Women in Horror Month: A Review of “Mestiza Blood” by V. Castro
Mestiza Blood by V. Castro
V. Castro is good. V. Castro is very, very good, and if you haven’t picked up any of her work yet, I would sincerely ask what you’re waiting for. Life is short. Check out V’s fiction, though if you’re not sure where to start, Mestiza Blood might be a good place.
This is a collection of very high quality, imaginative, and horror filled short stories. V explores various themes throughout, all focused on the Chicana experience. Her writing is vivid, drawing you directly into the lives of these women without wasting a single word. Not every writer is capable of that. There’s revenge, lots of spilled blood, and moments of pure, sweet satisfaction. It’s also unflinchingly honest, about what it means to be a woman, what it means to be a Latina woman, what it means to come up against the kind of difficulties life likes to throw at people who aren’t cis, het, white men.
V combines elements of folklore and mythology with horror tropes and modern lives and it works really well in her hands. Out of all the stories, “Truck Stop” was my favourite. It’s raw and beautiful, with love right at the heart, but plenty of horror elements, as well as drawing from the ‘Otherness’ often experienced by marginalised people.
V Castro writes these women as no others have, giving us a variety in the characters we encounter but seeming to draw from her own experience to really make them come to life. “Cam Girl Sally” is shiver inducing and satisfying. “Donkey Lady Bridge” uses striking imagery to drive home all too common events. These tales speak to the Chicana experience in a way we all need to pay attention to. There are elements of the way women are sexualised, especially WOC, how quickly lives can change, how there is always something constantly to fight against. These women succeed, for the most part, overcoming difficult challenges and reclaiming their own lives from those people who do not give a shit, and I think that’s where a lot of the power in this collection comes from. There’s hope, here, and strength, and I hope V has more collections in the future, because I sure as hell will be reading them.
Review by Elle Turpitt
Twitter & Instagram: @elleturpitt
Website: www.elleturpitt.com
I received this e-book from publishers Flame Tree Press via NetGalley for review consideration.
