Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (2023) is a supernatural thriller set in the burgeoning film industry of late 20th century Mexico City.
The novel revolves around a lifelong friendship that always dances on the edge of (potentially doomed) romance between the female protagonist, who is smart and tough and a little worn down by being a woman in a male-dominated field (audio engineering at the transition from manual to digital methods) and a cynical, man, once a rising star in Mexican cinema, who uses vicious humor as a shield against emotional intimacy. They are friends from childhood, witnessing each others’ various travails, including his career being derailed by a drunken car crash that cost the life of his then-partner. Their banter is witty, cutting, loving, and hurtful all at the same time: you know, like real people with deeply shared histories often are.
The plot is well executed, pulling together various strains of occultism, a Nazi fleeing Germany for Mexico and attempting to achieve immortality, and, above all, the power of film (specifically, yes, that shot on silver nitrate stock) to be a form of magic. I (of course) got a little concerned about the occult dimension, knowing a bit too much about the subject, but Moreno-Garcia does a nice job mixing historically accurate information on the often bizarre Nazi relationship with the occult with the needs of her characters and plot.
The parts that are supposed to be eerie and frightening are, and while you’re pretty sure the protagonist will pull it off in the end, it’s not at all clear how, or at what cost. I don’t think you can ask for much more than that. Sprinkle in some nuance around the economics and cultural role of Mexico City in relation to the USA, and it’s a decent recommendation, even if, for me, the ultimate resolution of the core relationship felt a little too pat.