The Possession of Alba Díaz Mexico, 1765. Though Alba Díaz's family is a wealthy one, money cannot protect them when plague arrives in Zacatecas. With Alba's fiancé, Carlos, they depart Zacatecas for the remote silver mine that is the source of the family's wealth. But isolation does not guarantee safety, for Alba soon begins to suffer from hallucinations, sleepwalking, and convulsions. She feels something strange and horrifying lurking within, and it is growing stronger. Meanwhile, Elías has come to the New World to find his fortune and break the bonds between himself and the family he distrusts. Though he should stay away from his cousin Carlos' fiancée, he finds himself drawn to Alba all the same. And when he notices her deteriorating condition, he finds he can't turn away. As Alba declines, she and Elías look for help from any source whether it is the occult or the Church. But true allies are hard to come by, and Alba and Elías discover that the corruptive nature of power is universal and the only true source of help may come from within. Stories of demonic possession have been part of humanity's storytelling tradition since time immemorial, and for good reason. We instinctively shrink from the idea of an alien force wresting control of our bodies from us and using them for evil purposes. But demonic possession serves as a metaphor, as well, and in The Possession of Alba Díaz, Alba is being controlled by more than just a demon. Though she has escaped being forced into a marriage with one of her father's odious business partners by effectively threatening a childhood friend into accepting her proposal, Alba finds that she still does not have control over her own life. Her mother still has a say in what she does, and her soon-to-be mother-in-law has plenty to say as well– and none of it is good. Demonic possession is just the latest in a string of events that strips Alba of her agency. Elías, too, is being pushed around by familial forces that seek to push him down one particular path, no matter what his own plans might be. He may be a man in a man's world, but with a dark past and a future dependent on people who despise him, Elías is stuck, too. The challenge both he and Alba face is to break free of the bonds that control them, whether they are familial, societal, or demonic. The horror they face is not only of the spiritual kind, but cultural as well. Isabel Cañas' career has been a fascinating one to follow. Her 2022 debut, The Hacienda marked her as an author to watch, while her second novel, Vampires of El Norte, proved she wasn't a one-hit wonder. The Possession of Alba Díaz is her best work yet, providing a page-turning story with a pair of leading characters the reader will want to see succeed. It is a more tightly plotted book than The Hacienda, contains more of the uncanny than did Vampires of El Norte, and has plenty of the lush writing and atmospheric details that made reading those other two books such a rich experience. Cañas is not an author who sticks an old house in the background and calls her novel 'gothic'. She understands the structure the gothic story hangs upon, and she uses these tropes and symbols to tell a deeper story, not simply to provide "vibes". Though it comes in a wrapper labeled 'horror', The Possession of Alba Díaz deals with issues of bodily autonomy and self-determination. Despite their supernatural and terrifying story, both Alba and Elías want to live their lives as they choose and be free from the strict and smothering ideals their society has laid down for them. The benefit of horror is that it allows them– and us– to have the catharsis of resolution. As bloody as the ending is, it is a satisfying conclusion. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the advance copy for review. Traveling in Books is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you can tell Traveling in Books that their writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless they enable payments.
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Tuesday, 5 August 2025
Book Review: The Possession of Alba Díaz
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