Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno - Garcia

 This book was my Book of the Month Club selection (if you're interested in a membership, please do me a favor and sign up on this link , thank you!).  I had heard rumblings of it in other places, all good, so I opted for it and it was totally worth it.

Noemi is the main character and her cousin, Catalina, has written a strange letter to their family from her home, where she has gone to live after marrying. She claims to see ghosts, that the walls of the house are alive and that her husband, Virgil, is poisoning her. Noemi leaves Mexico City, where she is enjoying wealth and attention, to go to the countryside, still suffering an economic depression after the collapse of the local economy (specifically a mine owned by Virgil's family). Noemi meets the Doyles, Virgil's family, and learns that they are so "Anglo" they brought over earth and people from England based upon the mistaken belife that it will make them successful. There is nastiness, rot, mold and mushrooms everywhere and slime seems to ooze from the walls, Ghostbuster style. Noemi is prohibited from talking to Catalina a whole lot, and is not allowed trips into town or to talk at dinner.  It's utterly bizarre.

As Noemi spends more time at the house, her dreams become odd too - she dreams of a woman with a gold face, a scary Virgil and dread.  The dread never really goes away.  

This novel touches on everything from race, to class and gender. There are interesting conversations related to eugenics and inbreeding and economics. There are issues related to loss of agency as well.  And we're always wondering what is lurking in the spaces. Definitely a must read.