Velvet Was the Night

A really cool, anxiety-inducing historical suspense set around real events in 1970s Mexico. At the beginning of the novel, neither of our shifting-point-of-view characters has much to recommend them—Elvis is a government goon-for-hire with shallow aspirations, and Maite is a depressed secretary with low self esteem and kleptomania. Neither seems to have a lot of empathy or concern for other people, but they are also so intriguingly relatable, with their quirks, passions, and identical longing for the real attachments and support both their lives are lacking. Elvis and Maite don't know each other, but both are drawn into a dangerous conflict between the corrupt government and the idealistic counterculture, formed around a missing woman show more in possession of some damning photographs. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat, hoping our two protagonists can make it through the ambushes and shootouts unscathed—and maybe to one another. show less

This is marketed as noir, and many of the traditional tropes are indeed present. There are hard-boiled gangsters (government-sponsored, CIA-trained hoodlums charged with stifling left-wing uprisings), betrayal (political, romantic, emotional), and a pervasive sense of moral ambiguity – even the central protagonist, Maite, is not without sin. There’s the go-to noir plot trope of various stakeholders in pursuit of a treasure – not, in this case, a Maltese Falcon, but rolls of film alleged to contain photos damaging to the country’s right-wing government.

Instead of a femme fatale, however, Moreno-Garcia gives us Maite, a timid, sad-sack, past-her-prime secretary who’s just living her little life until her more beautiful, more show more vivacious neighbor asks her to cat-sit, catapulting Maite into an adventure involving right wing-government forces (various factions, all competing with the others for power), a “commie” student art collective, and Russians. And instead of Bogie? We get Elvis, a young lad hired as muscle by one of the right-wing factions, brighter than is good for him and beginning to learn, the hard way, about betrayal.

Perhaps the thing that left me most conflicted, though: the fact that one figures out, early on, that Moreno-Garcia is a bit too gentle and empathetic to be able to pulling off a genre this unforgiving. Noir should start bleak, take the reader through a journey of disillusionment, then screech to a halt at the corner of Betrayal and Cynicism. But almost immediately Moreno-Garcia begins foreshadowing that her protagonists are going to end up together, and as much as I enjoy a good “happily ever after,” this did significantly undermine the emotional core of the tale.

The story is well-paced and generally well told. But noir can be a difficult genre to pull off: it’s challenging to make readers care about politics, violence, and morally-compromised characters. I did struggle at times to find a reason to carry on, especially since one of the characteristics of noir that I most enjoy – the witty wordplay and mordant sense of humor – is mostly absent here. (I’m not sure why, as I suspect Moreno-Garcia has the talent to pull it off – but then again, Chandler and Hammett set the bar pretty impossibly high.) Moreover, the fact that our two protagonists, Maite and Elvis, almost never actually interact means that there’s no sexual tension keeping things fraught. One reads on to see how the thing is going to play out, but I’m not sure I’m convinced that the pay-off was worth the effort I expended. show less

To say that Moreno-Garcia’s writing is always fresh, original and entertaining is a fact. She brings her talent to a thriller about Mexico’s Dirty War in the 1970’s. Through the eyes of two different people, Maite, a single woman working as a secretary wishing for more to her life and Elvis the hired killer for a group of enforcers who are determined to squash communism. I didn’t realize that this book was going to turn into a noir story, but it did with a vengeance. Maite, finds herself the target of the government when she agrees to take care of a neighbor’s cat for a few days. The few days turn into many and Maite starts looking for her neighbor, who is an outspoken critic of the government with many anti-government show more friends. Because of this, Elvis and two other thugs are assigned to watch her. The tension and the violence Maite finds leads to an ending which no reader will anticipate. show less

What does this book have to say? It’s just plot, just pablum to keep you chewing. There’s nothing new here and nothing complex, emotionally or intellectually. And what’s worse is the novel’s self-conscious needle-dropping (there’s even an authorial playlist!) and wannabe noirishness. For all the carefully curated songs, there’s no sense of time or place (CDMX, ‘71). Just an overweening lowbrow pretentiousness and sloppy writing like:

The tension and excitement of the past few days was the kindle they required.

The kindling, surely? A standard awful sex scene follows, and everything is described so mundanely it hurts.

We’re reminded time and time again that the heroine (she’s hardly anti) is independent, likes pop music, show more and is just right for the (hardly anti) hero. Every twist of the plot is as foreseeable as the twist of my neck when a bottle is uncorked. Every character is young and made of papier-mâché except El Mago, the most interesting one and the one written off as a plain ole asshole.

I’m not super into noir but what little I’ve read and seen has an overpowering sense of atmosphere and moral quandary. This book doesn’t. show less

The first thing you should know about Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s novels is that they are wildly different across genres and stories. While Velvet was the Night doesn’t reach the dizzying sense of urgency of Mexican Gothic, it’s unfair to compare the two. This is a smart, interesting noir set in 1970s Mexico City with more than a few history lessons as the city is in political turmoil.

There are two main characters, Maite and Elvis, who don’t meet until the very end of the novel. Their storylines are separate but linked, so it sort of feels like a dual narrative. Maite is the relative innocent in the whole thing. She’s a secretary with a thing for music and Secret Romance comic books, who mainly lives in her head because the real show more world isn’t that exciting for her. She’s being badgered by her family to get married, give up her car and settle down. She lives pay check to pay check, and is rather unknowledgeable when it comes to current events. (There’s a lot going on politically during the course of the book as students protest and political unrest continues, while various government departments seem to work in opposition to each other). Elvis is part of a secret, government approved group (the Hawks) who are there to bring the students back into line. It’s a bloody, secretive business. But then Maite’s neighbour goes missing and word has it that she has some film containing damning photos of the government. Elvis’s boss puts him in charge of finding Leonora, while Maite just wants the money promised by Leonora and to stop looking after her cat. Both of them get tangled up with a lot more than they expect, involving corruption, spies and those who are determined for this to all blow over…

Velvet was the Night is more a slow burn, which is fitting with the noir style. I must admit not to knowing a lot about the politics of Mexico during that time, but a quick internet search was helpful in understanding what was going on. I didn’t find Maite overly likeable – she’s looking for pity to extricate herself from her own messes (e.g. not being able to afford the repairs on her car) but she was fascinating to read about. Elvis, even though his line of work is really just thug, was a lot more likeable. Perhaps it was the way he styled himself after Elvis Presley and was able to separate his job from his enjoyment of music. I did like reading about the close misses and Maite’s eyes opening to the unrest and corruption going on locally. As the stakes got higher and higher, my interest grew. I did like the twists at the end. While the ending is kind of open, I thought it was befitting of the novel.

Moreno-Garcia writes well as always, painting a clear picture of the scene and having well-fleshed out characters. I’m looking forward to reading other novels from her in different genres.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com show less

In 1970’s Mexico, Elvis is a gangster who doesn’t enjoy his job all that much anymore. Maite is a bored secretary who lives for the next edition of her favorite serial romance and makes up weekend plans so she’ll seem less pathetic to her coworkers. But when her next-door neighbor, the beautiful Leonora, asks Maite to watch her cat, then disappears, Maite’s search for Leonora drags her into the world of gangsters, a student revolutionary movement and even a KGB agent.

The best way I can describe this is to say that Silvia Moreno-Garcia has written a Raymond Chandler mystery for modern readers. This is a change of pace from her other books like Mexican Gothic, but is still thoroughly delightful.

I loved both of these characters show more and wanted them to come out the other side of the intrigue in one piece. Maite’s willingness to step out of her comfort zone - from art collective to murder scene to being tailed by secret police - made her intriguing. She wanted more from life than she’d found yet and grabbed her chance to enter a different- albeit extremely dangerous- world. Even though we know Elvis is a bad dude who beats and kills people, his loyalty to his friends and his longing for a more normal life makes him an interesting character.

A great read for lovers of historical suspense!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

Digital audiobook performed by Gisela Chipe

Adapted from the book jacket: 1970s, Mexico City, Maite is a secretary who live: the latest issue of Secret Romance. When her next-door neighbor, Leonora, disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman – and journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of student radicals and dissidents. Meanwhile, someone else is also looking for Leonora. Elvis is an eccentric criminal who longs to escape his own life. As Maite and Elvis come closer to discovering the truth behind Leonora’s disappearance, they can no longer escape the danger that threatens to consume their lives.

My reactions:
This is the third book by Moreno-Garcia that I’ve read and by show more far my favorite. In this work she does NOT include paranormal, horror, or magical realism elements. Rather she writes a wonderful noir crime novel based on historical events in Mexico, with interesting characters, multiple twists and turns in the plot and an unlikely partnership that I’d love to see again.

Maite starts as a somewhat naïve, dreamy young woman, more interested in romance stories that what is actually happening around her. But once she’s caught up in the mystery of her missing neighbor, Maite shows her intelligence, grit and determination.

Elvis is a marvel. A street punk and henchman, who love literature and music. He’s not sure he is where he wants to be in life and the events that unfold help him find a better life path.

The action is fast and furious, and totally believable. Well done, Ms Moreno-Garcia!

Gisela Chipe does a marvelous job of performing the audiobook. I particularly loved how she interpreted Maite. show less