A major figure in the history of post-Revolutionary literature in Mexico, Juan Rulfo received international acclaim for his brilliant short novel Pedro Páramo (1955) and his collection of short stories El llano en llamas (1953), translated as a collection here in English for the first time. In the transition of Mexican fiction from direct statements of nationalism and social protest to a concentration on cosmopolitanism, the works of Rulfo hold a unique position. These stories of a rural people caught in the play of natural forces are not simply an interior examination of the phenomena of their world; they are written for the larger purpose of showing the actions of humans in broad terms of reality.
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Juan Rulfo's fifteen tales of rural folk prove him to be one of the master storytellers of modern Mexico.... Rulfo has an eye for the depths of the human soul, an ear for the 'still sad music of humanity,' and a gift for communicating what takes place internally and externally in man. (Houston Post )
The Burning Plain and Other Stories consists of fifteen pieces ranging from brief anecdotes, casual incidents that remind one of 'happenings' in pop art, to short stories. Many, indeed, are short-short stories in deceptively elemental language and narrative technique; yet all have a sharp impact on the reader.... With a few bare phrases the author conveys a feeling for the bleak, harsh surroundings in which his people live. (Saturday Review )
The Burning Plain and Other Stories consists of fifteen pieces ranging from brief anecdotes, casual incidents that remind one of 'happenings' in pop art, to short stories. Many, indeed, are short-short stories in deceptively elemental language and narrative technique; yet all have a sharp impact on the reader.... With a few bare phrases the author conveys a feeling for the bleak, harsh surroundings in which his people live. (Saturday Review )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The perfect writing,
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This review is from: The Burning Plain: and other Stories (Texas Pan-American Series) (Paperback)
One regrettable consequence of Garcia Marquez's fame is that Latin American literature has come to be identified exclusively with "magical realism". Everything has to be extraordinary, epic, full of tropical lust, palms, jaguars, people having sex in every corner, flying to the sky with a pineapple on their heads. But Latin America is a vast continent producing artist of universal stature, even if the rest of the world decides (to their disadvantage) to ignore all but the folkloric.Well, Juan Rulfo is a master of the highest sort and this book is NOT magical realism, but pure, hard realism. He only wrote two books, this one and "Pedro Paramo", another masterpiece which I also don't count as magical realism, although some do, as well as a few lesser works. He didn't need to write much. His is a literature worked and reworked restlessly, until reaching perfection. Every single word fits perfectly with the rest. There are no digressions, no philosophy, no theories or grand landscapes. All his tales develop in Southern Jalisco, in a poor, dry, vast, sunburned and sad land. The prose is also dry, precise, economical and to the point. The characters are ignorant, miserable, but conscious and courageous. The titles say much: "It's because we are so poor" is one of them. However, you will not find self-pity or corny sad tales. Only bits of human misery perfectly narrated. By the way, this is the first review I write for Amazon in which I use the word "perfect". Probably it won't happen again, with one or two exceptions.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The translation is so wonderful, I wish I could read spanish,
This review is from: The Burning Plain: and other Stories (Texas Pan-American Series) (Paperback)
Sorry, I did not buy this book from Amazon, but I will by the other Rulfo books available. I found this book in a used book store, I happened to be browsing through. I don't even know what caught my eye, but what a find. This is so beautifully written. I must admit that though I at one time had a strong interest in the Mexican Revolution, I have forgottem much of what I learned, so some of the stories were hard for me to understand in their historical context. The writing is so evocative, however, that it doesn't matter. The feeling of desolation is almost too overwhelming. I was reminded somewhat of Ernest Hemingway by the use of short declarative sentences, also I suppose because Hemingway often used Spanish phrasing in his work. The best writing, in my opinion, evokes a feeling rather than describing it. Rulfo accomplishes that amazingly.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
strange but captivating writing,
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This review is from: The Burning Plain: and other Stories (Texas Pan-American Series) (Paperback)
Rulfo's style, like his stories, is sparse, quiet, and often harsh. He offers disturbing tales of miserable people in barren places; yet there is also a strange beauty to be found in his work. I can think of few, if any, examples of such perfect prose. The characters--though they suffer--seem close at hand and perfectly real, and he gives the most incredible descriptions of landscapes that I have ever read in my life. It is easy to see his connection to "magical realism"--it is largely in the way he sets the tone of the stories, and in those unbelievably vivid descriptions--but his work does not fall into that category. There is no escaping the terribly blunt reality he creates.
Whether you are interested in Latin American literature or not, if you are at all interested in prose, you should read this book.
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