Velvet Was The Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
My Rating: Four out of Five Stars.
My Review on Goodreads
I will admit that this one threw me a little, after reading Mexican Gothic and Gods of Jade and Shadow. Not that I want to pigeonhole an artist or writer, but this had a very different feel. This was described as a noir thriller. I struggled to find the noir aspects, but I agree it is more of a thriller than anything related to the fantastical, horrific and magical realism of the other two books. I feel like it's closer to being like a soap opera. I haven't watched telenovelas since I was young, but maybe even having a telenovela feel. Regardless, the more I listened, the more immersed in the story I became.
What I enjoy about Moreno-Garcia so much is her layered characterization. Honestly, she's not afraid to make her characters borderline unlikeable in a hyperreal way. What I mean is those ordinary traits that you see in others you know (and often in yourself) that are frankly irritating. Maite is like that. She is neurotic, self-absorbed (in a reflexive way as she's been ignored by her family), and makes a lot of poor choices. She lies very casually, and instead of doing things to better her situation, she relies on unhelpful self-defense mechanisms. She immerses herself in fantasy and what could be instead of working toward what can be. Having said that, I couldn't help rooting for her in some way. She wasn't a bad person. She just a regular person. Her POV is so essential to the story because a woman who is trying to not be bored by her life, soon realizes how safe her life was and the uncertainty that comes along with a little adventure.
Elvis, I found more likable, although some of his actions were cringeworthy. He has an underdog kind of feel that gained my positive feelings towards him. Like Maite, morally speaking, he's very gray, and he has an uneasy relationship with violence that makes him the right guy for this particular story.
It's really interesting how initially it seems so unbelievable that Elvis and Maite's paths will cross. They seem so different from each other. But they have a shared interest in music that makes them feel somewhat like kindred souls.
Going back to my thoughts about this being a telenovela, I would also add that it's historical fiction, telling the story of a turbulent time in Mexico that many would be completely unaware of it. I learned a lot about what was happening in Mexico in the 70s, and it's very fascinating and quite distressing. Although there's a fair amount of violence inherent to the story, it's not described in a graphic or lurid way. I was afraid that it would go in that direction, but fortunately it did not.
It's really hard to write this review without going into great detail, because that detail is integral to the story and it's part of the journey. While this story probably won't work for a lot of fans who are looking for the kind of speculative fiction that Moreno-Garcia excels in, it will work for those who are attracted to her rich exploration of Mexican culture and history. I absolutely appreciated that about this story. I found that with her other words, it was richly grounded in the period in which it takes place, and as such, I felt like I was observing everything as if I was part of the story.
The imagery doesn't have the same lushness of the other two books, but this is a different time and a different story. Instead, this feels like the early 70s in everyway, both the good parts, and the bad parts. The turmoil of a time of great change in which old systems are giving way to new ways of thinking and expression, and where violence is used as a tool for power to be retained.
Honestly, I don't think I would have reached for this book at all if it wasn't for the author. And at times, I wondered where it was going. But I reached a turning point where I couldn't stop listening to it. I was sucked in. While it wasn't the most thrilling book, for the most part, there was an air of low level tension that builds very nicely to the climax. Honestly, I think I'd like to see this as a movie.
What I enjoy about Moreno-Garcia so much is her layered characterization. Honestly, she's not afraid to make her characters borderline unlikeable in a hyperreal way. What I mean is those ordinary traits that you see in others you know (and often in yourself) that are frankly irritating. Maite is like that. She is neurotic, self-absorbed (in a reflexive way as she's been ignored by her family), and makes a lot of poor choices. She lies very casually, and instead of doing things to better her situation, she relies on unhelpful self-defense mechanisms. She immerses herself in fantasy and what could be instead of working toward what can be. Having said that, I couldn't help rooting for her in some way. She wasn't a bad person. She just a regular person. Her POV is so essential to the story because a woman who is trying to not be bored by her life, soon realizes how safe her life was and the uncertainty that comes along with a little adventure.
Elvis, I found more likable, although some of his actions were cringeworthy. He has an underdog kind of feel that gained my positive feelings towards him. Like Maite, morally speaking, he's very gray, and he has an uneasy relationship with violence that makes him the right guy for this particular story.
It's really interesting how initially it seems so unbelievable that Elvis and Maite's paths will cross. They seem so different from each other. But they have a shared interest in music that makes them feel somewhat like kindred souls.
Going back to my thoughts about this being a telenovela, I would also add that it's historical fiction, telling the story of a turbulent time in Mexico that many would be completely unaware of it. I learned a lot about what was happening in Mexico in the 70s, and it's very fascinating and quite distressing. Although there's a fair amount of violence inherent to the story, it's not described in a graphic or lurid way. I was afraid that it would go in that direction, but fortunately it did not.
It's really hard to write this review without going into great detail, because that detail is integral to the story and it's part of the journey. While this story probably won't work for a lot of fans who are looking for the kind of speculative fiction that Moreno-Garcia excels in, it will work for those who are attracted to her rich exploration of Mexican culture and history. I absolutely appreciated that about this story. I found that with her other words, it was richly grounded in the period in which it takes place, and as such, I felt like I was observing everything as if I was part of the story.
The imagery doesn't have the same lushness of the other two books, but this is a different time and a different story. Instead, this feels like the early 70s in everyway, both the good parts, and the bad parts. The turmoil of a time of great change in which old systems are giving way to new ways of thinking and expression, and where violence is used as a tool for power to be retained.
Honestly, I don't think I would have reached for this book at all if it wasn't for the author. And at times, I wondered where it was going. But I reached a turning point where I couldn't stop listening to it. I was sucked in. While it wasn't the most thrilling book, for the most part, there was an air of low level tension that builds very nicely to the climax. Honestly, I think I'd like to see this as a movie.
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