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jomicoop's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death
judassilver's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Child death, Blood, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Colonisation, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, and Misogyny
Minor: Religious bigotry and Suicide
deedireads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What a genre-mashup delight this book was! Part antihero western, part dual-timeline family saga, with a sprinkling of magical realism (including a very mysterious book), The Bullet Swallower has something for everyone.
In 1895, Antonio Sonoro’s train robbery goes wrong, which sets him off on a revenge tour through Texas. Meanwhile, in Mexico City in 1964, his movie-star grandson Jaime finds himself in possession of a mysterious book and with a mysterious visitor. This was inspired by the author’s family history and lore (definitely read the author’s note!), and it made for a pretty unputdownable story. I gobbled it up.
So yes, there is a lot going on here, but it never actually feels that way. Elizabeth Gonzalez James combines elements perfectly and leaves readers thinking deeply about the legacy of a family history, who is responsible for the sins of our fathers, and our generational “curse.”
The audiobook was also very well done! I switched back and forth between print and audio and sometimes listened while I read, and I found the story ultra-consumable in any format. Lee Osorio (who also performed parts of Chain-Gang All-Stars and many other books) was excellent.
Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Murder, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Body horror and Animal death
gabi_tron's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Body horror, Violence, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Racism, Torture, Grief, Gun violence, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Blood
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is routinely billed as Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez, and my one quibble with this is that the author's perspective is so radically different than these authors, and the characterization of the leading men in this story underscore her efforts to avoid romanticization or glorification of patriarchal traditions and colonial violence. These men are pathetic, greedy, indecisive, immature, and, eventually (finally) reflective and seeking. It's not just a story of fate, adventure and family curses, it's a dismantling of the cowboy.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Child death, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Stalking, Suicide, and Gun violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Misogyny, Animal death, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Body horror, and Classism
Minor: Pregnancy
elizabeth_lepore's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Animal death, and Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
itshrewsbury's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Torture
Moderate: Animal death and Suicide
Minor: Drug use and Child death
chrissy22's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Gun violence
clichemarker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"When these promises of salvation went ignored the men always threw down their bibles and picked up their rifles, for that was what they'd wanted to do all along, and shout at that such an indolent race didn't deserve the soil under their feet."
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Suicide, and Animal death
Minor: Child death
nehaanna's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation, War, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Murder, Xenophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Death, Gore, Violence, Genocide, Hate crime, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Alcoholism, Vomit, Child abuse, Child death, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Pregnancy