A review by bluz19
The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • 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

3.0

Ultimately I see where this book was trying to go. Overall I liked the premise and execution of the book, I just think that it wasn’t quite for me. You follow two timelines, 1895 and 1964. In 1895, a man that is constantly down on his luck, decides to rob a train with his brother which goes terribly wrong.  The Texas Rangers are chasing them all around Texas as the main character is trying to get revenge on his brother being killed. Along the way he meets many people as well as faces death multiple times. 
It was interesting to see the storyline play out. I like to watch westerns with my dad, which seeing the legend of The Bullet Swallower from start to finish was intriguing. However the side plot that exists in the story seem to just cloud the story. They didn’t hold my attention until the end when the current ancestor was piecing it all together. I don’t think that the magical realism was filled as far for what it could have been. I liked the inclusion of the personification of death and I think it added a layer to the story, it just was a subpar side plot. The main story was pretty interesting. I won’t say that any of it really shocked me though. It held my attention because it is full of action, grief played a big part, and it was about deciding who you want to be. I think it could’ve told more of the background of the family and filled that rather than having a focus of the current timeline in 1964. Overall this was a good quick read and I enjoyed it as a break from high fantasy.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings