Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

192 reviews

maryconney's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Mental illness, Slavery, and Blood

Minor: Alcohol

_raine_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book set out to horrify and it did. 

I would like to preface this review by saying that anyone thinking of reading it should absolutely understand that it is terrifying, and not in a jumpscare that isn't actually scary kind of way, but in a disgustingly graphic and detailed kind of way.

I was gifted/cursed (you decide) with not being able to visualise. When I read I see nothing in my mind, just the words on the page. This makes it a lot easier for me to read things that someone else (particularly my age) who can visualise can't. I am not the target age audience for this book. I acknowledged that going into it. This book is most definitely not for teenagers, which I am. Like I said, however, I can't see it. Should I have been able to visualise, I would have never picked this book up, certainly not at the age I am. I'm aware that I shouldn't have anyway, and it is nobody's fault but my own. 


That being said, this book is a masterpiece. It was written so beautifully, and whatever Silvia Moreno-Garcia set out to do, she achieved that and so much more. I was confused the entire time, and didn't want to be any the wiser. I'm a huge mystery fan, and love piecing stuff together, but this book (which focuses more on the horror (obviously) than the mystery) had me stumped. I had no clue what was happening until it happened, and even then I was dumbfounded. Our main character and narrator, Noemí goes through a lot of gruesome, horrible things. So do a lot of our characters. Unfortunately, although this is a paranormal (?) horror, a lot of what she and others go through in this are very real issues in not only her time (1950's), but nowadays too. The paranormal side of the story definitely has stabs of truth in it, and you can tell that Moreno-Garcia thought about every little word and detail down to the pixels on her screen. 

Only two books have ever made me feel physically sick to my stomach, made me feel like I was actually going to be sick (thanks, aphantasia). Girl in pieces by Kathleen Glasgow, and this. Take every review and trigger warning you see at face-value, and then double it. Nothing could have prepared me for this book. Whatever you're thinking might happen when you read the trigger warnings for this novel, it's probably much worse and much more disgusting than you realise. This book truly is not for the faint-hearted, and i absolutely urge you to turn your mind away from it if you think even the smallest detail could trigger something in you. I was lucky enough to not relate to anything in this book, unfortunately, that isn't the case for a lot of people. It is not a book to enjoy, especially the last 100-ish pages (where it gets really detailed with everything), but rather a book to think on. Yes, read it for fun, but be aware that there are maybe 3/301 pages that have any happy content in them. 

Saying all this, you may be wondering why I even gave it five stars at all, after all I'm literally saying "Don't pick it up!", but if you don't understand, someone else will. Reading something that will only succeed in opening wounds you've healed already is not good for a persons health. I will absolutely be recommending this book, most likely for many years to come, but I know (and no doubt Moreno-Garcia knows too) that books like this have a very specific target audience, and someone who isn't prepared to step into it, should not. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

kenslee14's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

andmingmingtoo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book was a good way for me to get into horror books, and I also really want to make a d&d dungeon based on this setup now

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit

inadequate_hero's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book went off the rails early but it was a very slow train. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Vomit and Cannibalism

jvsaucceda's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

TW: SA Though this book is engaging with fully fleshed characters and a story that got under my skin, the point of the book is a) too on the nose (I mean a book named Mexican Gothic? Not something more creative?), b) too driven by creepy old men forcing themselves on young women, and c) incest. Plus, the book focuses on the idea of eugenics as a driving factor for the plot. Good book. Wrong time for me to read it and appreciate it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, Xenophobia, Murder, and Colonisation

jovanh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This was exactly what you'd expect from a Gothic horror story:

• Moldering Victorian mansion
• An aristacratic family with secrets
• Gaslighting
• Creepy dreams

If you enjoy this genre, as I do, this book will fit the bill. That said, I felt like I knew what was going on pretty early. That could be because I've a bit too much Gothic horror. Or it could be due to the author's repeated description and motifs. Regardless it's was a fun read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Incest, Xenophobia, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Infertility, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Child death, Mental illness, Suicide, Cannibalism, and Abortion

karinreadsalot's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

DNF at 53% 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Sexual assault, and Vomit

mypoormeatball's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was a truly excellent example of horror exploring patriarchy, white supremacy, imperialism, cycles of abuse both personal and systemic, AND how those cycles can begin to be broken. All wrapped up in a deliciously intriguing mystery with a touch of romance — a truly epic haunted house story. I think this book will be taught in colleges someday to students studying  postcolonial and intersectional novels. 

While some of the symbolism is a bit on the nose, I think that’s in the legacy of great haunted house novels!  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism

flygonjinn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Racism, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Rape and Xenophobia