Pedro Paramo

Juan Rulfo was born in Sayula, Mexico on May 16th, 1918. He was a product of the rural countryside and his parents were wealthy land owners before the Cristero uprisings between 1926 and 29. Rulfo began work as a writer when his family moved to Mexico City later in his life. It was there that he began working on scripts and film production. Rulfo's writing became important to the genre of "magic realism," a discipline that incorporated techniques such as interior monologue, flashbacks, the voice of the dead, and a stream-of-consciousness style of writing. Though his influence on that genre is great, the fruit of his existence as a writer was not plentiful. One collection of short fiction, El llano en llamas, was published in 1953 and was engendered by his life in Mexico City; another book, Pedro Paramo followed soon after in 1955. Rulfo lived in Mexico City for most of his life, teaching and advising young, aspiring writers at various universities and schools. On January 6, 1986, Juan Rulfo died in Mexico City having published only two novels.

 

Pedro Paramo - a summary:

A young man, Juan Preciado, has just lost his mother. Before she died she requested of Juan that he should go down to Comala, Mexico and try to find his father (1). His father, she had said, will be happy to see him. Out of respect for his mother but with little curiosity of his own, Juan hits the road, attempting to make his way to Comala. As he is almost to the town of his father, Juan is unsure of his way and asks a fellow along the road for directions. The fellow points him toward the town and inquires as to why the young man would want to visit a deserted place. Juan tells the man that he is searching for his father, Pedro Paramo, who he believes is in residence there. The man looks surprised, and confesses to Juan that Pedro Paramo is his father as well (3). This is only the beginning of the bizarities which Juan will encounter on his pilgrimage to Comala. The man steers Juan in the direction of a woman, Dona Eduviges, who he says will give him room and board if he mentions his name - Abundio (7). Juan takes his advice and seeks out Eduviges, who does as Abundio said that she would, and gives Juan ...