Pedro Paramo Summary and Reviews

Pedro Paramo
by Juan Rulfo

Pedro Paramo
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Book Summary Information

Author: Juan Rulfo
Translator: Margaret Sayers Peden
Foreword: Susan Sontag
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1994-03-10
ISBN: 0802133908
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Grove Press

Book Reviews of Pedro Paramo

Book Review: "everything that grows is bitter"
Summary: 4 Stars

Reading over the reviews already posted, I think there is one strong theme in Pedro Paramo which hasn't been brought out: guilt. As small a role as he plays, I think Father Renteria (faintly reminiscent of Greene's whiskey priest in The Power & The Glory) is a primary character. His inability to either forgive or find forgiveness reflects the fate of all those in the town. From the initial dying request of Juan's mother to make his father pay, to Renteria's denial of "hope for us, hope to ease our sorrows. 'But not for you, Miguel Paramo'," we are introduced to characters wracked with guilt and yearnings for vengeance. The character of Susana takes on overtones of a Virgin Mary or Christ. She alone can save Paramo, and in turn the land. Renteria speaks to her in her dying moments of the torments of hell, and she dismisses him: "He sheltered me in his arms. He gave me love." But all hope of redemption dies with her, and those left behind are eternally haunted by their memories, by the forms of their loved ones. The hope that beyond the blue sky "there may be songs; perhaps sweeter voices" is dashed, and as Paramo realizes his death, he sees nothing but the "ruined, sterile earth."

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