Hi there!
Welcome to our September Intermission for Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic.
Trigger Warning: Racism, Eugenics, Sexism, Ageism, Poison, Medical Events, Seizures, Mental Health, Visions, Haunting, Suicide Talk, Religion, Illness, Inbreeding
Overall
Our first impressions were that we didn't know what was going on, but then we began to really like it. It reminded us of The Haunting of Hill House with a touch of racism. Nice. So far we really love it. It's giving good spooky vibes while also facing some pretty difficult truths about colonialism and racism.
Noemí
In the first half of the book, Noemí is just observing and collecting information. She's not a bumbling idiot, but she's also not an action hero...yet. We love that she cares about Catalina, and we love that she's an inquisitive and curious soul, but she's definitely holding back her superhero tendencies right now. Brieanna thinks that she will end up saving everyone (who should be saved).
Noemí believes that Catalina is not trying to kill herself because they are Catholic and suicide is a sin. So the seizure that happens while Noemí is with Catalina, and the seizure that happened before Noemí even got there, could both either be suicide attempts - or attempts to poison her by her controlling housemates.
Noemí reminds Ceraya of a high-charisma DND Character, because she's the popular kid, and she's a flirt too - she gets whatever she wants, and then ends up thrown in these crazy situations that really test her integrity and creative skills.
Her sleepwalking and dreams are memories or visions? She's seeing the past somehow in her mind. Which is spooky. She said she would know when she was sleepwalking because she said it felt different when she was a child. We want to know what this has to do with the rest of the story. So does Noemí.
We don't understand why Noemí is dragging her feet either. Perhaps for plot reasons, she's staying.
Francis
We like the little cutie for sure. We love him, he's adorable and so nice, and actually respects Noemí. He gives her information when it's really needed, and he doesn't necessarily agree with his family's choices, but he doesn't rebel against them either. We like the way that he talks to her - like she's allowed to be there. Everyone else lets her be there because they really don't have a choice, and they know that if they were to send her away, then her dad would have come and gotten Catalina already.
Francis seems to be Noemí's only friend in the house, and we're afraid he's going to flip or something is going to be wrong with him in the second half of the book. Something is going to happen, we're just not sure what. We hope it's not bad for Francis.
Catalina & Virgil
We think that the family needs Catalina for something. The way that the family talks about Catalina is like they need her for something and that gives us the willies. Something's up. It doesn't seem like money either. It's the mystery.
We are extremely worried about Catalina. We both think she's going to die. Catalina keeps saying that there are people or voices in the walls. What is she talking about? Especially the telegram that Catalina sent? If we had gotten a letter from our sisters that sounded like that we would be out of our minds trying to go save our sibling. Fully alarming. Instead of sending Noemí, their dad should have just gone himself with some men in suits and just taken Catalina back. Even if she was lying or having an episode, something triggered it- and that something is in that house, and Catalina needs to be out of there.
Virgil is a little creepy. He seems to care a lot about Catalina, but not in the way you would expect. He isn't really attending to her mental health issues, but he is treating her for TB, which doesn't quite cover all the bases. He's very inappropriate with Noemí - finding her sleepwalking which is strange. He put his robe around her and lingered a little too long while making a suggestive comment. And then when he was yelling at Noemí, he was touching her at the same time. Weird. Something is going on behind the scenes that is guiding his behavior somehow.
Howard & His Wives
Icky man is icky. He's the racist eugenics nasty man. He believes in inferior and superior races and survival of the fittest. According to Noemí he is just like Henry VIII and gives off creepo vibes. He also will not die somehow and is old and very sick. Not to wish harm but he can totally suck it.
Howard's Wives. Let's talk about them. One of them was his wife's younger sister. Agnes was the first wife, the older sister. We think that's the pregnant woman in the vision because they said she never gave birth, and she and Howard were only together for a year. Alice was the younger sister and the second wife, who produced heirs. Noemi was in the greenhouse and saw a statue of Agnes, but wondered why Agnes had a statue and Alice only had a small picture. We were confused that the plaque said "Mother." Agnes must have made that gold dust thing and gave it to them. We are piecing it together. Slowly. They don't say that Agnes died in childbirth, but in this dream/vision, we think she gave birth to this other thing and is somehow a mother in that aspect.
Ruth. Killing everyone. Bold move. Ruth was Virgil's Sister, and she snapped, killing as many family members as she could before killing herself. She shot her cousin Michael, her mother Alice, and then her aunt and uncle as well. Amazing.
They also mentioned Florence. She left and then came back with some guy named Richard - who went kinda crazy and he killed himself. Florence and Richard gave back to Francis.
Ouroboros
Conceptually, the Ouroboros stands for infinity - there is something going along with the same bloodline for infinity, because of the inbreeding. Virgil doesn't give Noemí a straight answer about it when she brings it up with him, which is frustrating. We think it has to do with immortality too - life for infinity. It seems more important than the book is letting on. This is likely a reveal that's going to happen in the second half of the book.
Where We Are Now
~The very last scene we saw was a sleep-walking session with Noemí who dreams/visions that a woman gives birth to a tumor, and then it bursts open with golden spores, which is insane. She wakes at the foot of the stairs, listening intently. To what? Maybe we find out next time.
Where We Go From Here
What are the sleepwalking and visions about?
Are there voices in the walls? Or People?
Why is Noemí dragging her feet when it comes to Catalina?
Are they sucking on Catalina's and Noemí's souls? Seems like it.
Conclusion
We are SO SO SO SO EXCITED to wrap this baby up just in time for spooky szn. Definitely noir creeps come in to play for this one. See you in the next one!
Ceraya & Brieanna
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