Juan Rulfo (1918–1986)

I was so impressed by Pedro Páramo that I decided I needed to read more of Rulfo and so bought a couple books of stories, including this novella. We should always be suspicious of the praise lavished by publishers on the back cover of a book or in their sales propaganda. Here, the novella is called both “legendary” and a “lost masterwork.” Uh, no. If it’s legendary, it is not because of its quality. Neither the writing nor the story deserve that label in my opinion. Dionisio Pinzón barely ekes out a living as the town crier. Through a series of events, he nurses a golden cock back to health and begins entering it into local cockfights. He wins, meets two other characters, and soon has made his fortune. His luck eventually turns and the novella follows his fortunes. The story often feels like a noir film and was, in fact, made into a successful movie (screenplay by Carlos Fuentes and Gabriel García Márquez and the director). Which is fortunate since the novella isn’t. Disappointing.… (more)