Madeline
Mexican Gothic starts as a sane and practical story. Nothing about the story is crazy, insane, or farfetched. This is not norm for most ghost stories that start with a creep factor. But just like other ghost stories, it gets crazy real quick; however, this is a new kind of ghost story. It is the kind of ghost story that may make you believe in ghosts. The kind of ghosts that come back to haunt you long after they are gone from this earth. And if it does not make you believe in ghosts, make you believe in horrible nightmares and hallucinations.
Premise of Mexican Gothic
Noemi, a rich socialite from Mexico City is asked by her father to check on her newly wedded cousin. Her cousin moved to the country after marrying an Englishman Neomi had never previously met. This request comes out of a strange letter Noemi and her father had received. She doesn’t know what she is about to walk into but has concern that something with her cousin is not right.
The second Naomi walks into the house it feels like a very strange situation. Something is off about the house. At first it is just a feeling Noemi has but, the feeling starts to show itself, not just in feeling but physically as well. Both the house and the situation Noemi finds herself in gets weirder and weirder and the story goes on until it has become a new kind of ghost story. Before the story ends, it is clear that it is impossible for Naomi and her cousin to leave a house. The ghosts and power of the house is just too strong.
Will They Make This a Movie?
My answer to this question is, “I hope not!” First, I think it would be really difficult to make the strange things that occur in the story come to life. One of the great things about books and audiobooks is that these types of supernatural situations are able to be whatever the reader wants it to be.
If this story is converted, my concern is that this new kind of ghost story will be converted into the old kind of ghost story. It is not impossible to successfully translate this type of supernatural to the silver screen, but it will not be easy. If they do make a movie of this book, I may need to add this book to The Book Was Better post.
Second, there are way too many snakes in the story. Clearly, if they make a movie, I will need to watch it. But due to my great fear of snakes, I would end up hiding my eyes the entire movie. If they do decide to make Mexican Gothic a movie, I hope they decide to animate the snakes or if I am really lucky, remove them all together.
Final Thoughts
This was a very different book from any that I have ever read. It has a very different new kind of ghost story that I had never previously read. The ghosts and the supernatural nature of this book took a very unique spin on traditional ghost stories. Given the hallucination piece of the story, one could argue that a story like this could appear in reality. This was not my favorite book this year, let alone of all time, that being said, it was worth the read and I would be interested to see the possibility of a movie and if not, the next thing this author comes out with.
Edit: While getting ready to post this article, I came across a news article stating that in fact they are making this into a Drama Series. Forehead smack!
