Pedro Paramo (Letras Hispanicas) [Spanisch] [Taschenbuch]

Nothing in literature can prepare you for the impact of Pedro Paramo for nothing in literature compares to this novel from Mexican author Juan Rulfo. Published in 1955, and Rulfo's only novel, Pedro Paramo is the story of Juan Preciado's quest to find both his roots and his father. Fulfilling his mother's dying wish, Juan sets out for the rural Mexican village of Comala, the village of his mother's memories, the village where "she sighed about going back," and where Pedro Paramo, lover, overlord and murderer, spent his childhood and his youth. What Juan finds in Comala is something very different from what he expected, something very different from what the reader expects, for Comala is truly a village of the damned, a hell that one literally descends into, never to return. As Juan Preciado meets first one, then another of the inhabitants of Comala, he comes to an astonishing revelation--everyone in Comala, including his father, is dead. The second half of Pedro Paramo concerns itself with the reasons why Comala became a village of the dead and the emphasis then shifts to the enigmatic character of Susana San Juan, the only woman Pedro Pramo ever truly loved and the one who was forever denied him. Although few details are provided about Susana San Juan, we come to see her as the epitome of two archetypes: the heavenly goddess and the overtly sexual madwoman. When she dies and ascends into heaven, in front of Pedro Paramo's own eyes, the fate of Comala and its residents becomes forever sealed. Although this small book may seem to lack structure (there are no chapter breaks), it is highly structured. It is, however, a structure of silences, hanging threads, truncated scenes, and even non-time. Rulfo moves backwards and forewards between the past (the Comala of the living) and the present (the Comala of the dead). The author moves seamlessly between first person and third person; scenes cut into one another and move effortlessly from one location to another and yet nothing is jarring, nothing is out of place. Although more horrifying than any other book I have ever read, Pedro Paramo does not "fit" into any genre and Rulfo uses none of the usual writer's techniques to enhance his story. Rulfo simply uses straightforward narration, moving from conscious thought to memory, from the world of the living to the world of the dead. In an interview in 1980, Rulfo, himself, said that he wanted to allow the reader to participate in the telling of the story, in the filling in of the blanks. Pedro Paramo is a shadowy, eerie, haunting work, and one whose impact on literature cannot be over-emphasized. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has called this book the most influential reading of his early writing years and has admitted to memorizing the entire text. Yet Pedro Paramo completely lacks the humor of Garcia Marquez (in fact, its bleakness is entirely unrelieved) and it is definitely not magical realism. Although this book defies classification, it is most definitely a masterpiece and most definitely one-of-a kind.

Rulfo's masterpiece is infinitely complex, a challenging puzzle with countless hidden facets and inter connections, a surreal account of a small town and its inhabitants which defies human conceptions of both time and space. In short, the book is an utter delight for those who enjoy a good challenge. Pedro Paramo is not a book to read just once, and then forget; it stays with you, and requires multiple readings to truly understand and appreciate the brilliant metaphors and plot. After the first reading I was very confused. During the second reading I began to understand how the various narations and story lines fit together. During the third reading I fell in love. The fourth and fifth readings only increased my appreciation of the beauty and power of Rulfo's imagery and symbolism. Who knows what new questions and connections a sixth reading will reveal?

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).