Pedro Páramo de Juan Rulfo

I have decided that Fridays are the designated days for posting. Having said that, I hope that everyone that celebrates Thanksgiving that passes through here and reads this has had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and loved ones. Now to books. 

I love Latin American literature, therefore I will be talking about a little book called Pedro Páramo. I say little because it is, roughly 150 pages. Yet what this book lacks in length it more than makes up for in genius. 

First, the structure of the book, it is written through differing points of view, disjointed, the points of view and the characters speaking aren't clearly delineated. But don't let that daunt anyone, the voices are recognizable if one is truly concentrated on the vioce. 

Second, this structure that at first is hard to assimilate allows for something, I find, magical to occur as one reads the book. With just the details and the characters given one gets a grander scope of the story. It's as if an encompassing novel is unfolding in just 150 pages. 

The story follows a man that goes on a journey to Comala in Mexico, seeking to regain what belongs to him from the father he never knew. This is a promise he made to his mother on her deathbed. The juice of the story develops upon his arrival to Comala. Once there he finds the town deserted, a ghost town, haunted by the souls of those who did not have peace in life, the sinners, and those that where directly affected by the actions of the despot Pedro Páramo This is the man's father, Pedro Páramo, who was a tyrant that stole and gained at the cost of others. 

As the man journeys through Comala, he begins to know his father, though he is dead, through the voices of the other characters. 

This novel is, aside from many other things, rich in metaphors concerning man, his soul, sin and love. It is replete with beautiful imagery that allows for the story to develop like a work of art. 

I highly recommend the book.

On a side note, the writer of this book, Juan Rulfo, wrote this one as his one and only standing masterpiece. Aside from this book, he has another one of short stories, El Llano en Llamas. I would have loved to have had more material to enjoy from this author, because I consider him truly amazing, but I understand while this is his only book, it is a work of perfection, there is no need to say more. 

If anyone is interested in reading get and edition that has appendixes that go into depth explaining the story.