What a horrific book, in a good way. I was completely absorbed in Noemi's story. From the moment she arrived at the crumbling estate, right until the bitter end. The book was captivating, well written, and the characters fully developed. Noemi as a heroine is so unsure of herself, but still determined to do right by her cousin. This is very much a book about a modern woman trying to break free from a patriarchal society that would wish her to be nothing more than "mother" and "wife." Noemi is intelligent, forthright, and not afraid to ask for what she wants or even to fight for the right to be free to make her own decisions. She is disgusted by the discrepancy between what a male is afforded as opposed to a female. But, while she is angry at her treatment, a secret part of her feels drawn into the dark, brooding charisma of Virgil. She is fighting her desire, desperately wanting to be her own person, find her own path, throw away societal standards. The Doyle household is very much Noemi stepping into her nightmare, her cousin considered nothing more than a docile and fertile wife. Expected to listen to the household directions, to heed the men, to follow blindly the head of the household (Howard Doyle, Virgil's father). Howard believes in eugenics and superior races, although he is beginning to think that some other blood must be mixed into their family to create more virility. Howard is a travesty of a human being and every instance of him being on the page had me gagging, both from his grotesque personality to his body being slowly overrun by some kind of hideous growth. This book also looks at colonial behaviour. The Doyle's are a wealthy family that travelled to Mexico in order to open a silver mine, exploiting locals for cheap labour. When those locals began to fall ill the Doyle's did little to help them. They grew rich off the labour of Mexican workers, who slowly died in the process. I really enjoyed Noemi and Francis's interactions, Virgil's nephew. Francis is a man trying his best to break away from generational trauma and pain. He tries his hardest to help Noemi and Catalina, knowing full well he would be harming himself and his family. But, I did like that while he is helping it is still Noemi who works to save herself and her cousin from the grasp of the awful Doyle's. If you are interested in a gothic novel that slowly builds in intensity and horror than I highly suggest Mexican Gothic. So glad I finally read this book, and the audio was fantastic.
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