strange and random happenstance

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: June 30th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
Rating: ★★★
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Noemí Taboada's is the life of the party. A wealthy socialite, she loves her modern life and all the men she's stringing along. With her red lipstick firmly affixed she feels like she could tackle anything the world can throw at her. Everything changes when she gets a letter from her cousin Catalina. Catalina is recently married and is convinced that her husband is trying to kill her. Noemí and her father worry that the once wealthy Virgil Doyle only married Catalina for her money and is now going to get rid of an inconvenient wife. Therefore it is up to Noemí to suss out the situation. She packs her bags and heads to High Place. The home is high in the mountains and shrouded by mist. It feels as if she's stepped back in time to a forgotten world where they can't even rely on the electricity and instead live by candlelight. The household consists of four Doyles and Catalina. There is Catalina's husband Virgil, and his father Howard, and Howard's first cousin Florence, and her son Francis. Florence rules the house with an iron first, but Howard is the power behind the throne. But the one thing they all seem agreed on is that Noemí should be allowed to see her cousin as little as possible. They hope they can dissuade her and she'll leave them alone. They obviously don't know Noemí. When Noemí can finally speak to Catalina her cousin begs her to seek out a healer, Marta Duval, in the small village of El Triunfo. Catalina says that despite what the family physician says, this medicine is the only thing that can help her. It helps her right into a seizure and Noemí is banned from seeing her cousin. But not that that concerns her too much, as she's started to have ghostly dreams and is sleepwalking. She's befriended Francis and along with information she has dug up it all points to the Doyles being dangerous. She decides she must leave. She can return home, get her father, and return for Catalina. Only the Doyles say she is not allowed to leave. She is to stay. She is to marry Francis. She is going to be one of them now.

The first, and in my mind, most important aspect of a good Gothic novel is location. If you get the location right it's hard to mess up the rest. Mexican Gothic nailed the location. High Place has oodles of Gothic atmosphere. There is this wonderful Crimson Peak vibe that just engulfed me and made me want to stay. I could picture every nook and cranny of that forbidding and compelling house and felt like I was there. Much like Daphne Du Maurier, Silvia Moreno-Garcia has created a memorable place and therefore Mexican Gothic is one of those rare occasions when I don't throw up my arms in protest when comparisons are made to my favorite Cornwall obsessed author. And yet... For once the location just wasn't enough... For me I think Mexican Gothic suffered from too much hype. Summer of 2020 it was THE BOOK everyone was talking about and recommending. Every online book club was reading it and it was flying off the shelves. Perhaps this was just because we hit the book club phase of Covid? I've been in a book club for years so I didn't experience this phase of the pandemic. Because while I enjoyed the book I didn't love it. But who knows, this could change, much like my opinion of Crimson Peak. I did not like that movie at first and learned to appreciate it in time once I got over what I expected it to be and accepted it for what it was; a Gothic love story, not Gothic horror. This here also has the love story elements and the horror elements, but oddly, despite the Gothic trappings, I felt this adhered more to magical realism. I mean, yes, we could even argue that we have science fiction elements similar to The Expanse, but I'm sticking to my guns with magical realism just because of the feeling from beginning to end. And as for the "villain" of the piece, the fungus amongus? I saw where she was headed too early and I didn't find it compelling enough for me to care about how it played out. That last act needed another polish because it felt too cobbled together and disjointed making me even more disinterested. But a real solid first act! Too bad it didn't last.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 2020, Book Club, Cornwall, Covid, Crimson Peak, Daphne Du Maurier, Going Gothic, High Place, Hype, Location, Magical Realism, Mexican Gothic, Money, Noemí Taboada, Science Fiction, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Expanse

A Promise of Ankles by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Anchor
Publication Date: December 8th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
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The official patter:
"The latest, delectably witty installment of Alexander McCall Smith's sumptuous 44 Scotland Street series.

For the residents of 44 Scotland Street, life in Edinburgh's intriguing New Town is a thing to be relished. After all, there are new faces to excite Domenica's anthropological imagination, precious moments with his triplets for Matthew to savor, and the prospect of a trip to the promised land of Glasgow for young Bertie.

But there are mysteries that need solving too. Could Angus Lordie's dog, Cyril - the only dog in Scotland with a gold tooth - have unearthed a Neanderthal skull? Does the long-suffering Stuart have any hope of kindling a new relationship when Bruce, ever the navel gazer and consummate seducer, effortlessly steps into his pas de deux? And how will the patrons of Big Lou's cafe react to the menu's imminent culinary transformation?

The stories of this wonderfully vibrant cast may take unexpected turns, but the warmth and humor at Scotland's most recognizable address will ultimately affirm the joy life brings us all."

It makes me sad that my mom isn't around to read the latest installment of her favorite series. 

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo
Published by: Tor.com
Publication Date: December 8th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 128 Pages
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The official patter:
"The cleric Chih finds themself and their companions at the mercy of a band of fierce tigers who ache with hunger. To stay alive until the mammoths can save them, Chih must unwind the intricate, layered story of the tiger and her scholar lover - a woman of courage, intelligence, and beauty - and discover how truth can survive becoming history.

Nghi Vo returns to the empire of Ahn and The Singing Hills Cycle in When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, a mesmerizing, lush standalone follow-up to The Empress of Salt and Fortune."

Such cover lust! It's so rich and luscious! 

A Universe of Wishes edited by Dhonielle Clayton 
Published by: Crown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: December 8th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
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The official patter:
"From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes a young adult fantasy short story collection featuring some of the best own-voices children's authors, including New York Times bestselling authors Libba Bray (The Diviners), V. E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic), Natalie C. Parker (Seafire), and many more. Edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles).

In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.

AUTHORS INCLUDE: Samira Ahmed, Jenni Balch, Libba Bray, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Natalie C. Parker, Rebecca Roanhorse, V. E. Schwab, Tara Sim, Nic Stone."

Because who doesn't want to read a story about saving yourself? 

Mercy by Mirka Andolfo
Published by: Image Comics
Publication Date: December 8th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 192 Pages
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The official patter:
"Mercy, a goth-inspired, Victorian monster series explores topics of "otherness," damnation and redemption, and what it means to be a monster in a horror graphic novel perfect for fans of Penny Dreadful, Crimson Peak, The Alienist, Parasol Protectorate, and Dark Shadows.

This new graphic novel by acclaimed creator Mirka Andolfo (Unnatural) is a gothic horror tale where mysteries and unspeakable sins are blended together in a unique and sensual way.

Washington State, late nineteenth century. During the frenzied historical era commonly known as the Klondike Gold Rush, a mysterious woman arrives in Woodsburgh, a small mining town close to the Canadian border.

It's been a few years since the Swanson mine was closed following the terrible accident that claimed the lives of so many men and women, including the owner's and the city it's still struggling in search for a new place on the map of the country.

Elegant and extraordinarily wealthy, Lady Hellaine arrives in the city accompanied by her faithful butler Goodwill and settles in one of the most luxurious mansions in town. A lifestyle that contrasts sharply with that of the majority of the population, forced to choose between humble crafts and illegal activities.

No one is aware of the reasons that led such a classy lady to move from Seattle to the small village, but her arrival certainly did not go unnoticed. Especially in the eyes of Lady Swanson, widow of the late mine owner and leading figure of the local bourgeoisie. Lady Hellaine's plans will bring her on a collision course with the powerful Lady Swanson, who, for reasons not entirely rational, distrusts the newcomer.

Meanwhile, the streets and surroundings of Woodsburgh are flooded in blood: a heinous creature is killing incautious citizens, wreaking havoc on their bodies. Enough to induce local authorities to impose a strict curfew after sunset.

And with the falling of the first snow, the "Woodsburgh Devil"'s fury seems to have even increased. What's the connection, if any, between this disturbing presence and the ivory-skinned stranger?

Who is Lady Hellaine, really? And what's her secret agenda?

Collects Mirka Andolfo's Mercy #1-6"

I picked up this series because it ticked so many of my Gothic boxes, but I stayed because it became something uniquely it's own. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 44 Scotland Street, A Universe of WIshes, Alexander McCall Smith, Comics, Crimson Peak, Dhonielle Clayton, Gothic, Mercy, Mirka Andolfo, Nghi Vo, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Published by: Penguin Classics
Publication Date: 1979
Format: Paperback, 176 Pages
Rating: ★★
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A young and blushing bride is rushed by her new husband to his isolated castle. She doesn't love him, but he is wealthy, and that decides her mother. Once in his domain he subjects her to humiliations and sexual sadism. Yet this is just his character. A character that will test his new wife beyond sanity. For he purposefully leaves her alone to her own devices and she finds that which brings her husband joy. Torture. Murder. Death. All his previous wives' corpses in the cellar. All brutally slain at her new husband's hand. Man's baser desires and his ability to overcome or embrace them run thematically through these ten classic stories which are reinterpretations and retellings of some of the most famous of fairy tales. Or distillations if you will, as Carter said, "My intention was not to do 'versions' or, as the American edition of the book said, horribly, 'adult' fairy tales, but to extract the latent content from the traditional stories." Beasts from vampires to werewolves stride across the pages of Carter's collection. Some of the beasts look dangerous but are truly kind, while man may look harmless yet he can be the most dangerous of all. And while they are adult, brutal and sensual, they aren't just versions, despite Carter not wanting them to be labelled as such she can't escape the classification, but they are something more. They are subversive, they are feminine, they are something entirely new that spawned many imitations and inspired many authors with her magical realism. They are their own thing, but the beginning of something new is often not the best or the final version of what was attempted.

There is no doubt in my mind that The Bloody Chamber is a classic. Female empowerment through the retelling and restructuring of fairy tales was at the time it was written original and has now evolved into a subgenre all it's own thanks to the groundwork laid by Carter. Yet because something is a classic doesn't mean it's enjoyable. Yes, you can have admiration for something that you just don't quite like, and that's how I feel about this collection of short stories. I feel as if they were written to be studied, not enjoyed. Carter was pushing boundaries, establishing ideas that would development into today's literary tropes, but these stories come across as experiments, some failing and some succeeding. As a whole they are overly written with obscure words meant to be studied for hidden and double meanings. This style of writing doesn't really flow. It has meaning but that doesn't mean it's fun to read. Of the ten short stories the titular story is the strongest. Based on "Bluebeard" this overly sexual story plays with the underpinnings of the original tale of a beastly marriage and allows it to become somehow modern with the introduction of technology and also feminist with the bride being saved by her mother instead of her brothers. Yet what I was forcibly struck by is how this story has effected other storytellers. You can see how it influenced Susan Hill's writing of The Woman in Black. But more importantly, I defy you to think of any world in which Guillermo del Toro could have made Crimson Peak without The Bloody Chamber having existed first.

Despite how groundbreaking a collection this is there is a repetitive quality that just grinds on you. Carter is in several instances taking the same source material and trying to spin it into a different interpretation. Of the ten stories two are based on "Beauty and the Beast" while three, almost a third of the book, are based on "Little Red Riding Hood," though one of them, in a way I can not fathom, supposedly incorporates Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. Was it the mirror? Please someone explain this to me! So when you get to the end of the book and you have three stories all coming out of the same source, you might like the first, by the second you feel as if you've already read it, and by the third you are just sick of the story. It doesn't help that she literally uses the same turn of phrase again and again. Observations, words, structure, they add to the repetitive feeling. Yet if we were to take a bigger view, using the same theme, the same story, the same language over and over is like an artist creating a series of paintings. There's a unifying theme. There's a similarity. There's something undefinable that the artist is bringing to the work that makes them all a unit. So while the stories in The Bloody Chamber might repeat, might make clunky transitions from one story to the next, I find it fascinating how you are looking at her process. You are seeing her develop a series of ideas. Like the visual artist, she is working through shit, and as I've said previously, that is why this collection is interesting. You can studying it, you can break it down, and you can see how she's working through it.

Carter isn't just working through concepts, she's also working through ways in which to tell a story. So yes, occasionally the stories can end up feeling like writing exercises watching how she plays with narrating the story, but never once did it slip into that smugness that defined the "codas" in John Scalzi's Redshirts. There it felt like pretension, here it feels like experimentation, and that is the saving grace. The two stories that play with this the most are "Puss-in-Boots" and "The Erl-King." The later story is almost incomprehensibly dense and there's a weird disconnect with the narration slipping between second and third person, and yes, I will always have issues with second person narration, there's something about it that rubs me the wrong way. Yet "Puss-in-Boots" works in switching between first and third person. The slipping between the two from personal to detached just becomes the personality of a cat. Through this little narrative slip she is able to make her whole story imbued with the personality of her protagonist. So while I may criticize this roughness to the stories, this literary exercise feel, sometimes it works so well that I can not fault her for trying something again and again until she got it right. I guess what I just find most interesting about this book is that it's an author willing to show their flaws. Their process is on display and once again I come back to the importance of this work, not as a book you sit down and read for fun, but one you sit down and study. You embrace the lessons you learn. Though not this time through fairy tale morality, but through the tricks of the storyteller.

All the tricks and twists and literary play mean that while some stories are long others are brutally short and brutally violent. While "The Courtship of Mr. Lyon" could fall under the brutally short descriptor, a retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" at top speed, only one story falls under both categories, "The Snow Child," which even Wikipedia deems nothing more than a vignette. After I read this story my only thoughts were "WTF did I just read!?!" The story is literally only two pages long and involves a Count wishing a child, a "young woman" into being who dies and he then rapes her corpse and she turns into snow! What the hell is this story supposed to be about? What is the moral? Most versions of "The Snow-child" are about infidelity and desire, so sure, we've got that here what with the Count raping a young girl in front of his wife... but I just don't know how to handle this. Fairy Tales have always been about subjugation, teaching lessons so children and wives will behave, yet Carter has made her stories more about empowerment and belonging, finding you place in the world even if it's amongst the beasts. What does the rape of anyone, let alone a snow corpse, have to do with any of the messages and themes she's been toying with? Why didn't anyone go, you know, your stories, they can be a bit brutal, but this one, well this one is a step too far, so let's just nix it and move onto the moody vampire? OK? Seriously, MOODY VAMPIRE no more rape! I'd even take a fourth retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood" than to EVER have to think of Carter's version of "The Snow Child" ever again.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Angela Carter, Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard, Crimson Peak, Fairy Tales, Going Gothic, Guillermo del Toro, Lewis Carroll, Little Red Riding Hood, Rape, The Bloody Chamber, The Snow Child, The Woman in Black