Elizabeth Gonzalez JamesBesprekingen

A fantastical and fabulous story of a would-be bandit who didn't die and his descendants. It's also the story of how Mexicans have been treated by Americans', including eras when the boundaries between the countries were not where they are now.

This book grazes the surface of some stunning themes - grief, redemption, purpose - but I wish it was twice as long so that the author could have delved deeper. The story was captivating but I occasionally found myself reeling from the breakneck pace of events.

That being said, I do think the brevity of this book presents an interesting parallel with the short song that Jaime finds about his grandfather. The idea that such a life could be captured in so few words astonishes Jaime, but he uses this opportunity to expand on the narrative himself. I find myself doing the same with this novel: wondering what more could be happening behind the words we are given.

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James reads exactly as described: a magical realism western about a cursed family living on the Mexican American border. The main narrative follows Antonio Sonoros in the late 1800s after the family has fallen from fortune and a secondary storyline takes place in the 1960s where Antonio’s grandson, Jaime, has become a famous Mexican movie star. Readers should prepare for everything a western promises including violence and shootouts, but James does a nice job of tempering it with the Jaime chapters and the magical moments.

A pretty good Western. I think comparing it to One Hundred Years of Solitude or Lonesome Dove or Cormac McCarthy's books is too much.

This is a very intense story. It's very violent with a lot of very heavy situations and emotions. If you can handle that, it's a book that is well worth reading and one you will remember for a long time.

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The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzales James is a historical fiction western, with some magical realism thrown in. Ms. James is an American author of Mexican origin; this is her second novel.

1865: Brothers Antonio and Hugo Sonoro leaves his home in a Mexican village, crossing the Rio Grande into Texas to rob a train full of treasure. The Texas Rangers are onto the two brothers, and in the mayhem that ensues Hugo dies and Antonio survives with a bullet to the faces. Now known as El Tragabalas, the Bullet Swallower, Antonio goes on a quest to avenge his dead brother.

1964: In Mexico City Jaime Sonoro, a successful entertainer, is writing a script about his famous grandfather. During his research, Jaime is given a book detailing his family’s dark history which shakes him to the bone.

I was surprised that I liked The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzales James as much as I did. The novel grabbed me right from the first page and kept me engaged throughout. Ms. James covers a lot of ground in a short space.

Many of the themes in the book appear in many western novels, movies, or TV shows like justice, racism, and revenge. The novel, however, also examines generational trauma, as well a somewhat philosophical discussion about sins of the father passing onto a future generation.

I enjoyed the powerful settings, as well as Antonio’s relationship with Peter Ainsley, an Englishman. Their wise-cracking banter was a lot of fun to read in between the action scenes. I also enjoyed the magical realism, in the form of an angel/devil named Remedios who is looking for payment for generations of evil actions.

The narrative was well written, the characters were defined, and the journey for Antionio, Jaime, and me was well worth it. The mash up of a Mexican western, a generational saga, and magical realism works extremely well at the hands of this talented author.

The author said that many parts of the story are true, and that her relative was known as El Tragabalas with many legends attached. I love the fact that she researched her roots and wrote a wonderful remaining of the family’s history.

Mona Lisa Míreles of Tucson, Arizona, is fresh out of college with a finance degree, but she can’t find a job. She attends a program at her family’s church to help people find employment. There she has encounters with several people who turn her life in unintended directions.

I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked the writing and the story, but I was reading this novel at the end of the covid-19 pandemic when unemployment wasn’t just caused by a recession so I probably felt a little more unsympathetic than necessary toward Mona than I would have had I read this novel at any other time.

Young adulthood can be a particularly difficult period, and this novel addresses many of the problems faced by individuals at this stage of life. Some of the story was funny, and some parts were sad. However, the chapter I liked the most was the one where Mona goes out on a date with her boss Skip from the telephone call center. That episode was simply hilarious and kept me belly laughing throughout. That part could even stand alone as a short story.

This debut novel is from a writer to watch. I’ll be curious to see in what direction she’ll take her next novel.