At the start of the very first paragraph of the prologue of this book, we are introduced to Alferez Antonio Sonoro, and my initial gut reaction went straight to the Lone Ranger even though The Lone Ranger was actually based on Bass Reeves and this book takes place in Mexico. It still had those Lone Ranger vibes though, and I felt like I was about to get a story about a man on a quest for justice or revenge after an unmitigated wrong was done to him or his family. But then came the part where he buried a group of disgruntled workers and their families in a mine because they were planning a strike. Killed those Lone Ranger vibes instantly. Instead of revenge and justice, we instead get a tale of a familial curse passed through blood and centuries, even going so far back as the Cain of Cain and Abel. And, Alferez Antontio Sonoro is just the jumping off point.

There are two main plots of this book. One takes place in the late 1800s and surrounds Antonio Sonoro, Alferez’s grandson. The other takes place in the 1960s with Jaime Sonoro, who happens to be Antonio’s grandson. However, for a majority of the story we are back in 1895 with Antonio’s life, and what a life it is. The man is a douche. He lives in a good house that could be upgraded to a great house with work and saving. He has a great wife and two loving kids that he takes for granted. Instead of being at home, he galivants in the streets masquerading as a broken down Robin Hood. He’s an adrenaline junky who needs the excitement of being a bandito. He gives the things he steals away to people who aren’t his family because his ego and pride are too big to fit through the front door of his house. The man’s a loser. His wife, kids, and brother Hugo are his only saving graces, but he doesn’t give them the time of day.

One day, Antonio gets it into his head that he wants to rob a train in Texas. He tries to secure a posse, but no one wants to go, probably because they’re smart. So, Antonio sets off to go alone. Before he can go too far though, Hugo joins him. Sweet, lovable and on the straight-and-narrow Hugo is not made for the bandito life though. He really just goes along because he doesn’t want Antonio to go by himself. So, they go to Texas, rob the train, get caught, kill some Texas Rangers, find themselves on the run, and Hugo gets murdered. This is where Antonio’s story really begins. He goes on a quest to find the three rangers that killed his brother out of some sick and twisted revenge to try and honor Hugo, which is a lie because mild mannered Hugo would have never wanted that. The man is completely self-centered.

In 1965 we are introduced to Jaime, who is actually an actor and fits The Lone Ranger comparison much better than Alferez Antonio Sonoro, at least on film. In his real life, he is just your typical husband and father, with one exception. Jaime wants to know about his ancestors. His father, Juan Antonio, has only ever told him that his family died in Mexico and that they have no other family. So, one day when a woman drops a centuries old book in his hand chronicling his family tree, he dives head first ignoring his father’s warnings about learning about things that should stay secret. Eventually, Jaime learns about Antonio and his journey after Hugo’s death when he became known as El Tragabalas, The Bullet Swallower. And, in this way, the two stories of Antonio and Jaime eventually merge.

Despite my misgivings about Antonio, he’s a very interesting character. Conversely, Jaime is a little boring. He gives off a note of privilege that he can’t help because he just grew up in better times than Antonio. As for the other side characters, most of them were underdeveloped. Peter was probably my favorite side character. He was a book nerd, and I was here for it. His personality came through a little, but I would have appreciated knowing a little more about him.

There were quite a few repeated elements. Scorpions and a red bird were used multiple times. Also, there was a recurring theme of order and chaos and magic and religion vs being in charge of your own fate. The weather and lack of precipitation was also a key part of the story.

If you like Westerns or Historical Fiction with a touch of magical realism, this book is for you. Also, if you are wondering what a Bullet Swallower looks like, think Jonah Hex.

An intriguing mix of western, magical realism and family saga. I immediately dug Antonio's exciting account of a man driven to desperate measures for survival, and at first was very annoyed to have it continually disturbed when the book jumped into the future for Jaime's portions. Once these two storylines become more clearly linked and the 1964 one increased in depth, I truly started to appreciate what James was pulling off, especially when she reveals how much is inspired by her own family history in the Author's Note. A unique tale that pays off in the end.

(Thanks to @simonbooks for the #gifted copy of this book.)

THE BULLET SWALLOWER by Elizabeth Gonzalez James is a book with much to discuss as Susie from @novelvisits and I found last week when text messages were flying back and forth. Today we’re going to try a joint review from the two of us! This one gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 from us!

At first, this seems like the most unlikely story to love: a western that involves a touch of magical realism, two things that don’t have any sort of obvious connection and often scare readers off. But, within this magical western there is so much more. From two different times, 1895 and 1964, we get the story of the Sonoro family, a family of men both feared and haunted.

Carla 1895: The first timeline gives the background story of the Sonoro family and how they came to carry a generational curse. It’s a complicated past that Antonio keeps trying to outrun, and while seeking revenge, he also comes to realize the importance of his family and home. He vows to be a better person, but when he returns home, all he’s fought for is now gone. Antonio’s transformation was my favorite part of the book; his development captured my heart, along with his witty and quirky demeanor.

Susie 1964: The second timeline features Jamie, a “singing actor” much beloved in Mexico. Into Jamie’s possession comes a book that tells a dark history of his family, a history Jamie knew nothing of. He’s terrified, ashamed and haunted by what he reads, and he can’t let it go. Jamie needs to know if somehow he’s inherited the sins of his forefathers. I loved Jamie’s quest to understand the evils of his family and his determination to bring their story into the light.

The Bullet Swallower explores generational curses, racism, and colonialism. Through powerful storytelling, and characters with memorable growth, this fairly short novel provides much to discuss! Set against the brilliant Southwestern backdrop of the Mexico/Texas border, this book was a true delight!

The Bullet Swallower

“The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.”
― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

“[F]or I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation ….”
— Exodus 20:5

The concept of retribution for the sins of earlier generations is not new. Elizabeth Gonzalez James gives us another such tale centered around the slightly surreal story of El Tragabalas—the Bullet Swallower. Set in Northern Mexico, Texas, and Mexico City, this novel jumps back and forth through time as it covers the history of a family and the entity that interacts with it in a karmic way.

In its observation that “time moves in a spiral, not a line,” The Bullet Swallower recalls True Detective’s Rust Cohle (“‘Time is a flat circle.’ Everything we've ever done or will do, we're gonna do over and over and over again”) or even Nietzsche’s concept of eternal recurrence. Although the idea is not new, this energetic retelling of the legend of El Tragabalas is worth your while.

The writing is brisk, often lyrical, and always interesting. The action is clear and the story is compelling. I really enjoyed The Bullet Swallower. It might remind readers a little of the “Cemetery of Forgotten Books” novels of Carlos Ruiz Zafón, at least in its tone and the touch of magic realism. While fatalism runs throughout, it ends with a suggestion of hope.

Thanks to NetGalley for a preview of this novel, provided in exchange for an unbiased review.

I almost DNFed this book early on but I’m so glad I kept reading because I ended up really enjoying it. This unique story is full of action, adventure, and family drama. There is magical realism that works so well in the story, and it has a lot of heart. The main character, Antonio Sonora, is a Mexican bandit with depth and I loved following his life and his journey..

I started reading this at 7PM and finished it at 3AM the next morning. Thankful for Kindle dark mode with books like these. It felt like I was an invisible companion on Antonio’s journey, thirsting with him in the arid desert for justice and vengeance.

I’ve never been a fan of Westerns, but from the perspective of an infamous Mexican bandido with a half-golden heart, I was rapt. This tale has the perfect mix of historical detail, gorgeous prose, vivid imagery, and just enough magical realism to deepen the dual timelines and encourage existential questioning.

As an exploration of human nature, The Bullet Swallower is unflinching in exposing the dualities that exist in every person and everything. Some questions I found posed by this novel include: Is it possible to overcome burdensome ancestral legacies? Whose responsibility is it to end these so-called curses? Do good or bad really exist, or do we walk in a sea of gray? And as Antonio learned in his adventures, one can never guess where allies will come from or what they’ll look like.

I definitely recommend The Bullet Swallower if you’re a fan of magical realism, historical fiction, Westerns, and don’t take issue with the complexities that come with dual timelines and the mysteries of multi-verse. This was a fun ride that left me checking my boots for sand.

Startling Historical Fiction

This is a an astounding epic that is galvanizing. The author provides two timelines for this Texas-Mexico border blockbuster.

Gonzales gives us a fascinating larger-than-life epic of the Sonoro family. Antonio Sonoro comes from a long-line of “bad” men from Dorado, Mexico. He is a man who knows what he has, a beautiful, faithful wife and wonderful children but he has dreams of riches. He does whatever he wants; he seems to be searching for the big jackpot. He looks for big trouble and became an icon when he survives a shoot-out with the Texas Rangers. His brother dies and he is left with a hideous facial injury. He becomes obsessed about revenging the death of his brother. During his retribution journey, the author introduces Peter Ainsley, a British desperado who became a friend and savior to Antonio.

The author creates a clever and readable technique. Chapters alternately cover the time periods between 1895 (Antonio) and 1964 (grandson Jaime – famous singer and movie star). She is adept at using figures of speech from both eras adding realism to the settings and family structure.

Many characters are killed off and others are brought back to life to add to the plot. Is everyone complicit? The books promises exciting scenes with blazing guns depicting Antonio’s vices and life. It’s a treacherous and sometimes deceitful history. Jaime, Antonio’s grandson, who is a famous movie star and musician, is the chosen character to unravel his family’s past.

My gratitude to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this pre-published book. All opinions expressed are my own.

What an incredible saga filled with adventure and family and life lessons alike. An intergenerational curse, wrestling with your family's past, witty quips sprinkled in. It's classed as magical realism but it errs on the realism side, though we do get an eerie time-traveling shadow man and hell on Earth ("'Of course the supposed mouth of Hell would be somewhere in Texas.'"). This was adventurous, chilling, yet tender at times. An epic scope that is amazingly detailed for being under 300 pages.

The Bullet Swallower is a magical realism western –which would normally be right up my alley. It’s a dual timeline story, splitting between Mexico and Texas. It’s tragic, and bloody, with action and redemption. But unfortunately, this one just really didn’t hold my attention very well. It took me well over 3 weeks to read, (when I can usually read a book this length in just a few days). It wasn’t a bad read, just slow, and didn’t really pick up for me until about 50%-60% of the way through. I almost did not finish this book, but I decided to keep with it, and I definitely liked the second half more than the first. I genuinely don’t think this has anything to do with the quality of the book, but maybe my personal expectations and taste.

I thought the characters were well written and well rounded, I liked the story and the voicing. The atmosphere and feel of the book were good. I just didn’t find myself getting absorbed and longing to read it. I wasn’t finding myself invested in where the story would go and was hoping for a bit more magical/fantasy elements. This reads heavily as a western, with slightly magical asides in my opinion.

I did like it overall and settled on a 3-star rating. Which was redemptive and speaks well to the second half of the book, when I was originally considering not finishing it at all. I do believe that many people will really love this book, and maybe perhaps it just wasn't for me, and that is perfectly okay.

this was such a unique read! no surprise at all that it was a BOTM pick. I wasn't expecting it to be as literary as it was because that's a genre I don't normally read. It seemed to have a bit of an identity crisis when it came to genres, but i highly recommend this one!!

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. It started with a lot of information dumping, and I simply couldn’t get into the story. This may just be a case of “it’s me, not you.”

I. Loved. This. Book.

After struggling a bit in the beginning (just hold on, all the pieces do come together), I finally settled in and glutted on the entire story in 24 hours. Fans of westerns, magical realism, and Spanish folktales will love this blend of gritty despair and evanescent hope.

Told in an alternating narrative of two people in two frames, The Bullet Swallower presents Antonio Sonaro as the ultimate anti-hero. He's not a good man, a good husband or a good father but somehow, little by little the reader begins to root for him until we experience his pain, his fear, and his heartache as our own. Antonio is a bandito in the late 1800's whose brother is killed by Texas Rangers after a foiled train robbery in Texas. What follows is a revenge tale full of larger than life characters which inches slowly but not preachily into a redemption story.

Fast forward to 1964. Jaime Sonoro is a popular actor and singer who knows nothing about his bandito grandfather or the generations of evil men who came before him, until a smelly, old book is delivered into his hands , a handwritten account of the exploits of his ancestors.

What is good and what is evil? Why do we always insist on us or them when no good can come of it? What is legacy? Are we trapped in the patterns of the ones who came before us. These questions are wrapped in the guise of the great American western, which isn't really American at all.

Warning: This story will swallow you whole… Every aspect of this book is engaging and entertaining and I wish it wasn’t over. The hybrid nature of this book takes the traditional western and ramps it up into a beautiful dark twisted fantasy. This book is the story of the Sonoros. It is a generational tale that focuses mainly on the life of Antonio Sonoro in 1895 and his grandson Jaime Sonoro in 1964. Neither one of these men know anything about the other, but there is a magic in the shadows that links them through time and love. When a bad drought hits Mexico, Antonio leaves his family behind to rob a train but instead gets himself entangled with the Texas Rangers. What unfolds on the pages is a chase across Texas that leaves hundreds of bodies in its wake. I like westerns for this reason, they manage to humanize our history of vengeance as well as call out the injustice of the world. This was a bloody, quick read that is not for everyone, but the people attracted to its synopsis will probably love it.

A propulsive immersive page turner that truly surprised me. This moves between 1895 and the graphically violent (know in advance) story of Antonio, a bandito who decides to rob a train in the US, and 1964, when his grandson Jaime, a movie star decides to make a movie of a book that documents the Sonoro family history. Antonio- whose life changes in an instant when his brother is killed and he literally swallows a bullet- finds himself pursued and pursuing a trio of Texas Rangers, all of them set on destroying the other. Along the way, though, he meets some generous and intriguing people, notably Peter, a Brit. Remedio, the magical realism part of this wonderful novel, appears first in Jaime's life but who is he and what does he want? The atmospherics are terrific (the cold, the hunger, the landscape) and the characters leap off the page. Antonio is an antihero to be sure but I'll bet you'll alternate between rooting for him and wishing he would just go home. No spoilers from me. Thanks to the publisher for the arc of this awesome read that I probably would not have otherwise chosen. Highly recommend.

Original, magical, and well written with very good characters. The dual plot lines set in 1895 and 1964 with the main characters of a grandfather and grandson respectively. The shadow of evil follows the grandfather, a Mexican bandito in his trek for riches and then revenge; and the same with the grandson, a Mexican movie star. Gret storyline well executed, based loosely on the author’s own great-grandfather and cousin.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it’s probably the first time ever that I found a historical fiction novel to be a page-turner. With it also being a Western, this was way outside my usual genres and I still adored it. Oscillating between the 1890s and the 1960s, The Bullet Swallower is a heart-breaking look at how destiny is sometimes stronger than our desire to break free from generational patterns.

I fell down the rabbit hole with the Sonoros, and couldn’t get enough of Antonio Sonoro’s POV in 1895. He was a bandido who did HORRIBLE things and I still found myself rooting for him so hard. Part of this came from the fact that the POV in 1964 followed his grandson, Jamie.

I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author. She painted an insanely beautiful picture of a barren land, and the writing gave me The Dark Tower vibes - AND she did this in under 300 pages. The Bullet Swallower was clearly well-researched and it bears repeating that this book made me fall in love with a story of historical fiction!

Check this one out if you like history, Mexico & Texas, Westerns, action, and stories on family and generational curses!

**Thank you to Simon Books for the free copy of this book, and for helping me to branch out in the genres that I read!**

I will always give props for writers who write something new and different - I think that’s something rare! This was one of those books, and it was done well. Good writing, well drawn characters and a unique story- well done!

This book was amazing. I had such a good time. Hooked from the very beginning and following a family across generations, the lore is so rich and the characters are so human-- It truly is a contemporary epic. Can't wait to talk about this book a lot this year!
In the same vein as Allende and Garcia Marquez, this story is so engaging and fantastic without being a fantasy. I loved it.

It took me awhile to get into this and I wasn't sure I was ever going to. I'm not sure what I was expecting out of it, really. But once I got into the Sonoro family's legacy, I enjoyed the book. It was still a little boring and stayed pretty slow but it did get more interesting.

A solid 3.5. I liked it, I didn’t love it. I freaking love the cover and title but the main character is SO HARD TO LIKE! I would definitely recommend because it was a fun read.