#silvia moreno garcia

[virgin-martyr]

[browsethestacks]

Paperbacks That Never Were - Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia

Art by Nickolej Villiger

[papenathys]

Hey Mimi do you have any recommendations for books set in Latin America (any genre) ?

So I am going to assume that you are not asking for picks like Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Isabel Allende. Most of the Latinx authors I read are unfortunately fantasy or genre fiction set in the USA (I'm trying to remember if Tehlor Kay Mejia or Anna-Marie McLemore wrote a book that is explicitly set in a Latin American country.)

Here are a couple of books I enjoyed, or at least feel confident recommending based on what I remember:

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (adult, urban fantasy, horror): Described by the author as a "violent neo-noir", this story is set in an alternate, gritty Mexico City, and follows a Tlāhuihpochtli vampire who strikes a bond with an impoverished street kid, while fleeing from narco-vampire clans, criminal gangs, and other dangers lurking in the dark underbelly of the city.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (adult, historical fiction, fantasy): In 1920s Mexico, a young woman accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan God of Death, and embarks on a cross-country mission with him: from the dazzling Jazz Age opulence of Mexico City, into the darkness of the Mayan underworld– where she must face great dangers to reinstate the God on his rightful throne.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia** (adult, historical fiction, horror): A glamorous, fun-loving socialite in 1950s Mexico receives a disturbing letter from her married cousin, prompting her to travel down to their ancestral mansion, where the in-laws' live. There, on that ancient, colonial estate, she begins to be haunted by an equally ancient evil, and soon realises something is terribly wrong about the family her cousin has married into.

Tender is The Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica** (adult, dystopia, horror): In a near-dystopian future, an infectious virus turns all animal meat poisonous and unfit for consumption, forcing governments to legalize the factory-farming, breeding and eating of human meat. At one such processing plant, a worker is faced with a moral dilemma when he is gifted a "live" specimen.

Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro (adult, psychological thriller): Set in Argentina, this is a claustrophobic, uneasy novella about a mother's journey to uncover the truth behind the hushed-up murder of her dead daughter; the investigative mission, however, is made difficult by her advanced locomotive disability and age, as well as by this slowly unfurling realization: that she may not have known her daughter as truly as she thought.

And a couple I have not read/read and did not enjoy at all, but would recommend because my opinion seems to be in the minority:

Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda** (adult, horror, thriller, LGBTQ): A group of wealthy teenage girls attending an elite academy in Ecuador begin to convene regularly in an abandoned building, after school hours– but what started out as a place to exchange ghost stories, soon devolves into a site of dangerous thrill-seeking and dark, bloody rituals. (Note: I absolutely despised it, but you may enjoy; it's sapphic dark academia with cosmic horror and yellowjackets vibes).

Our Share of Night by Mariana Enríquez (adult, horror, historical fiction, fantasy): Set partially during the years of Argentina's brutal military dictatorship, this novel follows a father and son on a road trip, trying to escape a death cult, who have committed unspeakable atrocities. I have not read this gigantic tome, but I really want to, I am a sucker for horror rooted in political/historical allegories.

Cantoras by Carolina De Robertis (adult, historical fiction, LGBTQ): In 1977 Uruguay, a time when oppressive militia rule criminalized homosexuality as a dangerous transgression, five queer women discover an uninhabited cape, and claim the coastal sanctuary for themselves. Over years, it becomes their one safe haven, to be their true selves. Not read this, but it sounds strikingly similar to Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, one of my favourite queer stories of all time.

[ Note: All the stories are adult and given my inclination towards horror and psychological fiction, they are likely to be dealing with sensitive issues, but for the stories marked ** I very highly recommend checking trigger warnings ]

[freckles-and-books]

Current read

[100-great-books]

[bitterkarella]

Midnight Pals: Mexican Gothic

Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this the tale of the big gothic house Moreno-Garcia: in Mexico Moreno-Garcia: you might even call it Moreno-Garcia: mexican gothic

Moreno-Garcia: so there's this debutante from Mexico City Moreno-Garcia: and she has to visit her cousin who's married this weird english guy Moreno-Garcia: and now lives in this big creepy house in the boonies with his weirdly english family Moreno-Garcia: being weirdly english Moreno-Garcia: so the mexican woman from the big city has to deal with these weird secluded in-bred white people Lovecraft: what kind of topsy turvy world is this Lovecraft: up is down, black is white Lovecraft: i just don't know what to believe! Moreno-Garcia: these english people, let me tell you Moreno-Garcia: they love to just sit around, being mopey, eating shitty english food, refusing to mix with the locals, formulating weird race science theories Lovecraft: i really don't see the problem Mary Shelley: sup fuckers King: oh mary you're just in time, silvia was telling a gothic story Shelley: oh she's gonna tell a gothic story eh? you hear that fellas Ann Radcliffe: i hear that Matthew "Monk" Lewis: is that so Shelley: my original goths will be the judge of this

Shelley: you think you're gonna do some gothic? that's cute Shelley: has the family patriarch got a dead wife? Moreno-Garcia: he's got two Shelley: oh damn i take it back Shelley: that IS gothic Lewis: that's hard core Radcliffe: TWO dead wives?!??!

Moreno-Garcia: and there's a family plot that's got marble busts of the dead wife Shelley: oh hell yeah that's the way to do it Lewis: you gotta have the busts Radcliffe: oh yeah definitely you gotta have em

Shelley: how about this protagonist? pale, likes to faint, right? Moreno-Garcia: no she loves to party and smoke cigarettes Shelley: Lewis: Radcliffe: Shelley: damn what a twist! Lewis: i never considered that angle Radcliffe: a whole new grid

[edelweiss-maiden]

‘‘𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭. 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳, 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵’’ — 𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑜-𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑎, 𝑚𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑔𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[alucarddaily]

For fans of Olrox who want more Indigenous Mesoamerican vampires, the mod highly recommends the novel "Certain Dark Things" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia about Aztec vampires fighting for power in urban Mexico City 🦇

[sharpmouth]

Silver Nitrate, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

[thecozybimbo]

“Do you remember what it was to be young?” She asked.

“Every trouble would be solved by sundown, and every dawn you'd have a new chance to remake the world.”

— the beautiful ones, silvia moreno-garcia

[memingursa]

Equating British Imperialism/classism/(there’s way more touched on but that’d be alot more spoilers with content warnings) with mold that refuses to die was a brilliant choice by Silvia Moreno Garcia.

[mattievictoria]

“The walls speak to me. They tell me secrets. Don’t listen to them, press your hands against your ears, Noemí. There are ghosts. They’re real. You’ll see them eventually.”

Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

[jessfandrawer]

Mexican Gothic doodles. Left side is a scene from the book, right side is post-canon.

[freckles-and-books]

Last, current, next

[alondrathegiraffe]

Agnes barely shows up but her story stuck out to me the most. This woman was set up to be sacrificed and used for all eternity by a man and was striped from her identity until Noemi (who is personally being watched and messed with by the men+gloom) comes and sets her free. The connection these two have is so interesting to me! yum !!!