The author's note explains, "I wanted to write a magical realism Western about a Mexican bandido and his movie-star grandson." If that sounds like a book you want to read this will be an excellent choice. I'm not a particular fan of Westerns, so this had a few too many gun battles, hangings, and near misses for my enjoyment. I appreciated the fine writing and the thought-provoking questions about evil, free will, and redemption. I like to believe that grace leads us towards good works, where this ending implied the reverse, but it was a compelling read.
Working Magic in the West
"A dazzling magical realism western in the vein of Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel Garcia Marquez..." Talk about setting some lofty expectations... Fortunately, I was seduced by the publisher's tantalizing blurb.
"The Bullet Swallower" covers generations of a Mexican family, starting with a heartless and barbaric mine owner in the early 1800's, continuing with his fearsome bandido son, and winding up with a 1960's box office star, Jaime Sonoro. The family's venomous history is revealed in a manuscript delivered to Jaime, who now struggles with his accountability. This is complicated by the arrival of a shadowy figure, Remedios, apparently present to extract justice from the family.
Antonio Sonoro, Jaime's grandfather and the son of the mine owner, is a major focus here. He was the outlaw known as El Tragabalas, The Bullet Swallower. A good deal of the book follows the explosive action as he executes a plot to rob a train-- a doomed adventure which costs him everything he holds dear and forges a quest for revenge. Eventually we witness this thirst for retribution transformed into a burning desire for redemption. The final puzzle is of how Jaime can atone for the sins of generations.
Author Elizabeth Gonzalez James has masterfully melded themes of the Old West, border life, racism, magical realism, and the balancing of personal identity versus inherited accountability. She loosely based some of the characters on some family history... and wrote in a note worthy of the Coen brothers, "Everything in this book is true except for the stuff I made up." This is an entertaining read and lived up to the hype.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
"A dazzling magical realism western in the vein of Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel Garcia Marquez..." Talk about setting some lofty expectations... Fortunately, I was seduced by the publisher's tantalizing blurb.
"The Bullet Swallower" covers generations of a Mexican family, starting with a heartless and barbaric mine owner in the early 1800's, continuing with his fearsome bandido son, and winding up with a 1960's box office star, Jaime Sonoro. The family's venomous history is revealed in a manuscript delivered to Jaime, who now struggles with his accountability. This is complicated by the arrival of a shadowy figure, Remedios, apparently present to extract justice from the family.
Antonio Sonoro, Jaime's grandfather and the son of the mine owner, is a major focus here. He was the outlaw known as El Tragabalas, The Bullet Swallower. A good deal of the book follows the explosive action as he executes a plot to rob a train-- a doomed adventure which costs him everything he holds dear and forges a quest for revenge. Eventually we witness this thirst for retribution transformed into a burning desire for redemption. The final puzzle is of how Jaime can atone for the sins of generations.
Author Elizabeth Gonzalez James has masterfully melded themes of the Old West, border life, racism, magical realism, and the balancing of personal identity versus inherited accountability. She loosely based some of the characters on some family history... and wrote in a note worthy of the Coen brothers, "Everything in this book is true except for the stuff I made up." This is an entertaining read and lived up to the hype.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
