Dona's Books's Reviews > The Bullet Swallower

The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
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it was amazing

Such a good western. Reminds me of COMO LOBOS, another excellent Western.

Full Review:

Thank you to the author Elizabeth Gonzales James, publishers Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of THE BULLET SWALLOWER. All views are mine.

“Let me tell you,” the Idiot concluded, “the Americans want everything in Mexico except the Mexicans.”

Antonio said a silent prayer and begged one more favor: Don’t let me die in Texas. p50

Great characters, great story, engaging style, great ending. I don't say this very often, but this is a perfect book, if you happen to be looking for a historical western. I read this book last year and it just washed over me. At the time, I didn't get along with the challenging style. I'm glad I waited to read it again, because this reading experience was top notch.

Contemporary westerns aren't quite the same as their predecessors, especially in that they tend to incorporate elements from more popular genres now. THE BULLET SWALLOWER reads like a pure Western, with all the tropes– dazzling descriptions of the sky and setting, witty and dangerous repartee, horses, men with guns, and of course animal cruelty, because the 1800's in the West were hard on every living thing. Reading this book was like watching my first western, when I was a young girl– the magnificence and tangibility of that world draws me right in.

I can't recommend this book enough. When you reach the end, don't skip the Author's Note! In it, Gonzales James writes about her family’s history, how their story and her book correlate, and details from her research. It's very interesting and entertaining info!

I recommend this book to fans of complex characters and morally ambiguous characters, history and historical fiction, memoirs, gunplay, wit, and magical realism.

“The past is not so far away as you might think. Nor the future, for that matter. No man lives free from history[.]” p136

Transcendence wasn't a plot device; it was real. p233

Reading Notes

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. I love that Gonzales James uses humor to deal with really heavy subjects, like racism: Antonio was wanted for cattle and horse theft, smuggling, fence cutting, murder, and a dozen other charges culled from the wanted posters of other bandidos and pinned to him under the legal statute of “they all look alike.” p22 The humor makes these salient points more accessible for readers.

2. He was bitter about not having stolen more, but he enjoyed the chase, the escape. Life without these little frictions was too gray. p44 I think I understand this man, even relate to him, even though we are so different and I also find him inaccessible. It's good character work, to write someone so complex!

3. One of the reasons I adore sibling stories is that there is so much organic tension between siblings, like this: [It] still infuriated Antonio that he could neither make his brother tougher nor make the world kinder. p49

4. I love stories that acknowledge the emotional toll of violence: But as he brought his hand down to reveal the gash, which seemed to open wide and slowly swallow the bottom half of his face like a sinkhole, he knew the wound ran far deeper than the path the bullet had traced.

5. Death had been the process of splitting apart, and so life must be the process of being made whole. p204 This concept repeats, and the effect is amazing.

6. This story is based on the author's grandfather's story. I love that Gonzales James writes very realistic scenes about the creation and sale of this very story, only as a movie. She's taken this family detail and turned it into brilliant metafiction.

7. I love the development of Remedio's character, he's fascinating. I don't want to say more because I'll spoil this wonderful book for you if I do!

8. I strongly recommend the Author's Note at the end of the text, in which the author writes about her family history and her research. It really accentuates the reading experience!

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. This prose is dense. It's going to be a long read. *edit It was a long read, but fantastic also. Still a challenging book.

2. Not a fan of the dual timelines in this one. The "present" storyline isn't as interesting as the "past" storyline. So far, I can't discern how the two timelines relate. *edit This stylistic choice becomes clear at the book's conclusion.

3. Content warning for animal suffering and cruelty to animals.

Rating: 🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎 /5 horses with hard lives
Recommend? Yes! You need this book!
Finished: Sep 17 '24
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley
Read this book if you like:
🏜 The West
🐴 horses
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 family stories, family drama
🌤 redemption stories
🪞 metafiction
🩶 morally complex characters
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Reading Progress

June 15, 2023 – Shelved as: to-read
June 15, 2023 – Shelved
January 20, 2024 –
27.0%
January 24, 2024 –
72.0%
January 25, 2024 – Shelved as: re-read
September 14, 2024 – Started Reading
September 14, 2024 –
0.0%
September 18, 2024 –
page 101
37.13%
September 18, 2024 –
page 175
64.34%
September 20, 2024 – Finished Reading

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