Eh, you know, when people talk about this book "Mexican Gothic," they say it's real spooky. I reckon it's all about this young woman, she goes to this old house to help her cousin, you know? Her cousin been saying her husband’s up to no good, trying to harm her or something. Now, this house, they call it High Place, and let me tell you, it ain't your ordinary house, no sir. It’s up in the mountains, in some old mining town the Spanish started working, and then the British folks came along later. It’s got history, full of dark secrets.
Now, what I found interesting is how this place in the story, it ain’t just a house, you see. It’s like a character in itself. The whole setting gives off this creepy feeling, makes you think there’s something bad hiding behind every door. They say it’s a gothic horror novel, and that makes sense to me. It’s got them dark vibes, all mysterious, and makes you think about things like colonialism. It’s like the ghosts of the past are haunting them folks still, even after so many years.
And this here High Place house, well, it’s described all fancy, you know? Big tall towers, and the walls, they’re covered with carvings. Sounds like them old cathedrals they got over in Europe. But this one’s got a twist. They mixed it up with the Mexican Baroque style, which gives it a different look, not like what you see everywhere. Makes the place stand out, feel unique, but also eerie, like something’s watching you from them carvings.
Folks say the author, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, she done a fine job making this whole setting a big part of the story. It ain’t just about what’s happening with the characters, no. The land, the house, the way the earth’s been used and abused by colonizers, it all plays a role. You can feel the weight of history in this story. It makes you think about how the land remembers things, even if people forget. Those mines, they been worked for centuries, first by the Spanish, then the British, digging and digging, taking what they want.
As you go through the story, it’s like peeling back layers of an onion, but every layer’s rotten. There’s something wrong in that house, and it’s connected to all them years of digging up the earth and treating folks bad. I reckon that’s what gives the story its “gothic” feel. It ain’t just about spooky ghosts, but the weight of history, the bad things that been done over the years. It’s like a shadow hanging over everything.
Now, the gothic style itself, you can trace it back to them old European cathedrals. All them tall spires, sharp edges, and dark shadows. But here in Mexico, they took that style and made it their own. I heard that during the Gothic Revival, some Mexican architects started mixing in French and Italian styles, but also keeping a bit of the old Mexican touch. So, what you get is something that’s both familiar and different, kind of like the story itself.
This whole Mexican Gothic idea, it ain't just about ghosts and spooky houses, no. It’s about what’s been left behind, both in the land and in people’s hearts. Colonialism, that’s a big theme here. Them colonizers, they came, took what they wanted, left a mess behind. And that mess, well, it don’t just go away. It sticks around, festering, like a wound that won’t heal. That’s what makes this book so chilling. You got the personal story, sure, but it’s tied up in something much bigger, much older.
People say "Mexican Gothic" is a real page-turner, and I believe it. It’s got all the makings of a thriller, with secrets and danger around every corner. But it’s also more than just a spooky story. It’s got heart, you know? It makes you think about the past, about what people done to the land and to each other. And I reckon that’s why it’s so popular. It ain’t just about scaring you for fun, though it does that well enough, too. It’s about making you feel something deep down, something that lingers long after you’ve put the book down.
So, if you’re into stories that got both thrills and some real heavy thinking, this one’s a good pick. It mixes that gothic horror style with something uniquely Mexican, tied up in history, colonialism, and the land itself. Them old mining towns, they got stories to tell, and this book, well, it’s telling one of the darkest.
Tags：
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Mexican Gothic
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Gothic Revival
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Colonialism
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Archeology
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Horror Novel
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Mexican Baroque
