By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
This book is about Noemi Toboada traveling to a remote part of Mexico to “rescue” her cousin, Catalina, from either her new husband, insanity, or debilitating sickness – maybe a combination thereof. Catalina has sent a rambling letter to Noemi’s father requesting aid from the “voices in the walls” that are speaking to her. All of his attempts at diplomacy through her husband, Virgil, are met with curt disavowal or urbane subterfuge. Thus, Noemi is sent to gather information and Catalina if necessary.
The book starts with an abrupt, haunting, inciting event, and from there the reader is subjected to the slow, meticulous burn de rigeur of Gothic novels. Catalina’s new home, High Place, is a Victorian mansion falling to neglect. Though situated in the Mexican countryside, only English is permitted to be spoken when silence is not the preferred state. There is a decrepit, chauvinist patriarch bullying all players with his whims. A strict, enforcer of an Aunt determined to preserve the ways of the house. Finally, we encounter numerous male tropes: the local doctor who sees more than he lets on but is powerless to help, the handsome male married to Noemi’s cousin but burning with passion and perhaps evil, and the misunderstood nephew/cousin of the family who has morals and intelligence but lacks conviction.
I did grow impatient for things to start happening, but that is Gothic style after all. Once they do, I was pleased with the unique plot points, the motivations and mettle of the characters, and the satisfying spookiness and violence of a well-told ghost story. Definitely evocative of Bronte, I enjoyed the ride through the mines, the mansion, and they mystery of the Mexican countryside.
Pros & Cons & Potential Spoilers
Pros
- Beautiful old mansion, crumbling away on top of an old silver mine in a remote village – perfect setting
- A well-read, future anthropologist as a main character who can disarm men with her beauty but back them in a corner with her wit
- A sordid family history told by the village healer who takes cigarettes as payment to offer the statues of saints in her cottage
Cons
- Off-putting lustiness of a ninety year old man, complete with pustules
- Megalomania of same man – but you have to hate the villain after all