Rating: 
Summary: Read this one 10 times.
Review: This novel is the most complex piece of literature I have ever read. Take a intriguing story about a man trying to discover his roots, and cut it into a hundred pieces. Throw them in the air. How they land is how Rulfo wrote Pedro Paramo. Rulfo seems to have god-like talents to be able to transform an out-of-order story into a masterpiece. This novel is not for those with weak knees or little patience, it will leave you with you jaw open, astounded. You could read it five times, and not realize that Juan Preciado's travels are a metaphor for a journey into hell. The narration is to die for(no pun intended).
Rating:
Summary: Classic Literature from Mexico
Review: This review is based on the original Spsnish version. I've been reading some of the other reviews and I'm pretty shocked at what I've read. It looks like a high school class was given this book to read and they were tearing it apart and saying that Harry Potter is better....My friends..you have much to read and learn. This book is a classic. Este libro es un classico. It takes you through so many turns and the imagery is amazing. The imagery of the town and the "people" and events are incredible.Are these people real or do they represent experiences that slowly reveal themselves into the character's consciousness or are they both? If you enjoy this novel, try Niebla por Miguel De Unamuno....a different approach on the theme of a person's search for his inner self.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting, dry, windy, dusty
Review: Unfortunately, Rulfo is much, much less known outside Latin America than other writers from the region, due to the fact that he is long dead and that he was a reclusive, almost misanthrope man, a shy and timid character. In contrast, writers like Garcia Marquez, Vargas Llosa, etc., are brilliant men, fond of being celebrities and lecturing around the world, as well as giving their opinions about politics and social issues. And one more thing: while most Latin American famous writers talk about lush tropical sceneries populated by exotic, wild people with an over-the-top language full of colorful images, Rulfo uses a reworked, concise, precise and dry language to paint sad, desperate, fussy tales of opression, violence, solitude. But oh he writes so well. Juan Preciado comes to Comala looking for his estranged father, Pedro Paramo. In this town, the dead and the alive mingle together and talk, the epochs overlap. Bit by bit we are told a violent and dark story, with somber and convoluted characters. In the end it is a tale of war, perversion, solitude and other themes common to Latin American literature, but seen from a very unusual perspective. And Rulfo reveals as an extremely self-demanding author: every sentence is worked and reworked to utter perfection. Read it, it's magical.
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