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A review by jamesdanielhorn
The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes
3.0
Carlos Fuentes’ The Old Gringo is undeniably well written. It’s got all the elements of a great book; symbolism, engaging characters, interesting setting and plot, and beautifully executed prose, but it just wasn’t very appealing to me.
There’s an extremely toxic masculinity that courses through this book’s veins that made it hard for me to truly enjoy. I’m sure this is in part because of the setting and culture depicted in the novel, and is probably intentional, as most of the book centers around two men measuring their masculinity against one another. I found the female protagonist, who’s memories we are following, a little too one note to be totally believable. This narrative structure may also be difficult for some and requires your full attention. Despite this, the book did in end rope me in enough finish, but it just didn’t leave me as satisfied as writing of this caliber usually does.
I can see why upon its release it became a best seller in the US. It is well crafted enough to appeal to critics and misogyny wasn’t as frowned upon in that era. For the modern reader though, I think it’s really only worth a read if you love post-modern writing, or if you are deeply interested in this era in Latin history. Just know going into it the type masculinity you are intending to subject yourself to.
There’s an extremely toxic masculinity that courses through this book’s veins that made it hard for me to truly enjoy. I’m sure this is in part because of the setting and culture depicted in the novel, and is probably intentional, as most of the book centers around two men measuring their masculinity against one another. I found the female protagonist, who’s memories we are following, a little too one note to be totally believable. This narrative structure may also be difficult for some and requires your full attention. Despite this, the book did in end rope me in enough finish, but it just didn’t leave me as satisfied as writing of this caliber usually does.
I can see why upon its release it became a best seller in the US. It is well crafted enough to appeal to critics and misogyny wasn’t as frowned upon in that era. For the modern reader though, I think it’s really only worth a read if you love post-modern writing, or if you are deeply interested in this era in Latin history. Just know going into it the type masculinity you are intending to subject yourself to.