Chicks On Lit discussion

Here is our discussion thread for Mexican Gothic which is our October book choice. Happy reading.
Mexican Gothic

I love this book. The cover is what got me but it is a great gothic read. It's heavy on the gothic light on the Mexican which I was a little disappointed in I was hoping for some more cultural influences but still a delicious October read.

Tera, Great to see you again. How are you doing? I am sure your life is super busy. I hope that you will be able to participate in the conversation when it gets going.

It's been crazy. Who would've thought 2021 would be worse than 2020 but for me it was. Back at work, I work in a HS library so that's fun and I adore the kids. I check in when I can. This is a fun book I'll chime in for sure!

So sorry to see that 2021 was worse than 2020 for you. I don't think it was worse for me, but it was far from what I was hoping for. At least you enjoy your job. Is your district in the classroom this year? Was it remote or in person last year? I would imagine that being a librarian when class is remote would be extremely challenging.

I finished this. Wasn't expecting supernatural horror. Eager to see what others thought.

I have book, but haven’t started. I will begin tomorrow. It looks like a fast read so I should be finished in a few days.

Look forward to your thoughts.

I finished reading this last night.

I am in total agreement with you Irene, I do not like super natural themes so I was disappointed with this book. I don’t find it of any interest or believable therefore it doesn’t scare me or well have any effect really.

I was really intrigued initially and liked the beginning but actually I found the next 100 pages really slow and often quite boring. It felt really repetitive and nothing much happened. Once Noemi started having strange dreams I thought someone was drugging her but did not guess at all what it was. Then once it all started happening it felt very fast but I didn’t enjoy it.

Two other things that irritated me - the time period - I actually at one point stopped reading to go back to the blurb to find out what decade it was set in as I couldn’t remember. I felt the way it was written didn’t really show it was the 40’s. It could have been any time really. It’s not a big deal but it bothered me.

Also I was expecting more about Mexico! I just assumed that there would be more details of Mexican history or culture but there was nothing. It could have been set in the UK or the states and I don’t think it would have altered much. They spoke Spanish at the end so they couldn’t be understood but that was it.

I said I was in agreement with you Irene, but you didn’t actually say you didn’t like it! Sorry! I’m reading things that aren’t there !

I was a bit more clear in my review in the thread of the books we have finished. So, you probably picked up my less than glowing feel in that thread. I did not want to be too negative here until people had read it for themselves. Plus, I was reading another book at the same time which I REALLY disliked, so this was a pleasant distraction. That tells you how much I disliked the other book.

Because I thought this was a psychological thriller, I also thought the dreams were from a different cause. I don't want to say much more until others have finished.

Oh yes, that’s it, I read your other comment on the other thread. I thought I was cracking up, imagining things!

Not cracking up, no mushrooms here.

I am through Chapter 7 and if not for you guys, I would quit reading this book! The writing is terrible! It seems like a bad high school writing assignment!

What is it about the writing that you dislike? I have to admit, I did not pick up on the terrible writing. Maybe it was because I was reading an even worse book at the same time. What did I miss?

Irene wrote: "Not cracking up, no mushrooms here."

hahahaha great reply!

I admit I shouldn’t be so critical as I am not a good writer- that’s why I appreciate reading good writing.
For example…”The younger man assisted the waxwork and they left the room. Florence drank from her wine, the slim stem carefully lifted and pressed against her lips. The oppressive silence had settled upon them again. Noemi thought that if she paid attention, she would be able to hear everyone’s hearts beating.”
Just seems juvenile and clunky to me. Calling the Uncle “the waxwork”, pressing the stem to her lips (the stem of the glass?), everyone’s hearts beating.
It may be just me.
I will say the car ride to the house is reminiscent of Daracula, the wallpaper description reminds me of The Yellow Wallpaper, Florence could be the housekeeper in Rebecca. I am interested in looking for references to other Gothic tales.
I am also wondering if this was translated from Spanish or originally written in English. Maybe I could blame it on translation, but I don’t see mention of a translator.

Now that you point out the poor writing, I can see it. I wonder if the author was intending us to see literary clues to other gothic tales or not. I think it was written in English. Although the author was born and grew up in Mexico, she moved to Canada in (I think I read) 2004 where she still lives. So, I am pretty sure she wrote this in English which would be easier to peddle to publishers.

I am impressed that you saw all those literary connections. All I kept seeing was The Munsters. LOL. I did think of the Haunting of Hill House with the initial events that seemed to somehow involve or transform the entire house.

Here are some discussion questions that I found for this book. feel free to answer any that capture your interest.

1. How would you describe Noemi Taboada, the heroine of Mexican Gothic? As the novel progresses, in what ways does Noemi defy expectations of her image as a privileged socialite with which the story opens?

2. Noemi's cousin Catalina has claimed that High Place "stinks of decay, brims with every single evil and cruel sentiment." Is this a melodramatic hyperbole… or an apt description of High Place? How would you describe the Doyle county manor?

3. (Follow-up to Question 2) How would you describe the Doyle family, both past and present? Consider Howard, Virgil, and Francis. Also, Catalina? Is she a sterotypical damsel in distress?

4. If you're a gothic fiction fan (think Daphne du Maurier, Emily Bronte, or Mary Shelley), pick out some of the gothic elements that author Moreno-Garcia incorporates into her story. At what point, however, does gothic evolve into horror?

5. What do you make of Noemi's lurid dreams of Virgil. She dreams of him at night but finds him repugnant by day. What is going on?

5. Talk about the family's mysterious symbol: a circular snake swallowing its own tail, known as an ouroboros. Akin to a coat-of-arms, what does this signify for the family—along with the motto, "One is All." Also, what are the ways the ouroboros functions metaphorically within the framework of the novel itself?

6. Discuss the role of eugenics in this family, again, both past and present? How does Noemi learn that Catalina, too, has become part of the Doyle family's secrets?

7. What is the source of the Doyle family's power? How does it intersect with colonialism and racism?

8. Were you surprised at the story's finale? The ending is ambiguous: is it satisfyingly so? Or less than satisfying? What kind of an ending would you have hoped for?

I finished this book last night. The more I read, the more I enjoyed it, but still not a favorite. The patriarch was an enigma - why be immortal if you have such a terrible life - constantly have to kill people or hide inside your home (I guess Dracula is like that too though). How did the first wife end up the gloom (or whatever it was)? What was the buzzing supposed to signify?
I guess I am a little confused. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it.
A good October read.

In the questions I found for this book which I posted above, #8 asks about the ambiguous ending and if it was satisfying. What was ambiguous about the ending? What did I miss?

I think it’s because Francis talked about the fact that the mushrooms are really strong and can sprout growth again, and when he woke up he said he had dreamed that he was back living in the house and it was grander than before and there were mushrooms again. He asked what if it’s still in me? And it Neomi just replied something like no it will be fine, we got rid of it. I guess we don’t know for sure that it’s all over. But I didn’t care!

O, I just assumed that they had gotten rid of it and it was a bad dream. I guess I am not a subtle enough reader to catch that nod to a potential sequel.

Okay, so I totally agree this was not what I expected when I started this. It wasn't as depictive of Mexican culture as I had hoped. I like the gothic parts of it. The slow descent of Catalina and watching Noemi try to fight that for both of them was a good vehicle to push her into growth and discover some strength she probably didn't know of before. I am always here for women finding their strength and being their own heroes. Her evolution was nice to watch.
I wished more had been discussed on colonalism and race. I think it was assumed that we all understood or had a solid grasp on that history and the long lasting effects of that but confession time - I have limited knowledge at best of that and how it played out in Mexico. I would love to learn more.

Thanks for pointing out the growth in Noemi. We really have not talked about the way she changed through the story. She was depicted as a completely self-centered flirt in the beginning. By the end, she was putting Francis and her cousin's needs above her own fears. She claimed that she was staying because she feared that if she left before her cousin's well-being was secured, she would lose her father's permission to attend grad school. But was there a greater commitment to her cousin than she admitted? Francis also started to take risks for Noemi that he did not seem willing to take earlier. Did any other character show growth through the story?