Pedro Páramo – Juan Rulfo

Pedro Páramo. Juan Rulfo.

Grove Press. New York.1959

First edition, first impression in English.

A novel set in a mythical hell on earth inhabited by the dead who are haunted by their own transgressions.

Juan Preciado promises his mother on her deathbed to seek out his father in Comala, the town populated only by ghosts. They divulge to him not only their sins but also those of his reckless father who as a ‘cacique’ ruled, intimidated and ruined the lives of the whole community.

Although not a success on its publication it is now regarded as one of the greatest novels of Mexican literature.