Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia has been on my wish list for a while and I've read seemingly a gazillion reviews of it, so I was really excited when the e-book went on sale at a reasonable price. I may be terrible about getting around to reading e-books but desperation is very motivating and I really truly wanted to read it. 

Noémi is a party girl who lives in Mexico City in a sprawling, modern home, with her wealthy father. When she receives a rambling, incoherent note from the cousin who used to live with them, her father says she must go find out what's wrong with Catalina. Noémi doesn't really want to go but she knows it's the right thing to do. 

She's met at the train station by Catalina's husband and taken on a long drive up into the mountains to their remote home. This is where the "gothic" bit comes in. The home is an old mansion in poor repair and Catalina lives with her husband's family, including the patriarch of the family, a cousin, and the cousin's mother. There's mold on the walls and the family has bizarre rules that they expect Noémi to abide by (no talking during meals, no smoking, no bothering her cousin unless they feel she's okay to receive visitors). Catalina appears to be sick but maybe more in spirit than in health; her personality is entirely different from the carefree, happy soul of pre-marriage. But, Noémi isn't sure what's wrong and she's determined to get to the bottom of it. 

There's much more to the story, of course, including a growing attraction to cousin Francis and weird dreams that may be caused by the house, itself.

Recommended but not a favorite - Although I never fell massively in love with the plot, I liked about the first 2/3 of Mexican Gothic for the atmosphere, the creepy people, the weird dreams, and the questions that all this strangeness brought up. Why did Catalina's personality change? What was in the potion she had Noémi fetch from town? Was Catalina's husband just imprisoning her so he could keep her money or was there more to the story? What was up with the patriarch of the family and his need for silence? What was the reason for the murder in the family, years ago? What happened to all the other people who died near the house or in the family's long-closed silver mine?

See, I told you there was more to the story. Around the 2/3 mark, Mexican Gothic got a bit too weird for me and I considered giving up. Instead, I flipped to the end of the book and read a few pages to see if it looked like the book was worth sticking out. The ending looked promising so I continued, but I confess I pushed myself to read faster. The reason for all the strange happenings was just a little too bizarre for my taste. I did find the ending satisfying, though, so I have no regrets. And, I loved Noémi. She's a great, strong female character who was devoted to Catalina enough to refuse to leave, even when things became seriously weird and even dangerous. I also liked Francis and was rooting for Catalina, Francis, and Noémi to escape. 

My friend Brittanie started reading Mexican Gothic a few days after I did so we got to discuss it, which always adds to the reading experience. So glad I've been able to occasionally find people to discuss books with; I am missing my F2F group but the hole they fill in my life has been kept nicely plugged by discussion with other online friends and I so appreciate that. 

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Slade House by David Mitchell

I don't want to say too much about Slade House because it's a novel that's best left a bit mysterious for the sake of letting things unfold. I like that feeling of not knowing quite what's happening, at first, and then slowly figuring it out. So, what I will say is that it has to do with a house in England, a set of twins, and the horrible thing they'll do to stay alive. There's a little iron gate that only appears every 9 years. What's behind that gate? Does it really exist or is it an illusion? What happens inside the house? And, is there any way to stop the twins from their evil doings?

Slade House is a perfect fall read, a blend of paranormal and horror but one that didn't give this wimp nightmares, thank goodness. 

Highly recommended - Phenomenal writing, seriously creepy, deliciously unsettling and atmospheric. The ending is immensely satisfying. Currently kicking myself for not getting around to reading David Mitchell sooner. I've got some of his other books on my shelves (although, to be honest, I have so many books that they won't be easy to find). I'll be digging for more, soon. 

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

This book is so much fun.

Horrorstör takes place in an IKEA-alike store called Orsk (Need help? Just Orsk.) The main character is Amy. Amy transferred to the store from another closer to home to try to improve her life and get away from her mother's trailer park. But, she's having trouble keeping up with her rent and hasn't managed to get ahead at work so she's put in for a transfer.

Meanwhile, strange things are happening at the store during the hours it's closed and each morning damage is being found. When Amy's boss decides that he needs a few people to stay overnight and patrol the store to find the perpetrator of the damage, she balks until he offers her extra pay. He also enlists the help of a second employee that everyone loves. And, then, the three of them discover two other employees have stowed away, so to speak, to do some ghost hunting at Orsk after finding out that it sits on the location of a former prison.

So, there are 5 characters: the failure, the uptight boss who really is insecure, the sweet and innocent spinster, the overenthusiastic ghost hunter, and the guy who just wants to get the girl and find fame and fortune (or the "user", I guess).

The first half of the book, approximately, is mostly set-up and it's a delight. Grady Hendrix has a wonderful, light touch so there's a lot of humor and you get to know the characters well before he ramps up the horror aspect of the book. Then, the suspense and terror gradually build as the ghosts come out, bent on tormenting the employees and breaking their wills.

Highly recommended - I'm not a horror fan and I found this book more gruesome and yucky than scary so it was very tolerable for me. I looked at the ratings of friends at Goodreads and they were mostly 3- and 4-star ratings so that may not be true for normal horror readers. I gave it 5 because I found the story so hard to put down and I loved the touches of humor, loved the way Amy grows in the story, and thought the ending was solid. I just noticed people are talking about a newer book by Grady Hendrix, a couple days ago. You can bet I will be looking into that one, as well.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill - RIPXIV #1

I've already talked about Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill, a bit, but I decided I wanted to have a separate post up that's got "RIPXIV" in the labels, so here 'tis. Let's do the goofy version of a review, shall we?

So, there's this rocker dude named Judas Coyne (not his real name). He's not a nice guy, really. In the past, he's been a bit of a sexual deviant because rock stars can get away with that crap. When he takes up with a woman, he calls her by the name of the state in which they met (or, maybe "hooked up" is the better term), rather than by her actual name. The same is true of his current babe, Georgia.

Judas collects macabre items and when a haunted coat comes up for auction, he buys it. Why not? He doubts its authenticity but whatever. When the coat arrives and it is haunted by the ghost of his former flame's uncle, he's creeped out. When it somehow plucks Georgia's finger and gives her an infection, he's spooked. When the ghost keeps showing up with squiggles in front of his eyes, he's freaked. Then, he finds out he was targeted; the ghost wanted to end up with him so he could kill Judas. How can Judas get rid of the ghost?

Epic road trip, that's how. Judas leaves with Georgia and his two dogs. Much chasing and haunting and making of revolting wounds that won't heal ensues. Death, destruction, and possession occur. But, it ends on a high note, so there's that.

Recommended, if you like that kind of thing - I gave up Joe Hill (with the exception of his short stories) a couple years ago, after I read The Fireman (link leads to my review, which I just posted with a 2016 date to backdate to the actual reading) because he has an unfortunate tendency to kill off cats. And, apparently dogs. But, the guy who makes my neck stop hurting told me, "You have to read Heart-Shaped Box and then talk to me about it!" when I told him about the RIPXIV. So I read it and we talked and you guys, it's really cool to have a physical therapist who likes to talk books. I am, however, still essentially done with Joe Hill. Except for the short stories.

Not sure why I didn't write a review of The Fireman at the blog in 2016 but the review I just posted is one I wrote at Goodreads. Fortunately, I had that content to move over to the blog. Goodreads now just shows my rating.

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Catch-up #2: Imprisoned by Sandler, Boxers and Saints by Yang, The Haunting of Hill House by Jackson

Another day, another attack on the sidebar. We can party when I'm finished.


The subtitle of Imprisoned by Martin W. Sandler says it all: The Betrayal of Japanese Americans During WWII. I don't know what made me mentally reduce this horror to the thought that perhaps it was merely immigrants, not naturalized citizens that were forced into prison camps in the U.S. during WWII, but boy was I wrong. They were not only citizens but some some were 2nd or 3rd generation and they were people who owned businesses, contributed immensely to the American economy as well as farming practices in the U.S. and were incredibly proud of being American citizens. As a result of hysteria, they were forced to sell their land and possessions for next to nothing, rounded up, and imprisoned in deliberately remote and hellish places. Now, I understand.

Imprisoned is an oversized book published for children by Walker Books for Young Readers (a Bloomsbury imprint) so it has lots of nice photographs and slightly large print but the author doesn't talk down to his audience. He clearly describes the politics involved in the unconstitutional decision to put American citizens in camps, the racial prejudice Japanese Americans had been dealing with since their arrival, the living conditions and the horror of losing everything they'd worked for, the amazing strength of character and creativity shown by those imprisoned and the various attempts at reparation and results. So, there's plenty of material that adults may enjoy every bit as much as the targeted younger audience. I bought my copy and I'm glad I did. I'll be referring back to it and looking up some of the other books mentioned.

Yet another purchase, I bought both Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang, companion graphic novels that tell the story of the Boxer Rebellion from two differing viewpoints.

Boxers tells the story from the viewpoint of a young boy called Little Bao who sees the Christians in China as foreign devils and a threat, while Saints tells the side of a young Chinese girl (called Four Girl by her family) who becomes a Christian and is able to acquire a real name of her own, Vibiana. Their stories intersect when they cross paths as children and again when one kills the other as the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist (to which Little Bao belongs) violently overtakes the Christians.

I read Boxers and Saints because I loved The Eternal Smile and American Born Chinese by Yang. I can't say I loved Boxers and Saints as much, but I did like them and reading graphic novels is a tremendously palatable way to learn a bit about history. I'd heard about the Boxer Rebellion but if you'd asked me what it was before I read Boxers and Saints, I probably would have said, "The year everyone decided to leave out the Christmas decorations, maybe?" or something equally inane.

There are elements of magical realism to the stories but I don't feel like saying much more. Andi's review of Boxers and Saints is much better than anything I can think of to say. You should read it.

Speaking of Andi, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is a book I read casually as part of a read-along (IOW, I didn't officially sign up to participate), although I never saw any mention of a hashtag and it took me forever to figure out the read-along was hosted by The Estella Society, not Estella's Revenge. Close but no cigar.

I've read Shirley Jackson's short story collection, The Lottery, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (pre-blog), but this was my first reading of The Haunting of Hill House.

Known as a horror classic, The Haunting of Hill House tells the story of a man named Dr. Montague who has spent years seeking out a haunted house to observe as an experiment. Four characters end up staying in Hill House. Dr. Montague is in charge, of course. Eleanor is a lonely single woman who is looking for adventure and a fresh start after spending much of her adulthood caring for her mother. Theodora is a spirited, happy-go-lucky woman; to her the stay at Hill House is a bit of a lark. Luke, son of the owners and future inheritor of Hill House, is described as a liar but never really gave me the sense that he was an unreliable character, although I wouldn't think of him as trustworthy, either.

The house gives off evil vibes and Eleanor, in particular, seems to be targeted by its antics, inside and out. Even outdoors, bizarre things happen. Eleanor is the most sensitive to psychic phenomenon, having been the victim of a possible gremlin (I think -- not sure I'm remembering right) when she was young. Dr. Montague has informed them that once the house decides to claim someone, they will die trying to get away. Will the 4 visitors survive the escalating terror alive?

I'm not going to give anything away but there were definitely moments The Haunting of Hill House scared the bejeezus out of me. I particularly loved reading the book for the historical perspective, though. Since it was published in 1959, there were oddities of speech and perspective from that time period. I particularly found it interesting that Eleanor thought she was being just a little bit wild when she set out a pair of slacks to wear and mentioned how horrified her mother would be (dresses and skirts only, ladies!) I've been around long enough to have lived with an elementary school dress code in which girls were forbidden to wear pants with one exception: matching pantsuits were allowed. Hard to fathom, today, isn't it? Definitely recommended. I really enjoyed The Haunting of Hill House and will return to it when I want to be creeped out, in the future.

I recommend all four of these books, but among them Imprisoned and The Haunting of Hill House were my 5-star reads; Boxers and Saints got 4 stars.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Strange Man by Greg Mitchell

The Strange Man by Greg Mitchell

Book 1 of the Coming Evil Trilogy

Copyright 2011 - Horror

Realms

292 pages, including a bonus short story

Greg Mitchell's blog

Holy Toledo. The Strange Man is like a train wreck -- horrifying but you can't look away. In the dying town of Greensboro, there have always been rumors about a bogeyman living in the North Woods. Parents tell stories of the bogeyman to get their children to behave. Some believe, some don't.

Dras (pronounced "DrAHz") Weldon is a twenty-something who is unemployed, drinks heavily and, in general, refuses to grow up. He collects action figures and sponges off his family. His only real friend is Rosalyn. She came from a disastrous, alcoholic home and has been labeled "trash" by pretty much everyone but the Weldon family, with whom she practically grew up. Rosalyn is patient to a fault, when it comes to Dras. Dras questions his faith aloud and is rebellious, but he really believes in God. He just doesn't want to think about it and he both acts and speaks as if he's not a believer.

One night, a storm moves into Greensboro -- a very odd storm that carries with it the sensation of evil. The bogeyman has arrived. He is, in fact, the devil and he brings along his legion of demons. Because the town has moved away from Christianity, they've allowed the devil to be freed from his prison in the North Woods. And, he means to wreak havoc, kill and ruin lives, wherever he can. Death comes quickly, once the so-called bogeyman arrives.

The devil-slash-bogeyman can appear handsome and suave but sometimes he shows his true form. Dras, as it turns out, is getting in the devil's way. The devil has his eye on Rosalyn but he can't harm Dras. And, Dras is not going to watch his friend get tortured or worse and do nothing about it. But, will he be able to save Rosalyn? There's only one thing Dras can do and it may mean sacrificing his own life.

Man . . . talk about creepy. This is one heck of a scary book. I cannot believe I read it at night and didn't have nightmares, but I just couldn't put it down so I finished The Strange Man in the middle of the night. You should see the dark circles under my eyes. I meant to snooze late but the cats decided to have a party on my head very early Monday morning, so I guess I'll just have to catch up on sleep. It was worth it.

What I loved about The Strange Man:

The Strange Man is riveting. From a Christian standpoint, I had a little trouble with the fact that a person could pray for help and still end up shredded (Ewww!) but in the end there's one person who actually succumbs not to the devil but to the evil of man. To be honest I just can't fault a book too much if it's that hard to put down. I loved the fact that The Strange Man is gripping, has a good solid theme about God as protector and that we choose whether or not to let evil into our lives, and I liked the characters -- although there were moments I wanted to reach in and shake someone. You know those scary movies where you're muttering, "No, no, don't open the window! Don't go outside!" or whatever. Yeah. It's like that.

Oops, forgot to mention:

Adding this to the post, a bit late. I think there's another theme, which is really important, and it's something to the effect of, "Watch out what you say and how you behave; the people around you learn from your actions and words." Dras actually leads people away from God.

What I disliked about The Strange Man:

Oops, I think I already mentioned that, above, the fact that someone got shredded even after praying. Well, that's about it.

The Strange Man is, I think, technically a Christian book because of the publisher and the God-driven theme. But, I left that out of my header because, you know . . . I have a real quibble with the fact that a lot of people will pass this book up (and a lot of other titles) merely because it's written from a Christian perspective. And, it's not like Hollywood hasn't done the devil-coming-to-get-everyone, complete with a hell-fire spouting, mildly hypocritical preacher and all that.

I just read True Grit last week (I'll review it, soon) and found myself thinking about the way Christianity in characters was common not that long ago but has become something to avoid in recent decades. In True Grit, Mattie's Christianity really jumps out at you, the way Mattie quotes the Bible and talks about being a good Presbyterian. It's simply a part of who she is, but it's something we don't see all that much anymore. I found myself wondering . . . Would that book be considered (if it were a new title, that is) by a mainstream publisher, these days? I don't know. I have a feeling the answer is "no," though.

In The Strange Man, the preacher is Jeff, the "prodigal" Dras's brother. He's not perfect; nobody is, although Jeff's wife comes closest. She's a peacemaker and a solid, kind woman. Many of the characters are not Christian. That's part of the point -- so many in the small, dying town have lost their faith that they've opened themselves up to evil. It's really just a typical good-versus-evil plotline and it deserves a wide readership because it's a rollicking good, shaking-in-your-boots kind of story. That is my humble opinion. Click here to read a free chapter of The Strange Man and view the trailer (which, honestly, I'm afraid to watch). Be sure to look at the author photograph, which was taken by his 4-year-old! Awesome.

Cover thoughts: Cool. Creepy. Perfect. Love the colors.

In other news:

I've been offline, apart from brief hops to the blog to approve comments, via the iPad, because my computer has been covered by a tarp while Huzzybuns repaired the damaged wall in my office and sanded in preparation for painting. So . . . not sure when he's going to get around to painting the walls but if I disappear abruptly for a couple of days, never fear. It probably just means I've been banned from the room. I get in his way, you see. I'll try to catch up on visiting people when he's not around and I'm not busy shooing the cat away from live electrical cords. That animal. Sheesh. Izzy, that is. She's a handful.

This weekend, I spent a lot of time reading, reading, reading. I picked up Haunting Jasmine, the story of a woman fresh from a divorce, who goes to take care of her aunt Ruma's bookstore while Auntie Ruma makes an emergency trip to India. Ruma doesn't bother telling Jasmine that the store is haunted. It was a case of perfect book for the time and I raced through it, loving every minute. I'll review the book, soon.

After reading Haunting Jasmine, I spent a day catching up on my Bible study, which involves a humongous amount of homework (I missed the first week, thanks to a stomach virus). And, then I picked up The Strange Man and there went a good night's sleep.

I've got to get off the computer because Kiddo wants me to quit tapping so he can sleep, but I'll try to post a pic of Izzy playing with her rubber ducky in the next post. Betcha can't wait.

Tuesday Morning addendum:

I've awakened to weather that is threatening to turn severe (tornadoes and thunderstorms) and a headache, so blog-hopping and my next review will likely be delayed a bit longer while I hide in my room to read and sleep. I'm really starting to miss you guys. I'll at least approve comments if I don't have to unplug everything.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.