spanish was still fledgling, so what was going on was frequently a mystery, […]

Vampires as in Monsters and Vampires as in Monsters-But-Anglos

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas*

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*Note: My alt key and other shortcuts for the “enye” tilde over the “n” of the author’s name is not functioning but her name is Isabel Canas pronounced “Can-yas”. This is the first time I’ve been a person to review a book for the first time on Canonball Read break out the champagne. Vampires of El Norte is an upcoming title from Isabel Canas* and it looks like this is her lane. It’s a great lane. Historical fiction with horror elements – if not fully […]

Which is worse: colorism and classism or ghosts?

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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If you search for this book online the first sentence you will read from nearly every review is “Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca” (and now this review maintains that pattern). Truthfully this is the best summary that one can give. Now, I didn’t like Mexican Gothic all that much, but I enjoyed the film version of Rebecca immensely, so I was a little wary of this going in. However, The Hacienda Isabel Cañas is enjoyable. I listened to this book as an audiobook, and the voice cast did a great job. Beatriz […]



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