Following Devon Book Club’s #fantasyfortnight event, my reading list has grown substantially. In turn I’ve been able to share some of my recommendations, including the titles in this blog. I have my local St Thomas library to thank. I’ve always regarded libraries as an essential hub of the community, and in the time of a global pandemic, they came to the fore. Courtesy of the library’s online click and collect service, I’ve been able to get my hands on some really great reads.
First up:
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Noemi receives a letter from her recently married cousin, Catalina: ‘He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemi. You have to save me.’
And so begins this gothic novel set in a remote mansion called High Place, in 1950s Mexico.
What awaits Naomi is a seemingly eccentric, macabre family who instantly set a menacing scene. Built on the wealth of a fading mining empire, the walls of High Place hold the family’s secrets of violence and madness. Headstrong Noemi fights to stand her ground against the family’s indomitable will, making her a character I was instantly rooting for. But the house itself begins to invade Noemi’s dreams.
With a fascinating and atmospheric backdrop, the author sets the mood of this enchanting, eerie novel, bringing to life the strange world in a convincing way. Dark secrets and decaying glamour provide the mystery and suspense. Blood and guts, ghosts, and a dose of eugenics bring edge-of-the-seat horror. At times I was reminded of the Skeleton Key, in so much as the story keeps you hanging – will she ever get out?
The City We Became by N.K. Jemison
“Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She’s got five.”
Five New Yorkers must discover their role as protectors, and come together to defend their city against an ancient evil stirring beneath the earth.
Having been to New York, the setting was familiar, and this novel was a wonderful way to revisit a place I loved. The author describes the book as a homage to her city, and it certainly feels like it. For the reader, it’s an immersive experience into this vibrant and eclectic place, as New York is an essential character in the story.
The elusive identities of the five protectors are intrinsic to their locations in the five boroughs of Brooklyn, The Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. The diversity of characters highlighted the intersectionality of the mosaic of identities that makes New York City and other cities so great. With Jemison’s acute observations of the personal and political, and her razor-sharp tackling of contemporary issues, this cracking fantasy reveals the soul of New York.
What are you reading?
