Honestly, how could I bypass a book with a title like today's pick? The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James was listed in the new releases in January on Goodreads, and I simply had to know more. The fact that it is also set in and around south Texas and Mexico, and deals with future generations being made to pay for crimes of the past, caused me to pick it up and actually read it, in the hopes that at the very least I would find a good adventure.
The Situation: It is 1964 in Mexico, and Jaime Sonoro has enjoyed incredible success and fortune as one of the country's most famous actors and singers. Things seem to take an ominous turn when two things find their way into Jaime's life: one a book, another a person. Despite warnings from his father, Jaime begins reading the mysterious book, which tells the story of Antonio Sonoro, the man known as El Tragabalas, The Bullet Swallower. In 1865, Antonio set out on an ill-fated trip to Houston, Texas to rob a train, promising his dubious wife that he will return with wealth and riches. But when the adventure turns deadly, Antonio's new mission becomes one of revenge.
The Problem: Unbeknownst to Antonio, he was born with a debt to pay, as generations of Sonoros had been ruthless and greedy, often taking what is not theirs, and making those around them pay when they demanded more. When a strange man called Remedio enters Jaime's life in 1964, it soon becomes clear that he may not simply be a kind older man with a gift for healing. The more Jaime reads of Antonio's life, the more he feels that things are not as they should be, and that something has gone wrong. Even so, Antonio's story full of murder, theft, and intense revenge against the three men that turned him into The Bullet Swallower draws Jaime in. And it is soon clear that the book found its way to Jaime for a reason, linking the fate of the two Sonoros men.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set mostly in 1865 in both south Texas and Mexico, but also in 1964 in Mexico. In 1865, Antonio Sonoro leaves to rob a train, but instead nearly dies twice, ends up roaming the land looking for revenge against three Texas Rangers, and earns a reputation as a dangerous bandit. In 1964, Jaime learns of the history of Antonio Sonoro, The Bullet Swallower, for the first time, and begins to see a link between the two of them. Antonio's story is a picture of life and politics along the Texas/Mexico border in the mid-1800s, while Jaime and his father must wrestle with the idea of generational trauma, and how one generation could be held responsible for the sins of the past.
My Verdict: Well, I wanted an adventure, and I certainly got one. Antonio roams all over south Texas in an effort to find the three men he wants desperately to kill, and it is not a quiet or generally peaceful journey as he attempts to hunt them down. There is trouble at every small town; almost every encounter with every group of people, no matter how big or small, ends badly; and despite how very wrong the trip had gone from the start, Antonio is undeterred. The link between Jamie and Antonio is revealed slowly and carefully, as is the fate of each. It is not easy to get readers to extend grace towards selfish and unlikable characters, even if they are the protagonist, so some may struggle to follow Antonio's journey and understand his choices, while also enjoying the story.
Favorite Moment: This book is full of stubborn characters. These are people who see the obvious danger in their choices, but forge ahead anyways, only to often be surprised when things go wrong. Given how awful some of these people are, I thoroughly enjoyed when things did inevitably go wrong.
Favorite Character: Hugo, Antonio's brother, does his best to get Antonio to abandon the train robbing mission and return to his loving wife and family, and it only earns him insults and derision.
Recommended Reading: The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a very different type of historical fiction novel, set in the 1930s when people were leaving the Texas/Oklahoma region for what they believed to be a better future in California.
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