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emma_lynn_writes 's review for:
Pedro Páramo
by Juan Rulfo
Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo is set in a Mexican town called Comala in the early twentieth century following the Mexican Revolution. Naturalistic and metaphorical imagery drain this world of color- filling it with darkness, wind, and rain. It is within this world that Pedro Páramo, the landowning patriarch, lived. Or rather, it's because of how he lived that the world is this way. Comala is a town filled with despair and ghosts. But this story is not told through the eyes of its namesake, but his son, Juan Preciado, who has returned to his birthplace at the request of his mother to find his father. The narrative is nonlinear, with flashbacks to different points in time and perspectives.
This book does not leave much room for light or hope. However, it is valuable as a work of magical realism (although with certain distinctions), as a window into its historical context, and, for the Christian, as a cautionary tale about the results of sin and shame without a Savior. I think for this reason, it is especially poignant for the Christian who can see not only the what but the why.
However, there are a few notes I would add: (1) The nonlinear narrative creates a convoluted timeline with vague characters that is effective in the end, but nevertheless confusing. (2) The book also contains occasional harsh language and brief but frequent s*xual content, both of the sensually descriptive and of the horrifically implied (e.g., rape, incest) nature.
This book does not leave much room for light or hope. However, it is valuable as a work of magical realism (although with certain distinctions), as a window into its historical context, and, for the Christian, as a cautionary tale about the results of sin and shame without a Savior. I think for this reason, it is especially poignant for the Christian who can see not only the what but the why.
However, there are a few notes I would add: (1) The nonlinear narrative creates a convoluted timeline with vague characters that is effective in the end, but nevertheless confusing. (2) The book also contains occasional harsh language and brief but frequent s*xual content, both of the sensually descriptive and of the horrifically implied (e.g., rape, incest) nature.