Review: Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

we need more codependent friendships in fiction

When they watched horror movies, it was the sight of the monster, the Other, that terrified Tristán and the idea of becoming the hero that seduced him. Montserrat saw herself in the faces of the monsters and did not wince.

After Mexican Gothic, I knew that I wanted to read more by this author, and I’m glad that this book was brought to my attention by

Lamar Ramos

on one of his posts, because I ended up loving this book even more than Mexican Gothic, and it has solidified my desire to just speed-run Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s entire bibliography. Alas, she’s quite prolific, so that will probably take some time. For now, let me explain why this book is so good.

Synopsis: Childhood friends Montserrat and Tristán are both in their late 30s and struggling to maintain their careers in the entertainment industry. Montserrat is a talented audio editor whose harsh personality makes it difficult for her to be liked by the men at work, while Tristán is a washed-up actor who hasn’t seen much success since a car accident left him scarred and destroyed his reputation. The pair of friends meets an old horror director, Abel, that tells them weird stories about a movie he was never able to finish, a movie that involves a Nazi cult and which is apparently cursed. Looking to end the curse and perhaps change their lives for the better, the three of them decide to finish the movie.