This review contains minor spoilers for The Bullet Swallower.
The book begins, ‘Alferez Antonio Sonoro was born with gold in his eyes. The gold was sharp and it stung him so that he blinked uncontrollably and always carried a vial of salted water in his pocket. Of the four Sonoro brothers he was the only one thus signified, and his parents regarded it a blessing, incontestable proof of a divine favour.’ It is with these first few lines that Elizabeth Gonzalez James’ The Bullet Swallower allows us to build a picture of the story to come. One of greed, deep family bonds and profound faith.
Released in late January of 2024, The Bullet Swallower is an ambitious story which was (almost unbelievably) inspired by the life of the author’s own great-grandfather. While much of the book’s events are dramatised, as the book is ultimately a work of fiction and which contains elements of magic realism, the foundations that the book is built on are those of fact. The Bullet Swallower is an epic tale which spans roughly 160 years, moving between two principle time periods — 1895 and 1964. In 1964, the plot follows Jaime Sonoro, one of Mexico’s most celebrated actors, who has had great success financially, in his career and through his family. Jaime’s idyll is interrupted by the arrival of a mysterious traveller named Remedio. Around the same time that Remedio comes to stay with Jaime’s family, an equally mysterious book entitled The Ignominious History of The Sonoro Family is delivered to him by a stranger. Jaime’s father, who is ashamed of his family history, forbids Jaime from reading the book, stating that nothing good can come from knowing about his grandfather. Jaime is engrossed in the book and ignores his father’s pleas, but as there are increasingly odd occurrences in his household after the appearance of the book and Remedio, he attempts to rid his home of the book, but the book refuses to leave until the last page has been read. Remedio is a peculiar character, who at first makes Jaime’s family uneasy, and we quickly begin to wonder what his intentions are. It is eventually revealed that Remedio is an agent of death. A drifter through space and time who collects souls and guides them into the afterlife, and who has been tasked by a higher power to ensure that the Sonoro family pay for the sins of their ancestors.
The book is divided in three parts; Jaime’s point of view, his grandfather Antonio’s point of view and extracts from the The Ignominious History of The Sonoro Family, as Jaime reads it. It is through reading this book that Jaime learns the true history of his family, and most importantly for the reader, the truth about his grandfather, which has been kept hidden from him for his entire life. Antonio Sonoro was one of Mexico’s most prolific banditos (an outlaw and thief of Mexican origin). With his family struggling during a period of drought and poverty, Antonio makes the decision to rob a train filled with gold before it reaches Texas. His plans go awry, and he not only fails to secure the gold, but witnesses the killing of his younger brother. He is then left for dead by savage Texas Rangers after being brutally shot in the face. It is this murder that sets off most of the events of the novel, as a gravely wounded Antonio swears revenge on the rangers, meeting various eccentric characters along his travels and trekking through the harsh landscape around the gulf of Mexico.
“Then came the shot — clipped through the head along the right side of his face. Antonio was surprised to feel the bullet as it entered him. His lips parted and he allowed in the hot metal bee. It opened a door into his flesh, rutted through his tongue, blasted his teeth one by one, sending splinters and fragments ricocheting through his mouth like broken china. It kicked a hole out the other side through his jawbone and kissed his ear and continued its journey because it was in a hurry, hurry, hurry.”
In the 1960s, Jaime is exhilarated when he learns of his grandfather’s story. He decides that he will make a film based on his grandfather’s life, hoping that this endeavour will take him out of the mainstream and solidify his status as a serious and critically acclaimed filmmaker. Despite the sheer amount of characters and their range in ages, attitudes, genders, ethnicities and alliances, Elizabeth Gonzalez James successfully creates a vivid world with layered, empathetic characters. Antonio wants to do right by his family and support them, but it is clear to his wife and children that his allegiance is moreso with adventure and anarchy than his family, whether he is ready to admit it or not.
Antonio likens himself to Don Quixote, which enrages his wife. She wishes for him to accept a simple life as a farmer, and to provide stability and peace of mind for his family, rather than spending his time on the run from the law, leaving his loved ones to wonder when, or if he will return home. In a black and white world, Antonio would not be a likeable character, and yet we spend so much time with him and see from his complex and (often justifiably) rage-filled world view, that we cannot help but root for him. Of course, it is wrong to steal. To leave your family to fend for themselves when you could be there with them, is wrong. Especially when we see that he could be living a life of simplicity. Maybe a life which is mundane, yes, but one which is fulfilling because all of his needs would be met and his family would finally feel safe. And while we know this, seeing from Antonio’s perspective, watching his brother die so violently when he tried so hard to protect him, as well as the immense physical and emotional suffering he endures in the aftermath, we cannot condemn him.
Jaime’s story is unfortunately, not quite as compelling as Antonio’s, and I often found myself trying to read these chapters as fast as possible so that I could return to Antonio. Gonzalez James herself admitted in an interview with The Rumpus, that her editor urged her to cut out Jaime’s sections and to just tell the straightforward story of Antonio. Gonzalez James cut Jaime’s part in the book down by 150 pages or so, but ultimately decided it was important for her to keep Jaime in some capacity. While Antonio’s chapters have more momentum, I can see the appeal of keeping Jaime. This is also true to the author’s family, as one of her family members did make a film based on Antonio’s life, so this is clearly something which is essential to her storytelling. In addition to this, most of the magical realism aspects, which I enjoyed greatly, revolve around the time-travelling Remedio and the supernatural history book. If Gonzalez James were to simply write a historical fiction book, it would have lost so much of the magic, no pun intended.
The Bullet Swallower is a triumph of contemporary literature, blending together genres, timelines and fiction with reality. Elizabeth Gonzalez James so accurately and delicately portrays a patriarchal Mexican society which is suffering from poverty, violence inflicted by white Americans on the border, and toxic masculinity. Inspired by writers such as Cormac McCarthy, Gabriel García Márquez, Kurt Vonnegut, George Saunders and Marilynne Robinson, The Bullet Swallower is a successful venture into a surreal portrayal of the Wild West.
