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A review by saareman
Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo
4.0
September 28, 2024 Update Teaser trailer is up for the Netflix film adaptation by first time director Rodrigo Prieto (otherwise cinematographer for Martin Scorcese, Greta Gerwig, a.o.) which you can see here, premiering on Netflix on November 6, 2024. I saw this early September at its World Premiere at TIFF24 and it was completely faithful to the book, so I don't think readers of the original will be disappointed.
The Evil Dead
A review of the Grove Press paperback (March 10, 1994) of a translation by [a:Margaret Sayers Peden|30209|Margaret Sayers Peden|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] of the Spanish language original [b:Pedro Páramo|56594938|Pedro Páramo|Juan Rulfo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610125491l/56594938._SY75_.jpg|1786290] (1955).
I actually had never heard of the novel Pedro Páramo until I read Mateo Garcia Elizondo's [b:Last Date in El Zapotal|188909476|Last Date in El Zapotal|Mateo García Elizondo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1713595167l/188909476._SY75_.jpg|73642261] (2019 orig./2024 translation) and learned that it was an homage to the earlier book. Shortly afterwards, I learned that a new feature film adaptation of the novel would have its World Premiere at my local film festival TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). I don't ignore signs from the universe so of course I had to read it before seeing the film.
This is a novel full of ghosts and hauntings. A man named Juan Preciado goes in search of his father named Pedro Páramo in the fictional town of Comala in Mexico. It turns out that both the father and the town are dead and although Juan meets and talks to people they are all ghosts from the past.
The book toggles back & forth from Juan's story to the early days of the town and how Páramo schemed through marriages and murders to become the largest landowner in the area. Miguel, one of his other sons, comes to a bad end after a life of molestations and rapes. Preciado's mother is only married to Páramo for a year before escaping. Páramo is infatuated with Susana San Juan but when he eventually wins her she sickens and dies. His revenge on the town is to let it fall into starvation and decay.
Actor Manuel García-Rulfo as Pedro Páramo in the 2024 film adaptation directed by Rodrigo Prieto. Image sourced from TIFF 24 (Toronto International Film Festival).
Overall this is pretty grim reading, but its elements of magic realism are considered especially influential in the later works of [a:Gabriel García Márquez|13450|Gabriel García Márquez|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588856705p2/13450.jpg], who first read the book in 1961. Although it is considered an important work by Rulfo, I was surprised when I checked the editions of [b:1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die|452208|1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die|Peter Boxall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320483996l/452208._SX50_.jpg|814053] and found that only Rulfo's short story collection [b:The Burning Plain and Other Stories|38788|The Burning Plain and Other Stories|Juan Rulfo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649167024l/38788._SX50_.jpg|2080630] was included there.
Trivia and Links
The novel has been adapted twice as a feature length film. The first adaptation was the black & white film Pedro Páramo (1967) directed by Carlos Velo and starring John Gavin as the title character. You can see the entire film on YouTube here, it is in Spanish, but you can turn on subtitles and annotations and select English or any other language of your choice.
The second adaptation is 2024's Pedro Páramo directed by Rodrigo Prieto in his feature film directorial debut. Prieto has otherwise been the cinematographer for dozens of prominent feature films for directors such as Martin Scorcese and Greta Gerwig. There is no trailer available yet (as of early September 2024). The film will be available via Netflix in late 2024. The film's star Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is probably best known to English speaking audiences for his portrayal of author Michael Connelly's series character Mickey Haller in The Lincoln Lawyer TV series.
The Evil Dead
A review of the Grove Press paperback (March 10, 1994) of a translation by [a:Margaret Sayers Peden|30209|Margaret Sayers Peden|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] of the Spanish language original [b:Pedro Páramo|56594938|Pedro Páramo|Juan Rulfo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1610125491l/56594938._SY75_.jpg|1786290] (1955).
In Mexico, Pedro Páramo is as important as Don Quixote is in Spain. This may sound grandiose but it can be compared with Dante's Divine Inferno or Goethe's Faust. It is the journey of a young man in search of his father but, as an allegory, it is man in search of himself... It's the biggest Mexican film ever made. - Actor John Gavin speaking about the 1967 film adaptation.
I actually had never heard of the novel Pedro Páramo until I read Mateo Garcia Elizondo's [b:Last Date in El Zapotal|188909476|Last Date in El Zapotal|Mateo García Elizondo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1713595167l/188909476._SY75_.jpg|73642261] (2019 orig./2024 translation) and learned that it was an homage to the earlier book. Shortly afterwards, I learned that a new feature film adaptation of the novel would have its World Premiere at my local film festival TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). I don't ignore signs from the universe so of course I had to read it before seeing the film.
This is a novel full of ghosts and hauntings. A man named Juan Preciado goes in search of his father named Pedro Páramo in the fictional town of Comala in Mexico. It turns out that both the father and the town are dead and although Juan meets and talks to people they are all ghosts from the past.
The book toggles back & forth from Juan's story to the early days of the town and how Páramo schemed through marriages and murders to become the largest landowner in the area. Miguel, one of his other sons, comes to a bad end after a life of molestations and rapes. Preciado's mother is only married to Páramo for a year before escaping. Páramo is infatuated with Susana San Juan but when he eventually wins her she sickens and dies. His revenge on the town is to let it fall into starvation and decay.
Actor Manuel García-Rulfo as Pedro Páramo in the 2024 film adaptation directed by Rodrigo Prieto. Image sourced from TIFF 24 (Toronto International Film Festival).
Overall this is pretty grim reading, but its elements of magic realism are considered especially influential in the later works of [a:Gabriel García Márquez|13450|Gabriel García Márquez|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588856705p2/13450.jpg], who first read the book in 1961. Although it is considered an important work by Rulfo, I was surprised when I checked the editions of [b:1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die|452208|1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die|Peter Boxall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320483996l/452208._SX50_.jpg|814053] and found that only Rulfo's short story collection [b:The Burning Plain and Other Stories|38788|The Burning Plain and Other Stories|Juan Rulfo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1649167024l/38788._SX50_.jpg|2080630] was included there.
Trivia and Links
The novel has been adapted twice as a feature length film. The first adaptation was the black & white film Pedro Páramo (1967) directed by Carlos Velo and starring John Gavin as the title character. You can see the entire film on YouTube here, it is in Spanish, but you can turn on subtitles and annotations and select English or any other language of your choice.
The second adaptation is 2024's Pedro Páramo directed by Rodrigo Prieto in his feature film directorial debut. Prieto has otherwise been the cinematographer for dozens of prominent feature films for directors such as Martin Scorcese and Greta Gerwig. There is no trailer available yet (as of early September 2024). The film will be available via Netflix in late 2024. The film's star Manuel Garcia-Rulfo is probably best known to English speaking audiences for his portrayal of author Michael Connelly's series character Mickey Haller in The Lincoln Lawyer TV series.