By Anya 
The Possession of Alba Díaz: A New Take on Possession Stories
The book deals with multiple layers of class, greed, religion and politics but in a way that those from less privileged facets of society will continuously — and currently — run up against. Each of these themes aren’t consistently in the forefront but each piece has its part to play, either supporting or oppressing Alba or the mysterious Elías in their perspective-specific chapters.
A Horror Book Review by Anya
Isabel Cañas drafts a simple yet deceptively complex story in her third straight gothic novel, The Possession of Alba Díaz. As the title suggests, it is about a possession but differs from how others have been told. Multiple possessions abound in Cañas’s novel with each thread converging in Alba Díaz. In the book, Alba’s preferred pastime is embroidery which mirrors Cañas’s uncanny ability to weave together components of genre, perspectives and mysticism into an interrogation of the possessive nature of women in horror. Both Alba and Cañas spend their free time constructing landscapes of threads crisscrossing and looping over and under, all made of the same material yet occupying different roles in the tableau of what finally takes shape in their moment of catharsis. As such, Cañas’s prose operates on a level of elegance which hybridized with her tireless research, resounds historically astute with a conversational touch. Much like the mining laboratory’s process of refining silver, Cañas’s words sluice through rivulets of authors like Borges, Cortázar, Rulfo and Stoker, acting like the silvery mercury that refines her historical framing that supplements its horrific elements — both intrinsic and foreign. Sometimes the approach can override the book’s pacing but when Cañas’s pen is the only thing guiding you, the only thing left is to let it take you over — the ultimate possession.
All roads meet at a silver mine in Nueva España, circa 1765. Acquired at a suspiciously low price, the Monterrubio family doubles down on what was initially judged as a poor investment made by a dying man. Cañas writes Alba Díaz first and foremost as historical fiction with a romantic core, with horror and the occult building from their early introductions to bloom in full by novel’s end. And they balance well, once each component is in play. Cañas effortlessly gifts the rite of exorcism an erotic air when done right, intertwining a negotiation of consent and boundaries within a situation where the host is already a non-consenting party. The mechanisms of the occult and how they work in Cañas’s reconstructed Nueva España are captivating, unfortunately there is little of it in comparison to the book’s character and plotwork to really chew on. The most astounding detail in Cañas’s laws of sorcery is her implication that something so deadly as mercury can be used as a focus for power. Flipping the real-world poisoning agents’ terminality, a condition begat endlessly and uncaringly by rich land owners of countless mines in Mexico makes something so often used against lower working classes into a tool to save lives. But there isn’t quite as much in Alba Díaz to make stronger connections between its characters to the systems they’re beholden to; The Possession of Alba Díaz is an exquisite hors d’oeuvres hinting at something more substantial, making you want for more.
The book deals with multiple layers of class, greed, religion and politics but in a way that those from less privileged facets of society will continuously — and currently — run up against. Each of these themes aren’t consistently in the forefront but each piece has its part to play, either supporting or oppressing Alba or the mysterious Elías in their perspective-specific chapters. Like disembodied voices that travel and carry in echoed spaces, some are far away but influential yet others that are close feel eerily distant but none the more omnipotent in how they know to lean in to give you a good shiver. It can be an uneven experience but therein lies its strengths, a statement by Cañas if ever there was one to accept something for its imperfections or not at all, this story is far too compelling to dismiss on any level.
The Possession of Alba Díaz comes through as a cathartic work for reader and author. It’s more than refreshing to see attention paid to the one being possessed; in measuring their will against the demon that takes control you are ultimately rooting for Alba to make the best of her unfortunate situation. Even when you know the outcome of some climactic moments, you can find yourself grinning and thinking with confidence, “good for her.” Cañas constructs this tale quite well, if not teasingly so. Its more haunting imagery may stick with you, which for most of us who are attracted to horror for its comforts can give us that nightly reprieve of invited company in the dark.
The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas
In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their teeth: Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong.
Elías, haunted by a troubled past, came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family’s legacy of greed. Alba, as his cousin’s betrothed, is none of his business. Which is of course why he can’t help but notice her every time she enters a room or the growing tension between them… and why he notices her deteriorate when the demon’s thirst for blood grows stronger.
In the fight for her life, Alba and Elías become entangled with the occult, the Church, long-kept secrets, and each other… not knowing that one of these things will spell their doom.
Horror Book Reviews on Ginger Nuts of Horror
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Jim Mcleod