A review by yourbookishbff
The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this. A blend of magical realism and cowboy Western, but recast to actually examine and expose the glorification of violence (and particularly colonial violence) in the genre. James explores the legacies of violence among colonizing people, and through an Old-Testament-retribution storyline, questions if redemption is possible and what responsibility future generations have. I loved how easily the story moved between our two historical timelines (the late 1800s and the mid 1960s) and how our grim reaper shadows the story literally and metaphorically. I loved the use of an actual narrating storyteller within the 1960s timeline, as it creates a fascinating contrast between the actual depiction of history and the main character's attempt to romanticize it for his own absolution. At times, it felt like James was speaking to us directly through this storyteller, as the 1800s storyline is largely inspired by her own ancestor, and you can see how she is using this narrative to question her own inheritance.

This is routinely billed as Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez, and my one quibble with this is that the author's perspective is so radically different than these authors, and the characterization of the leading men in this story underscore her efforts to avoid romanticization or glorification of patriarchal traditions and colonial violence. These men are pathetic, greedy, indecisive, immature, and, eventually (finally) reflective and seeking. It's not just a story of fate, adventure and family curses, it's a dismantling of the cowboy.
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