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I’ve been really liking dark stories lately. Stories about depravity and the darkness of human nature. How desperation and greed can lead humans to do anything while uncaring of any moral compass. I love the grittiness felt from written depictions of horror and fear through the lens of different writers. I think this love for horror has stemmed a lot from my childhood love of creepypastas. I loved scaring myself with creepy stories and videos which would always end up making me too scared to fall asleep alone. I remember watching a lot of those two-sentence horror story youtube videos, and sometimes I’d also like to watch Minecraft Herobrine sightings or creepypasta retellings. I don’t really quite get what makes horror so enticing to me, but it's always been fun to enjoy a good spooky tale on a dark stormy night. Anyway, let’s talk about the books!
The Monk by Matthew Lewis
This book in particular has heavy religious themes, particularly surrounding Catholicism, probably something already quite discernible from the title. Its main plotline is separated into two main points of conflict, one which comes from a monk’s inner strife with his religious faith mainly caused by his temptation towards women, another from a woman trying to escape her convent while hiding pregnancy to be with the love of her life. With how far in I am currently, I definitely haven’t even scratched the surface with how dark this story can become. During its release, it was considered a very controversial book and was even heavily censored by the author himself in later versions. Although scandalous, it became incredibly popular and eventually influenced a lot of modern horror media.
I actually only started this book because someone recommended it as similar to The Picture of Dorian Gray. I enjoyed reading Oscar Wilde’s book and was really excited to start reading this as well. I can see how it can be considered similar in theme to Wilde’s but it is still a very much different book. The Monk focuses a lot more on religious imagery and somewhat criticizes the hypocrisy of its believers. On the other hand, The Picture of Dorian Gray puts a lot more attention to human vanity caused by the worldview that the pursuit of beauty is the sole purpose in life. Both are similar in how they are considered Gothic books, but they are completely different stories to enjoy. If you do like The Picture of Dorian Gray, and want a story that is a bit more lengthy or maybe one that focuses on religious hypocrisy, you will probably also enjoy reading The Monk.
Current Thoughts:
I’m thoroughly hooked on this book. The plot is incredibly interesting although somewhat slow-moving at times (frequent across a lot of classics) but I don’t really mind it that much.
There are a lot of names mentioned throughout this book, and I sometimes have a hard time recalling who is related to who since all of its characters are so tightly knit with each other (again, something frequent across classics).
Medea Sang Me a Corrido
Now, this book isn’t quite exactly within my preferred horror genre, but it is definitely eye-catching. I was first introduced to this book from a promotional Instagram post by a local bookstore which labelled it as a “Punk revival of Medea as a Mexican anti-angel of birth and death”. From reading that premise alone, I was immediately interested and started looking for copies online. Medea Sang Me a Corrido had just recently published its English translation on August 13th, 2026. It was originally written in Spanish, but it was then translated by translators Heather Cleary and Julia Sanches. The book itself is a kind of collection of different perspectives surrounding people meeting with and being helped by the “punk” angel Medea. Medea’s main role in this book is a feminine protector of women against the harsh cartel life and the threat of femicide. It’s a story which doesn’t hold back on its punches in showing the gritty life of women on the border.
Its writing is direct and straightforward, following a stream of consciousness as the main narrative tool. We see the story unfold straight through the eyes of the people who receive Medea’s help. We see their backstory and their struggles to live through the rough conditions that followed the strife between the government, the military, and the cartel.
Current Thoughts:
A refreshing take on the characterization of Medea.
The writing is very straightforward, it feels as though the narrator is speaking straight to us.
Definitely requires some background knowledge on Mexican culture and history. It’s still readable for people without it, but you lose a lot of context in the process.
In conclusion,
Reading these two books have definitely helped in discovering and understanding what exact niche of books I’m most interested in. Of course, I would also love to explore a variety of genres, but these stories are what I unkowingly gravitate to the most. Maybe there’s some unsaid overarching theme between the two books that’s able to explain how they itch that perfect spot in my brain, or maybe there aren’t any at all and I’m more or less delusionally grasping at straws, but both are still absolutely amazing stories and I recommend them as your next read!
Fondly,
Riring
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