Cannonball Read 15

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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The Loftcraftian Horror Genre, a little bit of *magic* and a strong female lead

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Mexican Gothic is a horror genre novel by author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Set in 1950s Mexico, it follows the protagonist Noemi, a socialite who is tasked by her father to find her estranged cousin who hasn’t been since by the family since her wedding to her English husband. Noemi travels to the mountainside Doyle Family home in the fictional El Triunfo (Spanish for The Triumph). Once arriving, Noemi immediately senses that something is off in this house. A dilapidated and isolated mansion covered in grime and […]

Jane Eyre meets H.P. Lovecraft

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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I am a big fan of gothic fiction reinterpreted in postcolonial settings, so this was right up my alley.  Moreno-Garcia’s novel follows Noemi Taboada, an upper class university student in 1950s Mexico City. When her father receives a strange letter from Noemi’s cousin, Catalina, Noemi goes to visit Catalina in the remote mining town where she lives with her husband Virgil’s family. Granted limited access to her cousin, who is said to be ‘recovering’, Noemi spends a growing amount of time with Virgil’s family, including […]

An excellent book but not my cup of tea

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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I read Gods of Jade and Shadow and thought it was enjoyable, so I was excited to read Mexican Gothic.  I’m not sure my expectations were met. Noemi is a socialite in the upper-class of 1950s Mexico City. She goes to parties, she flirts, she wears beautiful gowns because she actually enjoys them, and she wants to go university against her family’s wishes. Noemi’s life gets upended when her father asks her to go check on her cousin Catalina who has written a strange and disturbing […]

Mexican Gothic!

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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I love gothic novels. I love gothic films. I love gothic stories, in general. And I loved this one. I’ve never read a gothic novel that takes place outside of Europe, unless they’re on the East Coast of the U.S. And to set one in Mexico was such a great choice. Though, the menacing family and house are purely English and very familiarly gloomy. Mexican Gothic follows Noemí Taboada as she travels from her exciting life as a beloved socialite in Mexico City to a […]

A perfect late autumn read: atmospheric with a twist

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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I realized, when it came time to do my best-of lists, that I hadn’t actually written reviews for two of my favourite books this year. Mexican Gothic is one of these. I read it a few weeks after Halloween, when everything in Denmark can best be described as ‘grey’ and I was in the perfect mood for Gothic. (Plus, look at that AMAZING and GORGEOUS cover; how can you resist?) Boy, did Silvia Moreno-Garcia deliver. Mexican Gothic is the story of Noemi, a young woman […]

Fred forgot three things in a row before he reached the front door on his way to work.

Mrs Caliban by Rachel Ingalls

Puckoon by Spike Milligan

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Sea Monsters by Chloe Aridjis

The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

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Mrs Caliban: 4/5 Stars This is a re-released novel from 1982, so if you’ve seen the cover but didn’t know about it, like me, perhaps you’ll be excused. It has a wonderfully smart and funny tone to the whole thing. We find our protagonist, a married housewife, doing household chores, thinking about the silence of her marriage, when she hears a news report of an escaped water monster terrorizing the town. She goes on, prepares for her day, and after time, the monster finds her […]



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