'This book could not exist without colonialism': Tasnim Geedi champions Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
On Day One of Canada Reads 2023, Tasnim Geedi shared her thoughts on the novel Mexican Gothic
The Canada Reads 2023 theme, "One book to shift your perspective," was at the heart of the first round of debates as the five panellists talked about the contending books.
TikTok creator and nursing student Tasnim Geedi is championing the novel Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
Mexican Gothic is a gothic horror novel set in 1950s Mexico. It tells the story of a young woman named Noemí who is called by her cousin to save her from doom in her countryside home, the mysterious and alluring High Place. Noemí doesn't know much about the house, the region or her cousin's mysterious new husband, but she's determined to solve this mystery and save her cousin — whatever it takes.
Geedi argued that although Mexican Gothic is the only book on the table that is not set in Canada, that distance can help us examine difficult topics like colonialism and white supremacy.
"In relation to Canadians, I know a lot of people think, 'Oh it's a horror book. Oh it's a gothic horror. It's not set here. What does that have to do with me?' This book could not exist without colonialism. It could not exist without white supremacy, and that is not a stranger to what's happening [in Canada]. Mass graves of Indigenous children are still be uncovered today, reflecting on the history of this country," said Geedi.
"So I think this story is a great way to have a conversation about it because it allows a little bit — a little degree of separation — from Mexico City to here that allows people to have those conversations that they're not willing to talk about yet."
Further, Geedi highlighted how Moreno-Garcia reclaims the genre of Gothic horror, which is rooted in European history, to reflect on the legacy of colonialism.
Silvia was able to use the Gothic horror genre as a vehicle to explain how colonialism and white supremacy still persists today. - Tasnim Geedi
"Silvia was able to use the Gothic horror genre as a vehicle to explain how colonialism and white supremacy still persists today. If we look at the history of gothic literature, it's primarily in Europe and the fact that she was able to use that — twist that — to be able to speak on behalf of Mexicans in Mexico City right now was amazing.
The Canada Reads 2023 champions and their chosen books are:
- Jeopardy! super-champ Mattea Roach champions Ducks by Kate Beaton
- Actor Keegan Connor Tracy champions Greenwood by Michael Christie
- Bhangra dancer Gurdeep Pandher champions Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah
- TikTok creator Tasnim Geedi champions Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Actor Michael Greyeyes champions Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Here's how you can tune into Canada Reads 2023:
ON RADIO: Canada Reads will air on CBC Radio at 10:05 a.m. in the Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones.
It will air at 11:05 a.m. in the Maritimes, 1:05 p.m. in Labrador and at 1:35 p.m. in Newfoundland.
The debates will replay at 9 p.m. local time in all time zones, except in Newfoundland, where it will replay at 9:30 p.m.
ON TV: CBC TV will broadcast Canada Reads at 1 p.m. in the Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific time zones. It will air at 2 p.m. in the Atlantic time zone and at 2:30 p.m in the Newfoundland time zone.
ONLINE: CBC Books will livestream the debates at 10:05 a.m. ET on CBCBooks.ca, YouTube, Facebook and CBC Gem. The livestreams on YouTube and Facebook will be available to watch outside Canada.
- DAY TWO livestreams: CBC Books, CBC Gem, YouTube, Facebook
- DAY THREE livestreams: CBC Books, CBC Gem, YouTube, Facebook
- FINALE livestreams: CBC Books, CBC Gem, YouTube, Facebook
PODCAST: Listen to the debates as a podcast on CBC Listen. The episode will be posted each day after the live airing.
WARNING: The books chosen for Canada Reads deal with difficult topics, such as trauma and abuse. These stories may be shared during the broadcast. Click this link to find publicly available resources for support.