Velvet Was the Night

Mexico City is a primary focus of the novel. How does Silvia Moreno-Garcia create a sense of place? In what ways does the city play into the novel’s development?

Maite clings to the romantic archetypes of Secret Romance. Why does this pulp, more than any of the others, speak to Maite? How does the plot of Secret Romance mirror or complicate the events of Velvet Was the Night?

Both Maite’s and Elvis’s definitions of “heroism” are redefined over the course of the novel. What commentary does the novel produce about the idea of heroism?

By the end of the novel, Elvis develops a surprising relationship with Arkady, his torturer. Why do these men have an affinity? Why are they able to work together?

Moreno-Garcia incorporates many specific songs over the course of the novel (see list on pages 283-284). Choose one and discuss how the lyrics and melody of this song impact the scene it’s featured in.

Elvis is a sympathetic character despite the many atrocities he commits. How does Elvis conceptualize the violence he commits? How does he see himself, and does this change over the course of the novel?

The phrase “velvet was the night” doesn’t appear anywhere in the novel. Why might Moreno-Garcia have chosen this title? What images, emotions, or sensibilities does it evoke?

Elvis’s murder of El Mago comes suddenly in the climactic scene. Is the murder (and the way in which it happens) surprising? If so, why? If not, how did Moreno-Garcia build to this moment?