by Elizabeth Gonzalez James
narrated by Lee Osorio
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The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James is a magical realism western with impressive imagery. The audiobook is narrated by Lee Osorio, who does a great job.
The book features a Mexican bandido as he sets off for Texas to save his family, only to encounter a mysterious figure who has come, finally, to collect a cosmic debt generations in the making. There are dual timelines between 1895 and 1964.
The prose is lovely, and the imagery really came to life in my mind. I think this is a solid example of magical realism. There’s legacy, family curses, vengeance, and redemption.
It felt a little slow to me in the beginning, but I inhaled the back half of the book. The ending made me tear up.
CW: death, murder, firearms, violence, assault, border politics, intergenerational trauma, racism
I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to @BookSparks for the complimentary hardcover and Simon Audio and LibroFM for the audio review copy. All opinions contained herein are my own.
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