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
1 Comment
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.