Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

91 reviews

ixris's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, Child death, Gore, Sexual violence, Death, Colonisation, Sexual content, Violence, Body horror, and Chronic illness

Freaking GREAT modern gothic. Definitely gonna reread this thing.

andloveistoolong's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Violence, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Incest, Misogyny, Body horror, Death, Injury/injury detail, Gore, Vomit, and Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Death of parent, Rape, and Gun violence

Minor: Miscarriage

kategorveatte's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

Mexican Gothic has been on my TBR for awhile, but I finally picked it up for Canada Reads 2023. I wanted to love it, but I found it slow-going to grab my interest. Honestly, it put me in a bit of a slump. I put the book down around 40% and had trouble picking it back up, and I might have DNF-ed if it weren't part of Canada Reads. I rushed through the end because it was just so dark and fantastical and upsetting. I'm sure there's some intentionality to that, but it's not my cup of tea. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Incest, Murder, Sexual assault, Confinement, Colonisation, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Medical content, Child death, Rape, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Classism, Gaslighting, Murder, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Racism, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cannibalism, Blood, Colonisation, Gore, Incest, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Body horror

Minor: Miscarriage, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, War, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Injury/injury detail, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Animal death, Vomit, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, and Mental illness

stvalentine's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

this novel falls into a very special category, alongside aciman's 'call me by your name' and de berniere's 'captain corelli's mandolin': books that changed me irrevocably. the language that silvia uses to describe the dread that noemí feels and the hopelessness and rot that consumes her is unparalleled among my (albeit narrow) literary experience, and the characters are (as suits each) perfectly lovable and detestable. if this novel can teach you anything, it is the importance and power of will and self-belief. noemí is able to endure the darkness of the doyle house only through her inner spark. such an excellent novel!!! so excited to see what hulu will do with it :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Body horror, Child death, Colonisation, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Incest, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Blood, Drug use, and Vomit

Minor: Rape

sagittariusreads_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Gore

Moderate: Medical content, Incest, and Terminal illness

Minor: Medical trauma

lkjones19's review against another edition

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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Body horror

Moderate: Cannibalism, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Rape, Blood, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Medical content, Violence, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

cadence99's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

Mexican Gothic slowly lulls you into its setting and then rapidly drops you into a fever dream. Though I normally am not a fan of the way that fever dream like books make me feel as a reader, this one really worked for me. Creepy and inspired by historical realities- I look forward to reading more from this author. 

4.75 ⭐️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Injury/injury detail, Sexism, Cannibalism, Medical content, Racism, Body horror, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Infertility and Classism

greenglass67's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

This book is fantastic! It's a truly creepy horror novel. It's a bit slow, but I honestly think that slowness is part of what really adds to the effect. At no point was I frustrated with the pace. Rather, I felt that it was a very deliberate choice by the author to build suspense and tension, and it paid off immensely. The characters are fantastic, the atmosphere and mood are wonderfully creepy, and the plot is super engaging. I found it to be a little bit predictable, but that didn't diminish the power of the story either. It's a fantastic take on a typical "haunted house" scary story. Definitely recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Body horror, Sexual violence, Incest, Confinement, and Medical content

Moderate: Gun violence, Death, Blood, and Cannibalism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, and Gore

rewrigh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Amazing read, but definitely mind the content warnings on this one. True to the Gothic and horror genres it gets quite dark and graphic. That said, it was unlike anything else I've read, with more of the intrigue that keeps pulling back to Silvia Moreno-Garcia's work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Body horror, Rape, Incest, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Confinement, Blood, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Child death