I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read a lot of Mexican literature, but I’m working on it, and Aura by Carlos Fuentes doesn’t disappoint. I knew nothing about it until someone recommended it for my book club. I went in completely blind, and it was great. The story is told in the second person, which creates a weird sensation while reading “you walk here”, “you open the door”, “you are surprised”. It’s one of those books that makes me so happy I don’t have aphantasia because it really made me feel like I was the protagonist, and I was the one doing everything being narrated.
This is a novella, clocking in at around 60 pages in length, but it uses those 60 pages to their full extent. The story itself mixes gothic themes, magical realism, and mystery. The book does a fantastic job in making the reader maintain an eerie, unsettling feeling throughout the whole story. It constantly shows us things that shouldn’t be there, and just keeps you on your toes all the time.
Is it a perfect book? Not for me. The ending feels a little rushed, even for a novella. The resolution of the story sort of just comes out of nowhere, it’s not enough of a problem to deter me from recommending the book, but it does hold it back a bit for me.
If you’ve never heard about a video game demo about 10 years ago called P.T., I suggest you check it out, it has a very similar vibe to this book, although the game was much scarier in my opinion.
If you’re looking for a quick read to get you out of a reading funk, or just a great gothic story, I highly recommend you check this out.
Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐☆