Customer Reviews

Juan Rulfo's Mexico

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In addition to being a Nobel-caliber novelist, Rulfo was a world-class photographer. His pictures capture the landscape, architecture, and indigenous culture of Mexico. This book provides a beautiful collection of his work in a well-designed package. I didn't care much for the accompanying essays, however, which are heavy on the type of psychobabble and postmodern philosophy only an art historian could love. If the writing were worthy of the master himself, this would be a five-star book.

Juan Rulfo is a little-known master of Mexican surrealistic literature responsible for the incomparable book 'Pedro Páramo'. His photography of Mexico has the same elusive quality of his writing - an all-penetrating sorrow fills every photo, almost conjuring ghostly spirits in its treatment. You feel echoes of an era long gone, of civilizations that came and went, of people that lived and died. These are a fantastic supplement to anyone who wants to understand Rulfo's point of view more and made me feel much more connected to his work. These are timeless photos with gorgeous subject matter and a psychologically tantalizing progression of imagery.