When I travel, I always take with me 2-3 books by authors from where I'm traveling to, or classics set there. I've been to Mexico several times and, thus, I'd already read quite a few books that qualified, e.g., The Good Gringo, The Power and the Glory, and Under the Volcano (hated the latter).
So on this trip, I needed to dig a bit deeper, and I searched for classic novels high school students in Mexico are assigned to read. And I discovered Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo. I also discovered that it was the book Gabriel Garcia Marquez read and was deeply inspired by before reading 100 Years of Solitude.
Pedro Paramo is AMAZING. It's more a novella. I literally read it twice, finishing, then reading it again. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
by DashiellHammett
16 Comments
Absolutely genius novel. It’s funny how little known it is in the English speaking world because it’s very much an Important Work in Latinamerica, largely because it was one of the foundations of magical realism.
The novel does a really good job of creating one of the creepiest and weirdest vibes I’ve read, and the twist in narration is pretty impressive even decades after. Big fan of ot.
I finished it a few weeks ago. Underrated classic, it’s one Marquez’ inspirations for 100 years of Solitude. I love how it goes seamlessly between the past and the present and how the town he goes to is both so familiar and unfamiliar (at least for those of us who grew up in similar environments)
I love that you read books from the countries you travel to, first of all, and second, looking up what high school students are assigned to read in the country you are visiting is genius! This is a delightful post.
I read War and Peace in St. Petersburg (that was in the mid 90s) when I was a college student – I enjoyed it a lot, more because I was miserable in Russia (and the book was an escape) than because I was actually in Russia (but being there while reading it was cool too).
Thank you for the book recommendation!
It’s a beautiful little book.
The book was an instant favourite for me. It was just amazing. I wondered why I had never heard of it and saw that there is a new English translation and it was just published in 2023. I’ve already passed on the book successfully, I look forward to it coming back to me.
A sort of spiritual successor to it is Blackouts by Justin Torres, which I quite enjoyed.
I think this is pretty popular in the latinosphere.
Recently read this novel, the imagery is still so clear in my head- and the switch in narration is just WOW. But I’m struggling to understand he signifcance of the novel, any tips on where I can read up more about it?
lt i read this was in school probably over 30 years ago, need to revisit
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I read this a few years ago after finding it in a box in my grandparents attic and was instantly into it. Proper grabbed me straight off the bat. A really beautiful piece of literature.
It made me think a bit less of 100 Years of Solitude because they were so similar. What I thought were originality and good writing style were just using the same stuff as Pedro Paramo.
It was pretty great from what I remember! Having read 100 Years of Solitude first I was strongly reminded of it.
It’s fascinating to read. It’s one of the inspirations for Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I do a reread every couple of years, and I’m always amazed at how much the book can do with so few pages. It’s atmospheric and trippy as hell, but so fascinating because of it.
If you like that, also try *El Llano en Llamas* also by Juan Rulfo.
Oh, I love that one! I didn’t pick up on what was going on until the end the first time I read it. The second time I couldn’t believe I missed it!
Under the Volcano is a personal favorite of mine. If Mexico is your setting.