Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

353 reviews

hefftbundle's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

I normally don’t like this kind of book, but that was damn good. A WILD ride, for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

shellanor_rigby's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Racism

Moderate: Body horror, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

bringmorecoffee's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I gave myself some time to mull this over and the best word I can think of is "rich." 

This story is rich in texture, it's rich like a butter sauce, it's rich like chocolate cake that clings to your teeth. 

The formula is a familiar one (said fondly, because it's a very good formula) with a mysterious letter, going to a creepy house, everything is weird in the house, potential womanly madness, etc. 

Something in this was more visceral in the rot and the stink. The graphic moments made me uncomfortable in such a good way. It might have started a little slow for me, which is why it took so long to get through it, but about the 45/50 page mark felt like it really picked up. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

krispi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I did have to put the book down for a bit due to a slower start but that is common for the genre. Once it picked up it didn’t stop and the twists were unexpected 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment

schmaelingr2's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

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

laasenpai's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

Reminds me of Gaia- the movie. Science Friction. The characters are detailed and the author illustrates vividly, and with prose. There are some gruesome descriptions. I love all the characters, they are believable and described in detail with their own nuances, hobbies, rooms, fashion style. I already want to read it again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Confinement

Moderate: Racism and Sexual harassment

Minor: Gore, Incest, Misogyny, and Suicide attempt

hollowspine's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

4.0

 This novel stuck very close to the gothic literature genre, but also used it to explore issues of colonialism, racism, misogyny and family. I really enjoyed the book, hanging on every word and invested in Noemi and the fate of that dreadful place. It was exactly as gothic lit. should be, dark, atmospheric with tangible dread hanging over each scene. Propriety and 'good breeding' masking true evil and a rot that goes beyond just the mildewed and fungeous wallpaper of the manse. The true horror is knowing that Eugenics is not as easy to burn down as one mansion.

I've heard from other readers that they weren't expecting the level of horror, bloodshed/gore of the book, thinking it would be more along the lines of other gothics, just brooding, angst and tragedy. In a way I don't understand that, I thought that the book really was akin to gothics I've read, a young woman finding herself trapped in a large estate with a man who is obviously lying to her, other family members who berate her at every turn and dismiss every thought as either crazy or not the way they do things at this house. It's Rebecca, it the Yellow Wallpaper, it's the Picture of Dorian Gray, but remade into a new shape, one that I would say enhances and celebrates the genre, while at the same time also forcing readers to ask more questions and opens the genre to a deeper and wider cultural history.

Perhaps Moreno-Garcia put slightly more detail into the macabre scenes in Mexican Gothic than you'd read in The Turn of the Screw or The Fall of the House of Usher, but the horror is the same. Plus if readers are not horrified by the implied murders in either of those books, or the child abuse, or the implied incest...? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Racism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Confinement and Colonisation

hmccarthy95's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

rikathestrange's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment