Would You Stay?

A Review of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The story starts with Noemi Taboada, a socialite in 1950s Mexico. Her father has received word from her cousin, Catalina, begging them to rescue her. Catalina claims that she is being poisoned by her husband and is haunted by ghosts. Catalina had recently gotten married to Englishman Virgil Doyle, and they both moved to the countryside in Mexico to live in Virgil’s family home called High Place. Noemi’s father believes that Catalina is possibly being abused or mistreated and wants Noemi to check on her. Noemi is more interested in her debutante lifestyle, but her father offered her something she couldn’t refuse: to pay for her degree from the university. Determined, Noemi sets off to High Place to see what exactly is happening to her cousin.

Noemi is used to being in a bustling city full of life, color, and adventure. However, when she gets to the village where High Place resides, it is quiet, grey, and not much is going on because the mining business in town has failed. When she gets to High Place, she is able to see Catalina, but she isn’t doing so well. She claims to have seen ghosts still and that something is altering her body. Noemi wants her to be evaluated, but Virgil and Florence refuse, saying that they know what’s best for her and limit Cantalina’s time with Noemi. They are also restrictive of Noemi’s pleasures (smoking) and her going to the village by herself. They want someone to accompany her at all times.

Originally, Noemi thinks that it is all the rules of the house that are causing the fire in Catalina to dim, but she starts to have some of the same visions of ghosts that Catalina has. It doesn’t help that the house is so foreboding, with it being unkempt, without electricity, and mold growing everywhere. Noemi begins to think that maybe Catlina isn’t insane and that the house is doing things to warp their perception. Will Noemi and Catalina be able to survive the house?

There were several different things that I found interesting about the book. One is the rights of women. Rights in this period were limited for women. However, Noemi did get to do things on her own accord, like going to parties, dating, driving, and hanging out with family. However, once Noemi enters High Place, she sees how Virgil’s family views women. They were to be quiet, obedient, bear children, and attend to the house. Women weren’t allowed to do much else. Noemi feels bad because she believes the family made Catalina feel small by restricting her movements. Catalina is restricted to her room at all times to rest and has limited visitors. Noemi feels the restrictions when she is reprimanded for going into the village several times without permission.

The story also had topics of race. The first thing that Noemi is told when she gets to High Place is that she can only speak English instead of Spanish there, or Howard, Virgil’s father, wouldn’t like it. She was also told that Howard brought soil from England to build his house on top of, so that he could still be considered an English home. Noemi’s views of Howard worsen when he observes that Noemi’s skin is much darker than her cousin, Catalina. He then goes on to explain the concept of eugenics to her. He claims that it is the only way to create a superior species, which Noemi finds offensive. Howard took it further by explaining how his family has kept their bloodline pure by marrying blood relatives, which Noemi finds horrifying. However, Virgil’s family thinks that the whole process is natural.

The concept of family is also explored in the novel. Other than the inbreeding, Noemi notices that the Doyles have a different concept of family than what she does. Her family hangs out together, talks during meal times, socializes with the servants, and supports each other’s interests. However, at High Place, everyone is expected to do what Howard Doyle says. There is to be quiet at all times, even during meals, avoid talking to the servants, and nothing in the house can be changed or updated. He expects their deep loyalty and devotion. Noemi finds the house stifling and without love, which makes her miss the warmth of home.

The concept of the supernatural is also explored. Throughout the story, Noemi is forced to wonder if the visions that Catalina and she have are real or not. It also doesn’t help that the townspeople have warned Noemi of High Place. Many people think that the Doyles are cursed because an illness swept through and killed the majority of the people who work at High Place and in the mines. Noemi has to discover if these are natural occurrences or if something sinister is going on.

As far as horror goes, Mexican Gothic is a good one to read. It has a lot of unexpected twists and turns that will keep you on your toes. In the spirit of the book, I ask the following question: Would you stay in a house that you believed to be haunted?