Pedro Páramo. Estudio literario

by Gustavo Reyes

Estudio literario de la obra de Juan Rulfo.

Genres: Fiction, Magical Realism, Spanish Literature

56 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2003

Reviews

[Julia Kuno · Rating 4 out of 5]

been a while since I read a book in Spanish… estimating that I understood a good 85%, time to watch the Netflix film to fill in the gaps!

[Mariana Loaiza · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Hay pueblos que saben a desdicha. Se les conoce con sorber un poco de su aire viejo y entumido, pobre y flaco como todo lo viejo. Éste es uno de esos pueblos, Susana.”

Cada vez que leo este libro siento que estoy leyendo algo distinto. Genial, como siempre.

[Greta Cribbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro era un poquito demasiado difícil para mi nivel de español. Tuve muchos problemas en entender lo que estuve pasando, especialmente los cambios in la línea de tiempo. A veces no pude distinguir entre los eventos en el presente y los en el pasado.

Tengo ganas de ver la pelicula en Netflix. Tal vez, despues de ver esto, voy a estar listo a leer este libro de nuevo, pero por ahora me confusó mucho.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pedro Páramo is about a man named Juan Preciado who travels to his deceased mother's hometown, Comala, to find his father and reclaim his patrimony. Rapid industrilisation of early 20th-century Mexico left ghost towns scattered throughout the rural south's dustbowls. What Juan discovers is a literal ghost town, populated by spectral figures. Pedro Páramo is disjointed; the book's structure is fragmented with no clear plot-line, no character development, and no coherence. The writing is sparse, vivid, and there is always this sense of gloom hanging over the text leaving the reader with a dislocation and uncertainty. Pedro Páramo has undoubtedly inspired many authors over the past 50 years of literature, however, Pedro Páramo in itself is too elusive and fragmented.

[Emily D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was interesting and beautifully written. Juan Preciado goes to a remote village to find his father, Pedro Paramo. He has never met his father, and his mother's dying wish was for her son to find his father and demand what he owed him. Juan is hopeful, until he gets to the village and realizes it is a literal ghost town. He encounters many people (at least, the spirits of them) and through this we learn everyone's story. All the villagers' stories revolve around Pedro Paramo, who leads the town. Pedro is not a good guy. He sleeps with any woman whether they want him or not, and he controls the economics of the village.
I liked seeing the perspectives and stories of all of the characters involved, combined to give an overall picture of Pedro Paramo and the village.
I found an English translation of this work online. My Spanish is nowhere fluent enough to read the original, unfortunately.

[Kevin Thurman · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can you say about a book like Pedro Paramo. There is a great line near the start where Juan Preciado describes going to Comala as, and this is deeply paraphrased, that going there it was all basically downhill and leaving was all uphill. This is also how reading the book feels. Going in it's all downhill, but once you get in, it's hard to leave. A real struggle. It's not a particularly smooth going either. Essentially it's a story about the downfall of a town, but also a family. We start with Comala being a literal ghost town, then after Preciado dies, we get to return to the better days of the town, before Pedro Paramo stopped working.

Marquez said he hadn't felt this way after reading a book since Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

I can see why.

[Graham Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surreal journey, where the natural order of things seems to be constantly changing. What I found most compelling about it was how natural it all felt. Furthermore, the way the protagonist seemed aware of, yet unphased by, the unstable nature of everything really drew me in. Would definitely recommend, and is certainly something I would like to revisit.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una prosa lírica excelente y muy sabiamente utilizada para crear un ambiente poético pero a la vez inquietante. Uso del tiempo desestabilizador, personajes perturbadores... Es una novela de fantasmas muy original.

[Raisa R · Rating 2 out of 5]

Como no se dio cuenta que todos estaban muertos? Y por cierto que cruel desenlace tiene Juan,el solo estaba cumpliendo la promesa que le hizo a su madre.

[Owen]

Demasiado realismo mágico. A ratos te pierdes o tienes que releer las últimas páginas para saber dónde estás. Pequeña decepción... En un par de años será.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The precursor to all the rest of Latin American magical realism. Hallucinatory, memorable imagery.

[LOL_BOOKS]

DUDE GOES TO GHOST TOWN AND DOESN'T WHAT'S GHOST AND WHAT'S PEOPLE