PIÑATA BY LEOPOLDO GOUT {BOOK REVIEW}
30/3/2023
 a diverting read which made good use of a threatening Mexican location, taking characters out of their comfort zone and provided many uncomfortable moments when lovely Luna turns into something significantly darker. Piñata: A Novel by Leopoldo Gout Publisher : Tor Nightfire (25 April 2023) Language : English Hardcover : 304 pages ISBN-10 : 1250781175 ISBN-13 : 978-1250781178 A Horror Book Review by Tony Jones An intriguing possession novel with a convincing Mexican heartbeat Although Leopoldo Gout has a few books behind him, I first came across him way back in 2008 when he co-authored one of the excellent YA science fiction series Daniel X: Alien Hunter with James Patterson. Five other novels have since followed, including thrillers, horror and YA fantasy, before his latest release Piñata. Advance praise has connected Gout to some big genre names, including Paul Tremblay, V Castro and Stephen Graham Jones with “A Head Full of Ghosts meets Mexican Gothic in Piñata, a terrifying possession tale….” being one of many memorable quotes. These are honest and accurate comparisons and if you are a fan of these three authors there is a strong chance you will enjoy this book also. Piñata was a very solid read, but it failed to blow me away as I felt I had travelled across this type of territory many times previously. Ultimately it concerns an ancient cursed or haunted piñata, with some wider social commentary about colonisation and the struggles of women in modern day Mexico. Some of the non-supernatural sequences, and particularly the disintegration of the family unit with the mum struggling to succeed at work, contrasted nicely with those with the possession of the girl. The manner in which the child went downhill was sensibly restrained and lacked any of the head spinning associated with films like The Exorcist. The story kicks off with single-parent Carmen Sanchez returning to her Mexican homeland after years away to supervise the restoration of an ancient abbey which is being converted into a hotel. Carmen might be Mexican, but she is still seen as a foreigner and struggles to manage the male dominated construction crew who are not used to taking orders from a woman. A decent sized section of the novel focusses on this part of the story with every clash increasing Carmen’s anxieties and imposter syndrome, which is amplified by the fact that in her time away from Mexico she has forgotten how dangerous her homeland truly is. A multitude of missing posters and never-ending newspaper stories of murders, torture, rape and kidnappings only ramp-up her anxieties and was a threatening backdrop adding atmosphere to proceedings. At no point in Piñata is Carmen not stressed and not too much supernatural happens in the first half with the plot edging into family kitchen-sink territory. Her surly sixteen-year-old daughter Izel wishes she were back in New York, whilst her bubbly eleven-year-old Luna is much more open to embracing local culture. Carmen’s permanent state of anxiety tested my patience, forever getting stressed when losing sight of her daughters on multiple occasions and not letting them wander outside unaccompanied, which particularly riled the teenager. Whilst Carmen continues to clash with her site supervisor an accident at the worksite unearths a stash of ancient artifacts in a hidden room, including a very old piñata which had some connection to religion before the arrival of the Spanish colonists. What followed was fairly predictable with the object beginning to change the normally chirpy and open Luna into a much darker character. These family moments were very nicely handled, even if it took Carmen an age to accept there was something wrong with her younger daughter. Even though the elder daughter Izel was self-obsessed and not particularly likable she was very believable and a perfectly pitched teen who came into her own when she realised things were going south with her normally happily go lucky younger sibling. Other local characters are thrown into the mix who are aware of the pre-Spanish culture and superstitions, including a clunky and unnecessary storyline involving a coyote journey into America. For the main characters the second half of the plot makes a smooth jump back to New York and some of the school scenes involving Luna, her classes, teachers and bullies were amongst the strongest in the book as they nicely clash the supernatural with every-day events. Piñata was an entertaining possession novel which even though did not do anything especially new was a diverting read which made good use of a threatening Mexican location, taking characters out of their comfort zone and provided many uncomfortable moments when lovely Luna turns into something significantly darker. Tony Jones Piñata: |
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