“Noemí, just because there are no ghosts it doesn’t mean you can’t be haunted. Nor that you shouldn’t fear the haunting. You are too fearless. My f“Noemí, just because there are no ghosts it doesn’t mean you can’t be haunted. Nor that you shouldn’t fear the haunting. You are too fearless. My father was the same way, and he paid dearly for it.”
The thing about gothic horror that I like the most (and there's a lot about gothic horror I like) is that "horror" means different things to different story, different times, different authors. I like Mexican Gothic because it reads like a pastiche to these stories, times, authors, whilst also telling its own story.
The pacing is excellent - it starts off slow, like any classic gothic horror novel would, with the world building and character writing. Before you know it, however, you're knee deep in a world of creepy, old men; evil, younger men; and the faithful woman of the house fighting to protect the family secret because she just has to. But also, twists and turns you saw coming a mile away (and some you didn't)....more
This is by far one of the worst books I've read. The characters are horrible - either evil and vile or such ridiculous doormats, I want to slam their This is by far one of the worst books I've read. The characters are horrible - either evil and vile or such ridiculous doormats, I want to slam their faces into something. I read the book because I saw the trailer for the movie, and I can say, with conviction, I will never watch the movie. Ever. I don't want to waste any more time elaborating on this steaming pile of horseshit....more
I think of her hair as black as coal, her lips as red as blood, her skin, snow-white. As do I. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is a fairy tale, nI think of her hair as black as coal, her lips as red as blood, her skin, snow-white. As do I. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is a fairy tale, nay, a beloved fairy tale about a young, beautiful girl with hair as black as ebony, lips as red as blood, and skin as white as snow. It is the story of the triumph of good over evil; of the victory of an innocent, loving and beautiful child over her clever, evil, equally beautiful step mother. But Neil Gaiman doesn't think so. Why? Because he's Neil fucking Gaiman and he can ruin any fairytale he wants.
You see, it's all about perspective. The kind and gentle (for the intents and purposes of this story only) stepmother says, "They call me wise, but I am far from wise, for all that I foresaw fragments of it, frozen moments caught in pools of water or in the cold glass of my mirror. If I were wise I would not have tried to change what I saw. If I were wise I would have killed myself before ever I encountered her, before ever I caught him."
"Wise, and a witch, or so they said, and I’d seen his face in my dreams and in reflections for all my life: sixteen years of dreaming of him before he reined his horse by the bridge that morning, and asked my name." At the ripe age of sixteen, she finds herself in love with the beautiful king of the land. Sixteen and but a child herself, she finds herself married to him, and caring (I use the word loosely here) for his five year-old daughter. Her eyes were black as coal, black as her hair; her lips were redder than blood. ... Her teeth seemed sharp, even then, in the lamplight. But of course, everything about the daughter is not as it seems, and tragedy befalls our heroine.
A landscape, unrecognisable after a snowfall; that is what she has made of my life.
Saying anything beyond this would, of course compromise the build of the story. I will say this, though; this book is not for the faint-hearted, as beautiful as it is. Neil Gaiman, you perverse weirdo. I didn't think I could ever love you more, but see, now, I do.
I'll leave you with this...metaphor. Autumn is the time of drying, of preserving, a time of picking apples, of rendering the goose fat. Winter is the time of hunger, of snow, and of death... ...more
Basically, what happens when Fifty Shades of Grey goes horribly wrong. I'll review it tomorrow. Basically, what happens when Fifty Shades of Grey goes horribly wrong. I'll review it tomorrow. ...more
I find myself hovering between three and four stars on this one. I know I'm not supposed to like a book like this, I guesNo. 200 on the BBC's Big Read
I find myself hovering between three and four stars on this one. I know I'm not supposed to like a book like this, I guess, but I do! In this classic (?) Gothic horror novel, we have, perhaps, one of the most famous incestuous relationships ever written. Not Sophocles incestuous, but incestuous nonetheless. Oh, and, while this is completely irrelevant, all I did while I read this book was hum Aerosmith's Toys in the Attic, so now I'm linking you to it.
Major spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk. Corinne Dollanganger (I spelt that right, right?) brings her four kids to live with her parents after the death of her beloved husband Christopher. The only catch is, Corinne's father Malcolm, for reasons (yet) unknown, disapproves of her marriage to Topher, and thus her four children (Our narrator Cathy, her older brother Chris, and her younger twin siblings Cory and Carrie) are to be kept hidden from him, while grandmother dearest Olivia, er... helps Corinne get into a more cordial relationship with her father, so that she can inherit is ginormous fortune. Olivia is like the '80s Umbridge I think. I hated her, the religious fanatic that she was, but well, she wasn't wrong when it came to predicting the, er, future of the relationship between her two older grandchildren.
The story drags a bit in the middle; there's only so much you can describe about the goings on in the lives of four children while they're cooped up in an attic. But then, things get really weird. Corinne becomes an alpha bitch, remarries, and starts ignoring her children. And how! I mean, wow, I though Olivia was a bad mother, but Corinne, oh Corinne! Then Cathy begins developing, and Chris becomes overcome by lust, because puberty. Also, they haven't really seen the outside world at all, so where do you put your pubescent rage? In each other. Or you know, your stepfather if you'd like, because Cathy kisses Bart, her mother's new husband, and after that, her brother motherfucking rapes her. I may be very close to losing my sanity, because Ms. Andrews is legit fucked in the head, and whatever goes on in her fucked up head, she writes. Like this is some serious Clockwork Orange shit man!
Yup. That's right, Chris and Cathy begin a forbidden, albeit passionate relationship with each other, and are (kind of) caught by grandma. To be honest, at this point I kind of feel sorry for her, for grandma, I mean. I mean, her entire family is majorly fucked up. Emphasis on fuck. As in they like fucking each other. Anyway, at some point Cory dies, because you don't fucking lock up five year old kids in a motherfucking attic and expect them to grow all healthy you cunt! And mommy dearest cares not. Because now she's all rich and happy. Also, it is ultimately revealed that the bitch was poisoning her own children by leaving out sugared doughnuts. What even. I can't. Just. Cannot.
Anyway, at least the ending's not all sad; the remaining three siblings do escape, and Cathy vows revenge on her miserable excuse for a mother. No, seriously, which mother does that? I am supremely close to mine, and I couldn't take Corinne seriously after a point. I do want to know what happens to Corinne and Olivia, but I need a hiatus before I get to the next one. Like a year-long hiatus. Because even though I have like Gestapo torture level tolerance to creepy stuff, I need to recover from this.
Why the 3 stars, then, you ask? Well, the writing is sublime, and the story is gripping to say the least. The characters were fucked up, sure, but somehow, I couldn't get myself to hate them. Even Corinne. I just, I'd read it again, who'm I kidding?...more
I have missed many metro stops reading this. My mother has yelled at me many times for not completing my applications before finishing this. I'm probaI have missed many metro stops reading this. My mother has yelled at me many times for not completing my applications before finishing this. I'm probably flunking my Deutsch exam because I binge-read this.
Loading...
