Reviews

The Plain in Flames by Juan Rulfo

nahnahnancy's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

patricio_tamayo's review against another edition

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3.0

Cuentos cortos de Juan Rulfo.

ivan2215's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging medium-paced

4.0

nora_d_tinta_y_papel's review against another edition

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3.0

Me gustó, no pude parar de comparar muchas de las partes con Pedro Páramo. Se notan las raíces de su novela cumbre. Con temas como la muerte, las costumbres de los pueblos de las zonas, la revolución, el trato a las mujeres, las venganzas.
Una gran opción para empezar a conocer la obra de Juan Rulfo.

emilyconstance's review against another edition

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4.0

favorites: talpa, tell them not to kill me!, the night they left him alone.

all fine, nothing super noteworthy, however.

tomurillo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

alexbookington's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

GRRM's Broken Man speech is highly praised. This book is the "show, don't tell" version of that.

It's haunting, it's dark, it makes you think. It never underestimates the reader. It's a fast read with enough variety in each short story, not just in plot but even in style and framing devices, that it keeps you wanting more. 

Briefly I thought the book suffered by not including the societal context and backdrop to which the stories are set, but rather it's the complete opposite: it gives the book a cosmopolitan timeless feel. 

Same with the vocabulary. It's so alienating but it plays into the perspective of the stories. it both grounds you and unsettles you in a way that is hard to achieve. It goes beyond sympathy, it forces a kind of empathy. 

There's a certain genius to the book. It seems so simple at first until something clicks. For me it was realizing the location of The Burning Plain story was not named The Burning Plain, but rather, The Plain. The Plain was burning. The Plain was set aflame by bandits, by soldiers, by war, by revolution, by institutional societal cruelty, by a self-perpetuating cicle of violence. 

jesustrespalacios's review against another edition

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5.0

“Era la época en que el maíz ya estaba por pizcarse y las milpas se veían secas y dobladas por los ventarrones que soplan por este tiempo sobre el Llano. Así que se veía muy bonito ver caminar el fuego en los potreros; ver hecho una pura brasa casi todo el Llano en la quemazón aquella, con el humo ondulado por arriba; aquel humo oloroso a carrizo y a miel, porque la lumbre había llegado también a los cañaverales.”

sergioruizperez's review against another edition

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5.0

Ahora sí... Todo lo que prometía en Juan Rulfo se confirma en ésta deliciosa colección de cuentos. Un escritor enorme, lástima que su obra sea tan reducida.

diegocordova's review against another edition

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5.0

Historias de un México revolucionario/post-revolucionario ambientadas en los campos y sierras de este país en donde se abarcan a lo largo de los maravillosos 17 cuentos de Rulfo temas como la maldad, la crueldad; la muerte; la violencia; el fulminante paso del tiempo; la crudeza de las relaciones padre-hijo; la religión, entre otros, todos retratados de una manera única por la pluma de Rulfo que incluso al caer en lugares bastantes densos dentro de su narrativa nunca deja de atraer.